Eligibility criteria and personal qualities required to be a call centre employee

What is the eligibility criterion and the personal attribute required to work in a call centre?

There are no specific educational qualifications required to become a CSO (Customer Service Officer/Operator or call centre adviser/representative, customer service representative/professional) in a call centre. If you have just finished your 10+2 or are just fresh out of college and want to apply in this field then it is a good for you. It is also a good option for housewives and retired people to opt for this job as it requires no specific set of skills.

There are various personal skills and attributes that are required in this particular field. The set of skill that you require also depends on the project and the type of business that is being handled. The mandatory skill that is required is an excellent command over English. Computer literacy, typing speed, knowledge of consumer behaviour, marketing skills (a certificate or diploma in Marketing in case of ‘outbound’ telemarketing is preferable), the ability to enter and retrieve information quickly from databases and an ability to analyse problems are other useful skills that come in handy.

The main attributes consist of good communication and listening skills. CSO (Customer Service Officer) should have the patience to listen to and comprehend the need of the customer. It also requires you to be unfailingly polite, good natured, and reasonably intelligent as to choose between options and to cure problems effectively to the satisfaction of the customer. Persuasion skills are much need in an ‘outbound’ contact centre where you either collect money from defaulting customers or try to promote sales and encourage customers to use your client’s products and services. You might also be required to work at odd hours especially in International call centres where the customers may be calling from places where the timing may be several hours behind IST.