Contact Centre Operator

A contact centre (or call centre) operator communicates with customers or clients by telephone, email or over the internet.
Depending on where they work, an operator's 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 of a technical nature or regarding service delivery
proactively phoning customers to promote or sell a product or a service
providing information or guidance.
A contact centre operator works between 37 and 40 hours a week. In some organisations they may have to work a shift pattern to provide 24-hour cover. The role is office-based, typically in a busy open-plan environment. It involves long periods of sitting at a workstation with a monitor and computer.
Salaries may range from around £13,500 to more than £25,000 a year.
A contact centre operator should be:
good at dealing with people and communicating
organised and efficient
comfortable working to targets, often in a stressful environment
able to work on their own
able to pay attention to detail
interested in providing a good level of customer service.
In the UK, there are over 5,000 contact centres, employing more than 500,000 people. Contact centre operators work in various sectors, including finance and banking, IT and telecoms, retail and distribution, outsourcing and telemarketing, utilities, travel and transport, and the NHS and emergency services.
There are no set entry qualifications, although employers are likely to ask for five GCSEs/S grades (A-C/1-3), including English and maths. Customer service experience is beneficial. A number of courses in contact centre techniques are available at colleges throughout the UK. Apprenticeships may be available.
Training is normally on the job. Contact centre operators may be able to work towards NVQs/SVQs in Call Handling Operations at Level 2 and 3, Supervisory Call Handling at Level 3 and Managing Call Handling at Level 4.
To progress in their career, some contact centre operators may decide to move to a larger organisation or change industry sectors. With experience, it might be possible to gain promotion to team leader, supervisor or manager. There may be opportunities to move into related areas, such as training, human resources, marketing or sales.