Call centers have one of the highest employee turnover rates of any industry, with annual agent attrition of up to 45%. This consistently high turnover puts constant pressure on call center budgets and resources, with managers frequently onboarding call center agents.
Many new agents have little to no experience in customer service or call handling. The role of a call center agent is often entry-level, so it is the first professional job for many new hires. Not only do new agents need to be onboarded into the role, but they may need more support entering a professional workforce for the first time.
Inexperienced agents need to be trained quickly to minimize the cost and disruption that comes with long onboarding periods. But rushing them into the role before they’re ready leads to poor customer interactions, a significant drop in customer and agent satisfaction, and a consistently high agent churn rate. Improving the call center agent onboarding process delivers time and budget efficiencies while still providing thorough training. New agents get the skills and support they need to feel confident and succeed in the role.
One call center manager told us:
“Before we had a proper onboarding process in place, it felt like a never-ending cycle of training new agents only for them to leave within six months. It was just too much. They were expected to learn about and retain all the information about the company, targets, processes, compliance, systems, schedules, and up-sell opportunities. Understandably, they would quickly become overwhelmed, which made them feel even less confident. It didn’t feel good as a manager to be putting people through that experience.”
Strategies to improve new call center agent onboarding
Call center managers must provide agents with the training and resources they need while minimizing the disruption of extensive onboarding. Managers can help inexperienced agents ramp up efficiently by combining onboarding best practices with technology that guides agents through customer interactions. This helps new agents ramp up quickly and handle calls with confidence--without an unnecessary impact on budgets, resourcing, and customer service.
Have a clear plan with milestones to track their progress
New hires need structure throughout call center agent onboarding to avoid overwhelm and provide a clear path with set milestones through the learning experience.
Setting expectations early helps new agents understand what’s required of them and gives clear targets to work toward. Recognizing small wins, like successfully handling their first difficult call, also improves their confidence and strengthens engagement.
A plan should include:
- A timeline: defining the length of each training phase and the achievement expectations.
- Key performance indicators (KPIs): measurable goals for each milestone, such as accuracy in handling customer inquiries or their average handling time (AHT).
- Regular progress assessments: check-ins at each milestone to discuss their progress and identify any adjustments that need to be made.
Have a combination of formats for training call center agents
Not all agents learn the same way, so it’s essential to have an onboarding program that caters to different learning styles and prevents information overload.
Formats to consider include:
- Videos with step-by-step demonstrations or information about the brand.
- Practical activities with simulated calls or interaction analysis.
- Quizzes or role-playing scenarios to reinforce learning.
- Live classroom-style training for call center agents to enable interactive discussions and real-time Q&A.
- E-learning modules so new agents can learn at their own pace.
Pair new agents with mentors
Pairing new hires with experienced agents is a great way to ease new agents into the role and provide an additional layer of support through the onboarding period.
Mentoring helps new agents connect with their team and accelerates the learning process. They can observe live interactions and then model techniques in their own calls. New agents are often nervous to keep asking questions, so having a mentor provides reassurance that they have a go-to resource when they need help.
Mentorship programs should incorporate:
- Mentors who have strong coaching skills: Not all experienced agents will be a good fit for mentoring. Mentors should be patient and show enthusiasm for supporting new agents.
- Check-ins: Mentors should schedule regular check-ins with new agents away from the team so they can have open and honest conversations.
- Shadowing: New hires can observe their mentor handling interactions. As they learn more and gain confidence, the mentor can listen to the new agent and provide support.
Use a gradual transition approach for call handling
Using a phased approach where agents start with simple, low-complexity calls and then gradually progress to more challenging interactions will stop agents from feeling overwhelmed and enable them to build their confidence.
Phases of gradual transition can include:
- Listening and observing: New agents listen to calls handled by their mentor or other experienced team members.
- Simple inquiries: New agents handle the most basic interactions to help them get into the flow of calls and get used to the systems they’re using.
- Moderate complexity: New agents handle more detailed or complex inquiries but with supervisor or mentor support readily available.
- Independent call handling: Agents handle calls by themselves, with minimal support, regular coaching, and performance tracking.
Implement real-time agent guidance
Navigating multiple, disparate systems while trying to help customers is a huge challenge for new agents. Real-time agent guidance solves this problem by providing immediate, on-screen prompts based on the in-progress conversation.
Agents receive AI-powered guidance that directs them to the right answers, saving them from struggling to search for information or trying to remember what they learned in training. Real-time agent guidance shortens call center agent onboarding time and improves customer satisfaction because agents receive accurate, useful prompts throughout the call.
With real-time guidance, agents can:
- Get guidance on the next best action or response without switching between multiple knowledge bases or data sources.
- Handle interactions confidently even when they’re asked about something they don’t have a lot of knowledge about.
- Automatically follow best practices using built-in scripts and compliance alerts.
Analyze 100% of interactions with QA automation
With traditional call center quality assurance (QA) methods, supervisors must manually listen to a small sample of calls to evaluate agent performance. This is a time-consuming approach that doesn’t give the full picture of how new agents are performing.
With QA automation, contact centers analyze 100% of agent interactions. Managers get deep, accurate insights into performance metrics like adherence to scripts, compliance with policies, and completion of required steps. Managers can use this data to identify trends and pinpoint areas where additional training and support may be needed. Automated QA provides personalized feedback so new agents get the support they need based on their actual performance data.
Using QA automation as part of call center agent onboarding means managers can:
- Spot early performance gaps before they become major issues.
- Provide targeted coaching based on real data rather than minimal and subjective observations.
- Track progress over time to monitor and improve performance.
Identify and replicate best practices with conversation intelligence
Conversation intelligence software can be used to analyze past interactions and understand what makes a top-performing agent. It identifies patterns in conversations so managers can pinpoint the most effective ways to handle objections, resolve complaints, or upsell products. Using a data-driven approach with conversation intelligence means onboarding call center agents can focus on replicating the performance of the highest-performing agents.
Conversation intelligence insights can be used to:
- Build scripts that mirror the language and techniques used by high-performing agents.
- Create real-time coaching prompts to guide new agents effectively.
- Refine training so that it’s always based on data-driven best practices.
Have regular one-to-one check-ins
Regular one-to-one check-ins allow managers to sit down with agents, discuss their progress, and agree on the next steps for their onboarding.
These sessions are a great opportunity for agents to ask questions, share their honest thoughts, and talk about the support they need. If an agent is feeling overwhelmed, early intervention in a one-to-one meeting can help get them back on track. Agents feel heard and valued, which increases the likelihood they will stay with the company long-term.
Create a peer learning community
Building a peer support network helps agents feel connected to their team and grow relationships with other new hires.
A peer learning community can include:
- Facilitated group discussions where new hires share their experience of onboarding.
- Call debriefs where agents discuss recent interactions and how they handled them.
- Skill-sharing sessions where agents teach each other strategies they’ve found effective.
The long-term impact of effective call center agent onboarding
A structured and supportive onboarding process helps new agents settle into their role without overwhelm and positively impacts call center performance.
Well-trained and supported agents are more likely to stay, reducing expensive agent attrition. Confident, knowledgeable agents provide better service, which improves customer satisfaction scores. And a shorter, more efficient new agent onboarding program means new hires can successfully resolve customer issues sooner.
By using technology like automated QA, conversation intelligence, and real-time guidance, call centers create a more engaged, skilled, and stable workforce through the onboarding period. New agents feel supported from day one, which ultimately drives better results for agents, customers, and the call center.
Top takeaways
1. High turnover and limited experience create onboarding pressure: Many new call center agents are entering the workforce for the first time with little to no relevant experience. This, combined with high attrition rates, creates a constant demand for onboarding—often leading to rushed, overwhelming training that fails to set agents up for success.
2. It's essential to set clear KPIs and milestones for agents: Implementing a well-defined onboarding plan with specific timelines, key performance indicators (KPIs), and regular progress assessments helps new agents understand expectations and track their development effectively.
3. Adopt multiple training formats: Using a mix of training methods, such as interactive modules, role-playing, and real-time feedback, caters to various learning preferences and enhances the overall training experience for new agents.
4. Implement real-time guidance software to decrease onboarding time: Incorporating real-time assistance technologies can provide immediate support to agents during customer interactions, reducing the learning curve and increasing confidence.
5. Use conversation intelligence to scale what works: Contact centers can identify behaviors and tactics that lead to successful outcomes by analyzing real agent-customer interactions. These insights can shape onboarding content, model effective conversations, and ensure that new agents are trained using proven approaches—not guesswork.
