How to make working at a contact centre into a fulfilling, lifelong career – Kirk Bradley, Operations Director, Bupa discusses.
Contact centres, sometimes called ‘call centres’, have evolved significantly since the early days of people answering phones. Today, contact centres give customers the power to interact wherever and whenever they want, to get the help they need as quickly as possible, using phone, text, chat, social media or apps.
As customer channels have evolved, so have career pathways. Now more than ever contact centres can provide a stepping stone onto the career ladder, with transferrable skills for the long term.
Learn new skills
Working at a contact centre will teach a key skill; the ability to communicate effectively. Taking complex, sometimes technical information, and explaining it in a simple, straight forward manner that is easy to understand. Learning this will leave you in good stead for whatever you go on to do in your career, and certainly if you choose to stay within a contact centre.
You’ll also become more emotionally intelligent and sensitive to customer needs. In healthcare, this is particularly important as we know that our customers are contacting us at a stressful and often overwhelming time for themselves or their loved ones. Sometimes a listening ear can be just as important as the practical solution to an issue. Dealing with customers on a daily basis will allow you to develop active listening skills, patience, and above all, empathy.
Being able to stay composed under pressure, managing time effectively, and multitasking competing priorities are also great transferrable skills for roles in all working environments.
Make your own path
From customer relations to planning, data and analytics, artificial intelligence and social media, the dynamic nature of modern contact centres creates plenty of possibilities, development opportunities and potential for advancement. What you learn in one role can often be directly applied to another, and branching out will make you more rounded, more experienced and better informed. It’s also worth trying a few different areas of a contact centre to find what you’re most passionate about and where your strengths lie.
Get under the skin of the issue
Working in a contact centre gives you a front row seat to the daily operations of the business. This knowledge will serve you on your career journey, as you’ll learn to assimilate information quickly and see issues from the customer’s point of view.
Working with different teams you’ll always have a good understanding of how decisions are made and how they affect customers and stakeholders.
Network, network, network
In many contact centres you’ll be working directly alongside other teams and departments, allowing plenty of opportunity for collaboration and networking. And networking works! It might feel a little scary to approach someone you don’t know and to put yourself out there but showing initiative and making new connections will inevitably lead to excellent opportunities.
Ask about secondment opportunities or other ways you can learn, such as by taking courses or signing up for a mentorship programme. These can also be great ways to get additional experience and make new connections which will serve you in your career.
Don’t just take my word for it
Take the example of Adele Mcmillan, who works as an Incident Manager here at Bupa. She started in one of our contact centres 33 years ago and still works closely with us today.
Throughout her time at Bupa, Adele immersed herself in roles across service, sales, and finance. Now as an Incident Manager, she manages incident responses to ensure issues are resolved swiftly and operations run smoothly. The role involves coordinating response strategies and keeping everyone informed during any incidents.
When asked for her advice, Adele said:
“Seek career opportunities that align with your strengths and passions. Whenever a chance arises, seize it by getting involved or taking the lead. Be aware of your weaknesses and seek mentors or colleagues who excel in those areas to learn from them. The possibilities are endless; you just need the courage to explore them!”
Contact centres have evolved. Their modern dynamic nature means whatever your role, you’ll pick up valuable professional and personal skills, that will help you in your career, whichever way you decide to go.
Kirk Bradley is Operations Director at Bupa.
For additional information on Bupa visit their Website
