The role goes by many names such as Customer Care Associate, Telephone Services Associate, Help Desk Rep, or Call Center Representative as I have chosen here. Call this role what you will, but one thing is for certain, the experience you have working with the person on the other end of that 1-800 number can make or break your impression of the organization they represent.

We've all had these experiences. When's the last time you picked up the phone and dialed those 11 digits to try and get an answer to a burning question or resolve a tough issue only to get the runaround, poor service, and the feeling that your issue or question would go hopelessly unresolved? Conversely, when's the last time your call resulted in exceptional service that exceeded your expectations and left you delighted by the experience? Now, can you think of your opinion and thoughts about the organization based on this experience? Case in point, the Call Center Rep has a lot of power to make or break the customer experience and produce an outcome that will have lasting impacts, both positively and negatively, on customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

Through all of this, I've concluded that the Call Center Representative should be designated as a critical role within any corporation. As I've stated in previous posts, critical roles are those that create competitive advantage and help produce "moments of truth" with customers and clients. These are the roles that, when it counts, get the job done by driving the sale or by building client loyalty through exceptional service. While all roles within an organization are important, critical roles are those that help you not only play, but play to win.

What more critical of a role then than the Call Center Representative. As described above, this is the individual within the organization that has the power to leave a lasting impression on customers and clients seeking service from the organization they represent. These individuals not only represent the organization, they are the face of the organization. It is this person that is the conduit to making the connection between the customer and the organization, building brand loyalty, and producing highly satisfied customers.

As I've stated previously, critical roles require special handling. Critical roles should receive increased focus from HR and should see more robust development opportunities, competency models, compensation plans, etc. In today's model, this increased focus from HR is usually reserved for leadership roles and other "high profile" roles that are perceived to be more important. Meanwhile, call center leadership teams are screaming for help or choosing to do it themselves. I think it's time for HR to shake up this model and drive the organization forward and put the focus on the face to the outside world.