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5 Key Characteristics of the World’s Best-Run Contact Centers

How Leading Contact Centers Are Transforming Operations with Employee Engagement, Automation and Resilient Capacity Planning

Contact centers are at the heart of customer service, but many struggle with inefficiencies that prevent them from reaching their full potential. Cancelled coaching sessions, fragile capacity plans, constant schedule adjustments—these are just some of the daily challenges that contact center managers face. Without the right tools and strategies, operations become reactive, and the impact is felt not just in the numbers but in employee engagement and customer satisfaction.

So, what sets the world’s best-run contact centers apart? Let’s explore the five key characteristics that drive their success—and how you can transform your own operations to achieve the same level of excellence.

1. They View Their Contact Center as a Strategic Asset, Not a Cost Center

World-class contact centers understand that they are much more than just a line item on the expense sheet. These centers see their operations as critical to driving brand loyalty, increasing revenue, and reducing customer churn.

Agents are the frontline of customer interactions and represent the brand in every conversation. By investing in their workforce, top-performing contact centers can upsell, prevent problems from escalating, and deliver a level of service that keeps customers coming back. This isn’t just about cutting costs—it’s about delivering a measurable return on investment (ROI).

The Lesson

Treat your contact center as a growth driver. Engage your agents, equip them with the tools they need, and focus on long-term customer retention and satisfaction. 

2. They Prioritize Agent Engagement and Employee Experience

Agent engagement is at the core of every successful contact center. Let’s face it—working in a contact center is tough. Agents deal with frustrated customers day in and day out, often without the right training or support. In the worst cases, training and coaching sessions are cancelled at the last minute to meet service levels, leaving agents unprepared and feeling undervalued.

Factors of Success

  • Transform your contact center into a growth engine
  • Focus on the employee experience
  • Leverage real-time data and automation before AI 
  • Create real-time resilient capacity plans  
  • Align contact center goals with broader business objectives

RESOURCES

Erlang-O Innovative Staffing Model

Burnout and Attrition Indicator

Top-tier contact centers recognize that when agents are properly trained, supported, and given time to recharge, they perform better and stay longer. Engaged employees are less likely to churn, and less attrition means lower hiring costs and more experienced teams.

The Lesson

Focus on improving the employee experience (EX). Intradiem’s contact center  automation ensures coaching and training sessions happen without sacrificing service levels, contributing to higher engagement and reduced attrition. Check out our Burnout and Attrition Indicator to see how this works. 

3. They Operate with a Resilient Capacity Plan

Most contact centers rely on historical data to build staffing models, which often leads to static staffing plans. What happens when the forecasted demand doesn’t align with reality? Teams are left scrambling to adjust schedules, cancel sessions, and react to unpredictable spikes in call volume. This reactive approach keeps workforce managers in constant firefighting mode.

The world’s best-run contact centers leverage real-time data and automation to create resilient capacity plans. Instead of relying solely on historical data, they adjust in real time, ensuring the right agents are available when needed without overstaffing or underdelivering.

By adopting technologies like Erlang-O, an innovative staffing model designed for the dynamic complexities of modern contact center operations (read more in Erlang-O Innovative Staffing Model), these contact centers solve common scheduling issues, reduce shrinkage, and optimize resource allocation—resulting in both operational excellence and a positive ROI.

The Lesson

Break free from manual, reactive planning. Embrace real-time data to dynamically manage staffing levels and ensure both operational efficiency and agent well-being.

4. They Build a Foundation for Innovation

Innovation is at the heart of every world-class contact center. These organizations aren’t just keeping up with the latest trends—they’re setting the pace. Whether it’s moving to Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) or implementing omnichannel strategies, these centers are delivering personalized, seamless experiences to customers.

One of the keys to success here is knowing that automation comes before artificial intelligence (AI). While AI garners a lot of hype, many top-performing contact centers are still focusing on the basics—such as automating intraday processes, connecting internal systems, and leveraging real-time reporting to improve both customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX).

The Lesson

Before jumping into AI, focus on automation. Use technology that integrates with your existing systems to unlock real-time data and make incremental improvements that deliver a clear ROI.

5. They Embrace a Mindset of Continuous Improvement

The best-run contact centers don’t rest on their laurels. They’re always looking for ways to improve—whether it’s refining operational metrics or aligning with broader business objectives. Success in the contact center isn’t just measured by efficiency; it’s also about agent engagement, customer satisfaction (CSAT), Net Promoter Scores (NPS), and brand health.

Moreover, these centers don’t operate in silos. Their leadership has a seat at the executive table, collaborating with marketing, sales, and other departments to drive the business forward. In some industries, like healthcare, contact centers play a critical role in reducing costs by providing expert support that prevents more costly interventions, like emergency room visits.

The Lesson

Adopt a holistic approach to measuring success. Contact centers should aim to improve both operational and strategic outcomes, aligning their goals with the broader business to deliver continuous improvements.

Conclusion

The world’s best-run contact centers excel by adopting a forward-thinking and strategic approach that integrates employee engagement, adopts resilient capacity planning, and prioritizes automation. These centers recognize that success goes beyond cost-cutting; they treat their operations as growth drivers, focus on employee well-being, and continuously innovate to deliver superior customer experiences. By moving beyond reactive planning and embracing automation before diving into AI, they optimize both workforce management and resource allocation. Ultimately, their commitment to continuous improvement and collaboration with broader business objectives sets them apart, ensuring sustainable success and long-term value for the organization.

Where does your contact center stand today?

Contact us to explore how we can help you transform your operations and achieve world-class performance.

To get in touch with us, fill out the form
or call (678) 356-3500.

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