I’ve overseen thousands of contact center hires.
The best ones all shared 3 traits:
1. Results-driven
Top contact center employees are motivated by performance.
So they do best when there’s a direct line between their effort and their earnings.
Reward that in your comp structure and the right people will be drawn to your organization.
2. Ownership mentality
The best agents treat the operation like it’s their own business.
Their site. Their team. Their phone.
You can’t teach ownership. But you can create the conditions for it: autonomy, accountability, and a stake in the outcome.
3. Soft skills
Agents deal with frustrated customers and complicated problems every day.
If empathy doesn’t come naturally to them, those interactions will show it.
And unlike systems or processes, empathy isn’t something you can teach in a training session.
Experience can be built. Knowledge can be transferred.
But drive, ownership, and empathy? Those are things you hire for.
I’m Mark Danielson, and I help healthcare leaders reduce support costs while improving patient satisfaction.
Follow me for practical insights on cutting contact center costs, improving service quality, and modernizing operations without the tradeoffs.
