Jobs in Call Centers: Skills, Outlook, and Salary

If you excel in communication and are passionate about helping people, working in a call centre could be an excellent fit. Many people work in call centres for the great benefits, flexible dress code, and customer interactions. For some call centre positions, you may earn a commission on products or services you pitch and sell to customers. You might also be interested to know that the call centre market in the UK is continuing to expand. According to Grand View Research, this sector in the UK will likely continue growing at a compound annual growth rate of 4.9 per cent from 2024 to 2030 [1].

To excel in a call centre position, you will typically need to use a mix of interpersonal skills, communication skills, problem-solving, and technical capabilities. Working in a call centre creates an excellent opportunity to develop your transferable skills and can set you up for future professional opportunities. Discover the salary, career outlook, and skills needed for this position and whether it fits into your future goals.

What is a call centre?

Typically at the core of a business or organisation, a call centre handles its customer service activities. These include:

• Reaching out to customers to market products 

• Responding to customer questions 

• Helping with technological difficulties

• Maintain customer records 

• Performing consumer research 

Companies have different types of call centres, and depending on the type where you work, your responsibilities may vary. Below, you can take a look at some of the types of call centres.

Inbound call centre 

If you work at an inbound call centre, you’ll receive calls directed to the company. This typically includes customer service calls, such as calls from customers asking about repairs or specific products. You may also be responsible for fielding calls about invoices or how to register for a service.

Outbound call centre 

If you work at an outbound call centre, you’ll typically market a product to potential customers. This includes reaching out to an identified list of numbers and convincing consumers that your company’s product will benefit them. You also conduct surveys and market research to inform future products and schedule appointments. 

Virtual call centre

Working as inbound or outbound call sites, virtual call centres allow employees to make calls from home or other places using voice over internet protocol (VoIP), which transmits the phone calls over the internet rather than standard telephone lines. This can be a great option if you’re looking for a more flexible work schedule.

What skills and qualifications do call centre representatives need?

Of all skills, call centre workers might benefit most from the ability to communicate effectively. As a call centre worker, you will directly interact with customers, so you’ll want to build trust between you and the customer and ask specific questions to ensure you understand their needs. Depending on your role, you may also interact with agitated customers. In this position, you can benefit from remaining calm and compassionate. Other skills you might need for this role are attention to detail, patience, and computer knowledge.

In terms of your qualifications, call centre employers usually prefer to hire candidates who have earned a secondary school qualification. Two post-secondary awards that can help you get a call centre position include:

• Level 1 Certificate for Introduction to Customer Service

• Level 2 Certificate in Contact Centre Operations

Having job experience directly interacting with customers might also help you negotiate a better position in a call centre with more responsibilities. 

Additionally, experience using technology and working as part of a team can help you build a strong resume for this type of position. As you gain experience, demonstrating active listening skills, sensitivity, and the capability to solve problems in the workplace can help you show growth within your position. With additional experience, you might find opportunities for promotion to team leader or manager.

Call centre agent job duties

Your job responsibilities will vary depending on the type of call centre and organisation you work for. Still, across the majority of call centres, you can expect the following job responsibilities:

• Manage incoming calls or make outgoing calls

• Actively listen to customers

• Identify customer needs

• Advise regarding products and services

• Answer questions and inquiries professionally

• Offer solutions to customer complaints

• Make updates to customer databases

• Help customers solve computer problems

• Adhere to company policies and regulations

• Work quickly and efficiently

• Take opportunities to upsell to customers when appropriate

Working at a call centre: Pros and cons

As with all positions, working at a call centre has subjective pros and cons. Remember that every person will consider different aspects of a career to be positive and negative, so take what resonates with you.

 Some advantages of working in a call centre could include:

• Building skills to transfer to other professional endeavours: This includes communication skills, problem-solving, data management, telesales, and interpersonal skills, amongst others.

• Indoor work that doesn’t tax the body physically: Working in a call centre could be a perfect fit for those with movement difficulties or who prefer sedentary jobs.

• No student loan debt and minimal educational requirements: Whilst advanced education can increase pay, call centre positions typically do not require university courses. This is good news for those who want to avoid costly loans.

• Flexible working hours: Call centres frequently work on shift schedules, and employees can determine the shift schedule that works best for them. This provides even more benefits for employees who work from home.

• Excellent benefits and opportunities for growth: Call centre employees often earn salaries higher than most entry-level positions, receive good benefits, and some even get life insurance. Many people desire jobs that can provide a stable income with predictable benefits.

• Improving patience and interpersonal skills: Consistently working with customers may increase your ability to understand the perspective of others, employ patience, and communicate with people of different backgrounds.

 On the contrary, some potential downsides working in a call centre include:

• Professional burnout: Call centre employees work fast and often have milestones they must meet. These milestones can depend on a nonstop pace of customer calls and work, which may lead to burnout. 

• Working with demanding clients: Some call centre jobs include interfacing with customers unhappy with the product they purchased. Consistently dealing with angry or frustrated customers can cause emotional stress over time.

• Lack of physical movement: Those who prefer an active profession may find the sedentary nature of call centre jobs negative.

• Repetitive tasks: When you work in a call centre, many days will typically involve the same responsibilities. 

• High turnover rate: Many people work at call centres briefly before moving to another position. However, some call centres may promote employees who stay for extended periods. This is an important question you might want to ask during the hiring process.

Are call centre agents in high demand?

Call centre agents are in demand because the number of call centres has expanded, with the need for employees in this sector increasing along with it. Furthermore, even more jobs in this sector are projected to become available in the next few years. 

What is the average salary of a call centre agent?‎ 

Salaries for call centre agents typically average £19,714 per year in the United Kingdom, according to Glassdoor [2]. Depending on your employer, you could make more with bonuses and commissions. 

Career paths for call centre agents

Typically, entry-level call centre jobs offer an excellent opportunity to get experience in the customer service industry before seeking higher-paying professional opportunities. Call centre hiring managers often look for demonstrated communication and computer skills. You will also stand out to employers if you have additional customer service experience, such as working in a restaurant or retail.

Many call centres promote from within, and after a few years in the call centre, you may be able to begin managing other call centre employees and making strategic business decisions for the centre. With ample call centre experience, you could grow into a mid-level customer service position such as manager or team leader. Additionally, this could lead to positions in other departments, such as marketing or human resources.

Your next steps toward call centre customer service on Coursera

Call centre jobs provide a great avenue to gain customer service experience and build communication skills. 

An online course can help you learn the customer service skills you need for a call centre position. For example, Customer Service Fundamentals from Knowledge Accelerators on Coursera can help you develop a strong foundation in customer service with segments on communication skills, personality, problem-solving, and process control. 

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)