The customer service representative is considered the initial phase of employment for many individuals. Typically, this individual takes incoming calls from customers – including businesses – on a day to day basis. When the situation calls for it, the person may be required to make outgoing calls to other departments within the business that they are employed with, or a business that their call center represents. Furthermore, outgoing calls may be required in certain situations. For the inbound call center representative, outgoing calls are typically made when there is a disconnect, or they need to relay additional information to a particular customer regarding their case, ticket, and/or claim.
Customer service jobs in the call center require an individual to typically use a standard computer, a telephone, as well a headset that consists of a hearing and speaking apparatus, special programs that are relevant to a particular client and/or center, as well as any other tools and resources that are deemed as relevant to the position in which they perform their main tasks of employment. Most of the time, these individuals are required to have a high school diploma or GED, proficiency in typing, the ability to multitask, and display a high level of proficiency when it comes to basic customer service skills and scripting techniques.
Help Desk Representative
The help desk representative is typically the next level in the call center environment. This is an individual that is readily available by telephone and/or a chat system for customer service representatives when an issue arises, or they are unsure of the next steps involved in a troubleshooting and/or billing task. Help desk reps may service as technical support, or billing. In some cases, technical support and billing are both part of the job of the help desk representative. These individuals typically must have a high school diploma, or GED as well as either vocational certification. In some cases, experience may override educational requirements if the individual exhibits a wide range of knowledge, effectiveness in multitasking, and company policy and procedure.
Call Center Team Manager
The next step in the call center hierarchy is typically the call center team manager. This is a serious position that requires a lot of work and dedication. Individuals in this position are often required to possess, at the very least, vocational certification in business and/or management. It is almost always preferred that the individual that fills this position of all other call center jobs has a two year degree or higher.
The call center team manager typically manages a team of ten to thirty individuals. It is their responsibility to ensure that all call center metrics are adhered to; employees are supervised and coached on performance, and keeping detailed documentation and records. Multitasking, focus on detail, leading and motivating others, working with computers, and proficiency in Microsoft Office and other types of software is necessary to excel in this position.
The Quality Assurance Representative
The quality assurance representative is the next step up from the call center team manager. This individual is required to monitor the calls that the customer service representatives make. They accomplish this by a software program, such as “NICE”. As they listen to the calls made from the representatives on the phones, they grade based on technical skill and application, customer service skills, multitasking ability, and also establish trends and training gaps based on the performance of the agent. Once a score has been established, they meet with the team manager as well as the customer service representative in order to provide positive and constructive feedback on performance.
Responsibilities include tracking trends, creating excel databases, keeping sound records, multitasking skills, reporting to the general manager of the call center, and tracking agent performance. In many instances, these individuals must also engage in the firing process. These individuals may also be required to create training material so that new hires can be taught quality assurance policies and expectations. Furthermore, customer service gap training may also be created by the quality assurance technicians in order to ensure that trends are overcome with success.
The Call Center General Manager
The call center general manager is typically the executive roll of the center. This is the highest ranking position when it comes to call center jobs. This individual is responsible for every practice, job, and occurrence within the call center. They oversee all departments, such as the human resources department, payroll, training, quality assurance, internet technology, housekeeping, maintenance, and the talent acquisition department.
Conclusion
If you are interested in call center jobs, you can see by the descriptions here that there are many to choose from. Growth in the call center is quite possible. This is the type of environment where many find that they just cannot strive, so there is often a high turnover rate that results in more opportunities for the individuals who retain employment with the center. The average call center wages start right around $16,000.00 annually, and can exceed $100,000.00 yearly depending on the position held. Customer service jobs are consistently increasing in demand as more and more customers express dissatisfaction with automated, computer systems.
