Patience and knowing how to listen, key skills to be a good agent

Giuliana: I am an Occupational Health Technician and I will soon continue my studies in technology.

iKono: So, when you started your job as a Call Center agent, did you already have prior knowledge or experience about the position or did you start from scratch?

Giuliana: Well, when I started as a Call Center agent it was my first formal job, but I didn't have the knowledge of what I should do, I didn't know how to answer a call, how to keep a record, I started from scratch.

iKono: That is, at the time of joining the company, was an induction process carried out? How was this process?

Giuliana: When I joined, they gave you 15 days and depending on the company they trained you in the range they needed. For example, in the first Call Center that I worked, they explained to me what the call was about, how the calls were answered, how the customer should be treated, what questions customers asked the most.

The opposite happens in Personal Marketing, where we serve area managers, so the type of induction is different, that is, induction in a Call Center depends on the type of clients that are going to be advised.

iKono: And in other aspects Giuliana, what skills have you had to work on to improve your performance in the Call Center?

Giuliana: What one has to improve the most as a Call Center agent is patience and listening, knowing how to listen to the request, being patient with the person who is calling me, knowing how to respond to the request, that was what I did not have when I started as an agent. of Call Center, and I had to improve these aspects in order to be a good Call Center agent. With patience, knowing how to listen and knowing how to respond, you are already becoming a good Call Center agent..

iKono: And considering the experience you have, what are the challenges you have had to face in your work as an agent?

Giuliana: Well, the challenges that one comes across are suddenly with the attitudes of the clients, because no matter how much patience one has, there are clients who are not easy to guide or provide them with the information they require according to the need that one identifies; That is one of the biggest challenges because when you tell them something that they do not want to hear, the attitude with which they respond is not the best, because those clients do not visualize the company but perhaps assume that the responsibility lies with the person. who is assisting them, in this case, from the Call Center agent.

iKono: And in that case, tell us a little about the clients, what is the relationship with them like?

Giuliana: I have worked with two types of profiles. When you work with clients and not with people from the same company, it is a little difficult because you encounter kind, angry, neutral people who, regardless of the option you give them, your reaction is always to agree, and you It cannot be said that I can establish a friendly relationship because today he answers me but tomorrow I don't know if the same client corresponds to me.

The opposite happens when the client is part of the company and is a not so large group, which allows a relationship of work friendship and trust to be established. That is to say, the treatment is totally different because there is not so much formalism but there is a lot of respect, maybe in this case clients can also call angry or with doubts that they hope will be resolved by the Call Center agent.

iKono: And regarding training, how often are they carried out?

Giuliana: Yes, in every company I have been to they have carried out training, not always. For example: in the first company that I joined professionally, they were held every 15 days, which basically consisted of a call clinic from which we extracted the profile or information so that we could provide better care.

Another case of training in which I have participated and that is carried out weekly or when we carry out a primary group, is where a call profile is analyzed for us to strengthen the functions of the agents, that is, the trainings are related to the type of client we advise.

iKono: Finally, Giuliana, what would you say to people who receive a call from an agent or who communicate with a Call Center?

Giuliana: From my point of view, telling them to listen to the person who is speaking to them may sometimes be uncomfortable, but if they see it as the job we have, perhaps they will understand our job in a different way, regardless of whether they accept it or not. information and in such case, they wish to give their opinion on the subject, the important thing is that they listen to the Call Center agent who contacted them.

Content Writing by: Isabel Uribe