Agents in many contact centers today have to have good technical software skills in a variety of systems; CRMs & Desktops, like Salesforce or FIVE9, but soft skills are still the key to successful customer relations.
Agent Profile
It is important to develop the correct agent profile from a client's requirements. Agents are selected for their soft skills & technical skills to best fit that profile. Technical skills dealing with CRM software, client policies and terminology can be taught in a well-developed training program.
Soft Skills
Soft skills, which are key to customer satisfaction, are dependent on an individual's personality and that cannot be taught. Therefore, private contact centers must carefully select and recruit candidates with suitable positive personality traits. An agent working on a roadside assistance account needs strong soft skills dealing with upset customers. An agent selling a TV package uses more persuasive qualities. Switching these two agents between accounts could turn two good agents into poor performers. Many private contact centers manage different types of accounts and are better able to match the correct personality to the most suitable account. In the event of a personality mismatch, in-house call centers with a single type of account lack this flexibility which impacts performance.
Good Fit
An agent working on a roadside assistance account needs strong soft skills dealing with upset customers. An agent selling a TV package uses more persuasive qualities. Switching these two agents between accounts could turn two good agents into poor performers. Many private contact centers manage different types of accounts and are better able to match the correct personality to the most suitable account. In the event of a personality mismatch, in-house call centers with a single type of account lack this flexibility which impacts performance.
