Call centre manager

As a call centre manager, sometimes known as a contact centre manager, you'll primarily focus on services delivered by phone, but may also cover a range of communication channels, including live/web chat, email and social media.

You'll oversee the day-to-day operations of a team of call centre agents, to ensure that excellent customer service is offered and that business objectives are met. You'll be responsible for meeting, and possibly setting, customer service targets, and planning areas of improvement or development. You'll also coordinate and motivate call centre staff and may manage staff recruitment.

Call centre managers liaise with the businesses for which they provide the first response and the third parties who supply products to the centre.

Types of call centre

There are two main types of call centre, although some centres (known as blended call centres) incorporate both functions:

• inbound centres - receive calls and emails from customers and clients, e.g. queries, requests, product support, loyalty programmes, orders and complaints
• outbound centres - contact potential customers and clients with the aim of gathering information or selling a product.

Call centres can be described as either multichannel or omnichannel. Both facilitate customer conversations across multiple channels (e.g. phone, SMS, email, and social media), but whereas, calls in a multichannel call centre are handled in isolation, omnichannel contact centres unite everything in one place. This enables call centre agents to follow up on customers' previous conversations, even if they were initiated on a different channel.

Developments in AI technology are impacting customer experience in call and contact centres with augmented agent services already being delivered by many businesses.

What does a call centre manager do?

Your duties may vary according to the type of centre you work in, but typically you'll need to:

• manage the daily running of the call centre, including sourcing equipment, carrying out effective resource planning and applying call centre strategies and operations
• undertake needs assessments, performance reviews and cost/benefit analyses
• set/meet performance targets for speed, efficiency, sales and quality
• ensure all practices follow data protection rules and procedures
• advise clients on products and services available
• liaise with supervisors, team leaders, operatives and third parties to gather information and resolve issues
• maintain up-to-date knowledge of industry developments and involvement in networks
• create policies and procedures to improve operations, efficiency and standards
• monitor random calls to improve quality, minimise errors and track operative performance
• coordinate staff recruitment, write job adverts and liaise with HR staff
• review the performance of staff, identify training needs and plan training sessions
• record and report on statistics, user rates and the performance levels of the centre
• handle the most complex customer complaints or enquiries
• organise shift patterns and the number of staff required to meet demand
• coach, motivate and retain staff
• coordinate bonus, reward and incentive schemes
• forecast and analyse data against budget figures on a weekly and/or monthly basis.

Call centre manager salaries in the UK

• First posts with managerial responsibility tend to be at senior adviser or team-leader level, with a salary of between £21,000 and £35,000.
• At manager level, you can expect to earn between £27,000 and £50,000, plus bonus.
• As a senior call centre manager, with significant experience, you can earn up to £80,000 in some cases.

Salaries vary greatly according to the location, size (usually measured in 'seats') and type of call centre (financial, cold selling, public service, educational).

It's common for bonuses to be paid, these are often OTE (on-target earnings), which are paid when certain targets are reached. Additional benefits may include performance bonuses, gym membership and store discounts.

Income figures are intended as a guide only.

How many hours does a call centre manager work?

Working hours regularly include unsocial hours, particularly in the early stages of a career. Some call centres operate usual office hours, but others may be open up to 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Some centres target overseas clients in different time zones.

It's common to work additional hours or overtime at management level to allow representatives of the management team to be present on a rota basis throughout the call centre's opening hours.

Some managers may be seconded to other sites to set up operations or work on a large-scale project for the company, and this may involve working away from home.

How to become a call centre manager

Entry is generally open to all graduates, although some call centres may require staff to have specialist knowledge in a particular area such as financial services or IT.

Studying business or management, retail management, finance, or accounting may improve your chances of gaining a management position.

Entry without a degree or HND is possible at call centre operative level, with the chance to work your way up to a management role.

There are a number of customer service and contact centre qualifications available. For example, a City and Guilds qualification in Contact Centre Operations. You could also study a general management qualification.

Personal qualities, key skills and a pragmatic, common-sense attitude are likely to be more important than your level of study and subject.

Key skills for a call centre manager

You'll need to have:

• a strong customer focus and excellent telephone manner
• the ability to set, meet and exceed targets on efficiency and quality standards
• the ability to monitor and report on performance of a customer service team
• strong business acumen and an understanding on business needs
• the ability to lead meetings and motivate a team
• recruitment and training skills to build and develop teams
• the ability to work under pressure and to targets and deadlines.

For some roles, foreign language skills may be a benefit.

Call centre manager work experience

Relevant work experience in a contact centre as an operative or customer services role will enhance your prospects. Sales and marketing experience, as well as general administration work, is also useful.

You can get experience through part-time or vacation work. There are also summer placements available in areas such as sales and marketing.

Management experience in retail, customer service or sales is particularly helpful.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Who employs call centre managers?

Many organisations across a range of sectors use call centres as a key function of the business. These include:

• charity and not-for-profit organisations
• emergency services
• financial services institutions (banks and insurance companies)
• government departments (including those that handle sensitive material and crime information)
• health (private healthcare)
• IT solution providers (product support helplines)
• legal advice services
• retail
• telecommunications
• travel
• utilities providers.

Other employment opportunities could be with shared service centres (SSCs). Similar to call centres in how they operate, SSCs are created by global companies to centralise all corporate services in their main areas of operation, such as IT, finance and HR.

Look for job vacancies at:

• CallCentreHelper.com
• Call Centre Management Association (CCMA) - an industry body
• company websites - companies often advertise their own call centre job opportunities.

Vacancies are also advertised through specialist recruitment agencies such as Call Centre Recruitment. Recruitment for many of the larger call centres is handled by recruitment agencies, which may have an office on the call centre site and deal with applications, interviewing and inductions.

Where can a career in call centre management lead?

Career progression may involve working up from a call centre operative to a management position, or moving from management a small to a larger call centre. You may also choose to specialise in certain aspects of call centre management, or combine it with something else. This might include:

• data management and research
• designing the layout of a call centre
• developing a customer service focus
• report writing or analysis
• training staff.

You could become involved with the training and development of other centre managers or move into management consultancy where you would specialise in advising call centres. In time, with the right experience, you may find an opportunity to work as a divisional manager, coordinating several call centres.

Training for call centre managers tends to be on the job and continues through all grades. The aim is to provide managers with essential skills and knowledge related to the effective control of incoming/outgoing calls, as well as planning development, resource allocation and staffing issues.

Other areas covered by training may include:

• budgeting
• business strategy
• employment law and human resource (HR) issues
• legislative and cultural issues
• performance management
• planning and control
• regulatory issues
• technical development and awareness
• work conditions and staff morale.

In the longer term, Masters and MBA courses in subjects such as performance management may be useful.

Membership of the Call Centre Management Association (CCMA) provides access to training courses, events, virtual learning programmes, seminars and conferences, which also provide opportunities to network with other call centre managers. Members also have access to an HR and employment law helpline and career development support and guidance. Research, training, and networking opportunities are also available from The Institute of Customer Service (ICS).