Roles within Call centre jobs
Contact centre (or call centre) operators communicate with customers or clients by telephone, email, text messaging, fax, post or over the internet which is the overall premise of call centre jobs.
The work of individual contact centre operators depends on the sector they work in and whether they work for an inbound or outbound contact centre. An inbound contact centre handles inbound calls (calls initiated by the customer) rather than outbound calls (calls initiated by the operator). Contact centres may handle either only inbound or outbound calls or might deal with a combination of both.
Advice and support - giving information, for example on train times and fares, or advice on areas such as employment, pensions or careers. Increasingly, organisations are automating basic information, so that customers can hear these details without having to speak with a live operator. This frees up operators to deal with more complex enquiries, or to handle issues that are best discussed in person.
Customer service jobs - helping to solve technical problems with computers or home appliances such as televisions. Others may help bank customers with enquiries about balances, bill payments and transfer of money, or discuss bookings for shows or travel. Again, an increasing number of organisations are automating their booking process, allowing customers to make bookings online. The role of operators in these centres is increasingly to assist customers in this process, or to discuss topics such as bookings and travel options.
Sales - accepting orders for home delivery of advertised goods and dealing with payments and enquiries or complaints about deliveries. They may take bookings by credit card for shows or travel. Others may provide advice and technical information on products or jobs prior to sale.
Expected Tasks
Operators concerned with direct marketing or market research work from outbound contact centres and initiate the calls. They contact a list of existing or potential customers and cold call them to sell products or obtain information.
Depending on where they work, contact centre operators' responsibilities may include:
- logging each call, and taking notes as they talk to the customers
- taking customers through a security process to access their personal information
- advising whether products are in stock and giving estimated delivery dates
- resolving problems, possibly regarding technical issues or service delivery complaints
- proactively phoning customers to promote or sell a product or a service within the jobs’ description
- taking payments for sales of goods and/or services provided within the jobs
- providing information or guidance to callers.
- Contact centre operators spend much of their time on the telephone, although there is increasing use of online and email contact. The job can be demanding, having to meet targets and answer calls within a specified time period. Calls can be repetitive and callers can sometimes be difficult to deal with.
- Many jobs require specialist technical knowledge and some require fluency in a foreign language call centre jobs are no different.
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How to Be a Successful Call Centre Agent...Read More
