Top 5 Skills You’ll Need to Become a Call Centre Team Leader

Most of us have phoned a business before to get some advice on their products or an idea of which service would best suit us. During this conversation, you would have been speaking with the call centre and possibly even their team leader.

But you may wonder how is the team leader different from a call centre worker, what do they do? Where do they work and what kind of skills do you need to become one?

Here are the top 5 skills you’ll need to become a call centre team leader.

What does a Call Centre Team Leader do?

A call centre team leader is in a unique position. They still make customer calls and handle cases but they also take on some managerial tasks as well. The exact nature of their tasks will change from place to place. But, generally speaking, a call centre team leader will be responsible for their team’s output and results, tracking their call times and conversions as well as handling a portfolio of client enquiries with their team.

Where do Call Centre Team Leaders work?

Call centres exist in every industry. So depending on where you end up, you could be talking people through phone plans, office supplies, holiday packages or home loans. It all depends on what you’re interested in and which industry you want to pursue.

How much do Call Centre Team Leaders make?

This area pays well for roles that can be completed without doing a university degree. The average base salary is $69,675 and goes up to 83,000 per annum depending on the industry you work in and your level of experience.

What skills do you need to work as a Call Centre Team leader?

This role is naturally suited to those who are good with people and able to think on their toes, but these skills outlined below will help you to excel in this role.

In-depth knowledge of the product or service

As a Call Centre Team leader, you will need to be able to recall each and every product or service offered by your company and the intimate details of those offerings. You will need to know the product or service inside out. This in-depth knowledge will help you to tailor each product or package as much as possible to the customer’s needs, resulting in a better chance of providing the customer with their desired outcome.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills

It should come as no surprise that as a call centre operator you’ll be talking with customers all day. Verbal and written communication skills don’t just mean having a good phone manner, it’s more complicated than that. You’ll need to be able to actively listen and narrow down what the customer wants and apply this to the catalogue of available products or services. And it won’t just be phone conversations either, you’ll also need to be able to draft excellent written communication for the customer outlining the steps they need to take and/or the options on the table to meet their unique needs.

Attention to detail

This job is about the little details. A customer could be elevated and recommending the company to everyone or disappointed with the service depending on their experience with the call centre team. Little details like following up to see if they need more information, calling back when they have had a chance to read their options or finding some flexiblilty in their package can make all the difference to their experience with you and the company.

Creative problem solving

You’re going to need to be able to think on your feet and deal with anything the customer throws at you. As a call centre team leader, you will be the one to handle complaints so you will need to be able to apply some creative problem solving in these situations. There will be standard responses and protocols that you will need to follow relating to customer complaints but going the extra mile and finding a way to take the customer from disappointed to satisfied with a bit of ingenuity is what will set you apart as a leader.

Hyper-organised

You will need excellent organisation skills to excel in this role. Call centre team leaders are responsible for their workload, and their team’s workload, so filing all notes, email communication, customer exchanges and outcomes is paramount. You will also need to monitor your team’s quota and output as well as completing more logistical tasks such as planning and maintaining the staff roster.

How do you become a Call Centre Team Leader?

There are no formal qualifications required to become a call centre team leader but a course that is helpful to getting you started in this field is the Certificate III in Business with a specialisation in customer engagement.

This course teaches you all the basics of customer engagement/contact and some administrative skills such as:

Use digital technologies to communicate in a work environment
Write simple documents
Organise personal work priorities
Deliver and monitor a service to customers
Process customer complaints
Assist with customer difficulties
Advise on products and services

The course takes anywhere from six months to twelve months depending on whether you opt to complete it through accelerated or standard delivery. Because it’s taught all online you can fit your study in around your other commitments. You can learn more about this course here.

What’s next?

Once you’ve become a call centre team leader, the next step in your career progression might be to become a call centre manager. This position is a step up in terms of both responsibility and pay, with average salary starting around $103,654. You would be in charge of all the team leaders and their teams, planning call strategy and processes and reporting on all results.

If you are interested in getting into the varied and exciting field of customer engagement and contact centres, you can read more about the course here or arrange to have a chat with one of our friendly course advisors about your options.

Top 5 Skills You’ll Need to Become a Call Centre Team Leader