How to Hire a Top-Notch Call Center Representative (+ Skills to Look For)

Call centers must prioritize the customer experience (CX). While multiple factors impact how callers feel after an exchange, the call center representative is undeniably at the forefront of CX.

Agents must be great problem solvers, communicate effectively, and have strong interpersonal and empathetic skills. Nextiva’s State of CX Report 2024 found that emotional engagement is a key component of effective CX.

If your call center reps aren’t top quality, it doesn’t matter which systems and technology you have in place. In this post, we’ll help you ensure that your next agent hire is the best one possible, with suggestions for key traits and skills to look for, job posting templates, and interview questions to ask.

Why Is It Important to Assemble a Team of Top Call Center Reps?

Outstanding customer service representatives are essential for creating stronger customer experiences. Let’s discuss a few reasons why it’s so important to hire top talent for your call center.

Improved customer satisfaction

Top customer support agents provide outstanding service, leading to higher customer loyalty, improved customer experiences, and positive word-of-mouth referrals.

This is critical, as over half of consumers will switch to a competitor after a single bad experience with a brand. Happy customers are loyal customers, which is crucial for business growth.

Increased efficiency

Skilled reps handle both inbound and outbound calls more efficiently, which can significantly shorten average handle time, improve first-call resolution, and reduce customer waiting times overall.

Enhanced brand reputation

Customer service reps are the frontline support for your customers, and as a result, they can effectively act as brand ambassadors. Creating stronger customer experiences and resolving customer concerns can build trust and help foster a positive brand image.

Reduced costs

Since top support agents are often your most productive agents, they can help facilitate efficient operations to the point where they may even reduce operational costs. And, while you’re reducing operational costs, they’re also helping you to retain existing customers, increasing profitability across the board.

Sample Job Descriptions for Call Center Reps

Writing strong job postings can help you attract and connect with strong applicants. Complete the following steps to create the best postings:

• Detail call center representative job descriptions that include daily tasks.
• State the specific job title, including whether the position is entry-level or more advanced.
• Stress key benefits like a flexible work schedule, remote work-from-home options, on-site benefits, or ample time off.
• Confirm whether the job type is full-time, part-time, or contract work.
• Explain required or ideal education or training (note that many entry-level positions don’t require experience and may not even require a high school diploma or GED).
• List your call center representative salaries or salary ranges.

Call center rep, level one:

• Efficiently manage incoming and outgoing calls, ensuring prompt and courteous service.
• Address common customer inquiries and resolve product, service, or account information issues.
• Accurately record customer interactions, including details of inquiries, resolutions, and any follow-up actions required.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date customer records within company databases and systems.
• Follow established guidelines for handling customer interactions, data privacy, and quality control.
• Estimated Salary: For a starting point, the average annual salary range for entry-level customer support specialists is between $35,000–38,940 per year.

Download this handy version:

Average annual salary range for entry-level customer support:

Call center rep, level two:

• Address intricate customer issues, requiring in-depth knowledge of products, services, and company policies.
• Research customer requests and escalations on and off the phone.
• Refer complex or unresolved issues to appropriate personnel for further assistance.
• Diagnose and resolve technical issues related to products or services.
• Acquire knowledge of various products or services to provide comprehensive support.
• Estimated Salary: The average salary for customer service representatives varies depending on experience level, but there may be a modest salary increase of around $3,000 compared to a standard call center agent, especially if job responsibilities increase.

Download this handy version:

Average salary for customer service representatives:

Top Skills and Qualities to Look For

You should seek certain skills and qualities when reviewing different applications or working with recruiters to find ideal candidates for your call center representative jobs. Let’s look at top applicants’ most important traits and skills.

Excellent communication skills

Strong written and verbal communication skills may be considered “soft skills” in many industries, but it’s imperative for customer support reps. Agents must have clear and concise communication abilities that translate to multiple platforms, including phone calls, email, video, and live chat.

Problem-solving skills

Top agents are fast thinkers and can effectively identify and resolve customer issues. The best agents can quickly understand a customer’s key concerns and develop a personalized solution based on the customer’s needs while still adhering to company policies.

While agents should always feel comfortable escalating an issue to a manager as needed, those who can solve problems independently and promptly can increase efficiency significantly.

Customer service orientation

The ideal candidate should express a genuine desire to help customers and provide callers with exceptional service. They should genuinely care about meeting customer needs, which is vital for creating a positive call center experience.

Technical proficiency

Support agents must have knowledge of relevant software and technology used day-to-day, such as VoIP call center solutions, CRM platforms, call flow software, knowledge base tools containing scripts, and more.

Entry-level customer support agents may not have prior experience with this software but should express a willingness to learn and basic technical proficiency. However, experienced customer support agents should have some knowledge of these tools.

Adaptability

Businesses can change quickly. Company policies, products, and tech stack can evolve rapidly, which means that customer support agents must be ready to adapt to a fast-paced environment. Learning new information quickly and adapting to changing situations is critical.

Strong organizational skills

While agents should invest the time needed to resolve a customer’s concerns, top talent also often has strong time management and prioritization skills. They can maintain high volumes of inbound and outbound calls, prioritizing urgent issues and knowing when to escalate customers to different departments in a fast-paced environment.

Patience and empathy

Support agents need exceptional interpersonal skills, with the ability to remain both calm and understanding under pressure. It can be difficult to keep your cool when you’re four hours into calls with upset or frustrated customers, so patience, empathy, and dedication to customer care are critical.

Interpersonal skills like active listening, problem resolution, and de-escalation can be invaluable.

Specialized skills

Some applicants may have specialized skills that make them well-suited to a career in customer service. Examples may include:

• Bilingualism, with English- and Spanish-speaking agents being particularly valuable in call centers for US companies.
• Industry experience, with support or technical knowledge, can help them adapt quickly to your customers’ needs.
• Data entry, a task required of some call center agents.

Interview Questions to Ask Call Center Reps

When applicants have reached the interview stage, knowing what questions to ask can help you identify strong candidates early on. Let’s look at the best questions you should ask to assess applicants’ skills, personality, and experience.

Customer service and communication skills

• Can you describe a time when you had to deal with a difficult customer? How did you handle the situation?
• How do you prioritize multiple tasks and ensure that all customers are satisfied?
• If a customer calls and is so upset that they aren’t accepting the standard company solutions, what steps would you take to resolve the problem?

Problem-solving and troubleshooting

• Can you describe a time when you had to troubleshoot a technical issue for a customer? How did you approach the problem and resolve it?
• What is your process for identifying and resolving recurring customer issues?
• How would you handle the situation if a customer is having trouble understanding complex technical instructions through phone support?

Teamwork and collaboration

• Can you share an example of a time when you had to collaborate with a colleague to solve a problem?
• How do you handle disagreements or conflicts with coworkers?
• How would you handle the situation if you were struggling with a leader’s management style?

Adaptability and flexibility

• How do you handle change and adapt to new situations?
• Can you describe a time when you had to learn a new skill or technology quickly?
• What would you do to prepare if the company rolled out a list of new customer support policies to be implemented by January 1st and shared them the week before the holiday rush?

Career Paths for Call Center Reps

Call center representatives often start in entry-level support positions, but there’s plenty of room for growth and career advancement for agents who excel. These options include promotion to different types of customer support and management positions.

Team lead

Customer service representatives with excellent customer satisfaction scores may be considered for team lead positions. They can help support other team members, oversee team shifts, and be available if other agents need call assistance. A team lead is a great step-up for many customer service representatives wanting to advance their careers, and it’s a good step toward management.

Call center manager

Call center managers oversee teams of customer support reps, ensuring that they meet performance goals and uphold call center best practices.

Managers are responsible for scheduling shifts, hiring new team members, overseeing policies, and using call center analytics to identify training needs. Managers should have exceptional customer support experience and may be needed if experienced support reps have to escalate an issue.

Customer experience specialist

These team members focus on improving the overall customer experience through data analysis and process optimization. This approach may provide the best path for reps who excel at handling customer objections.

Sales representative

Sales may be a great route for customer support reps who love direct client interactions but seek higher earning potential. Sales reps sell products or services to customers and may be responsible for helping to manage client accounts. Reps who have a way of selling and swaying customers should consider this option.

Technical support specialist

These agents provide advanced technical support to customers. This may be a career move worth considering for customer-obsessed reps who want their customers to be as successful with the product as possible. These agents also need strong communication skills, with the ability to walk customers step-by-step through potentially complex problems.

Give Call Center Reps the Best Call Center Software They Need: Nextiva

While customer service positions may be relatively entry-level, the stakes are high. It’s important to find applicants with strong interpersonal and communication skills who are well-suited to help resolve customer concerns.

Asking the right questions and looking for the right skills can help you skip over everyday workers for top-notch reps who will help you build an exceptional customer experience and brand reputation.

And as you’re looking to step up your customer experience, don’t forget to look at call center solutions that can help agents excel at their jobs. Nextiva is a robust solution designed for exceptional ease of use for your call center reps. It’s never been more possible for great team members to deliver a stellar customer experience.

Ready to take your call center to the next level? Learn more about our all-in-one contact center solutions today. 👇