Granted, some attrition is positive and even vital for any organization to thrive, such as when agents earn promotions into supervisory roles within call centers, or advisory roles as experts within other areas of their companies. Some attrition is preventable, but happens more often than it should, such as when call centers hire – and then fire – agents who lack skills or interest in assisting customers.

But attrition is most detrimental not when a company loses agents who already communicate effectively with customers, but rather when the company fails to recognize, and subsequently loses, future experts or leaders.

Agents are usually in entry-level positions. Some are new to the workforce, so, like most people at the start of their careers, they are undervalued because no one knows how well they can perform in their professions. Like assets such as savings bonds, agents become increasingly valuable to their employers as they mature. They also become more valuable within the overall workforce. If agents are skilled communicators, then their abilities are portable from one company to another, and their need for training on the fundamentals of customer service diminishes over time.

What makes an experienced agent more valuable than a new agent is maturity, a trait that is easy to observe. What's more difficult to recognize is whether an agent, new or experienced, has the potential to emerge as an expert or a leader.

It is possible to find future leaders and experts if you make it your goal to provide agents with all the resources they need to grow in their current jobs, and to ensure you have all the resources you need to evaluate your call center's performance. The traits and skills you seek among the people you hire and promote have the greatest influence on the future of your call center. Whether agents develop these skills and traits is up to you. That is why we invite you to join our year-long exploration of agent development throughout 2006 to help you plan for your call center's next stage.