An Introduction to Call Center Design

November 09, 2015

For each call center, whether you are seating six or six hundred, there are many important factors to explore while considering different designs. This may seem overwhelming but with a little guidance from experts in the field, your experience should be smooth and well informed. Here at TCI Workplace, we have the privilege to have Project Managers with 50 years of combined call center design experience. Based on what we’ve learned over the years, here is some great advice just for you!

To start, it is important to consider the way a call center agent will be interacting with their station. Their purpose at the station, which varies with each company and department, will be a main determinate in the work surface size needed. An agent with the intent to make calls alone at a paperless company will not require as much space as an agent managing paper files. A great addition to any station is an adjustable key board tray that sits under the work surface. This leaves the work surface in front of monitors open and available for use while ergonomically protecting the agent from work place injury.

Are agents on the phone while agents around them are as well? If so, a taller panel height would be helpful in keeping noise levels down. Flooring in the space you are furnishing should also be taken into consideration when it comes to sound. Carpet tends to absorb sound waves better than hard floors. In any case, acoustic panels can be added to stations to reduce sound pollution for agents. This will increase the agent’s ability to focus on their own conversations and lead to a more attentive and informative experience for the customer.

While visualizing your future call center furniture you may have considered a color palette. For some folks, coordinating colors is what they live for! This may not apply for others, and that’s okay. A general recommendation is to stay away from white and lighter colored fabrics. Over time lighter fabrics have a tendency to show natural wear and tear much faster than a neutral color. We have found that wear and tear on our furniture can also be avoided by using laminate or melamine panels below the station work surface and fabric panels above. This split not only gives the station much more dynamic but it also allows for easy removal of scuff marks that may occur over time.

Designing furniture to work with the flow of a space can make your call center much more functional. We recommend having six foot isles between station rows. This space allows for agents to stand up from their station without pushing their chair into a coworker walking by. Six foot isles apply to other areas with heavier traffic including the access to break rooms and restrooms. The usage of natural light can improve a call center aesthetically. If your call center has windows try not to cover them with stations. The option to lower panels on stations against windows is always available. Allowing natural light into the space will not only make for a more productive team but it also reduces lighting costs.

Every company has a different combination of factors that works best for them. Finding the right combination for your call center can improve your company’s productivity, the mood of call center team members, and overall customer satisfaction. To work with one of our design experts today, feel free to call us at 1-888-537-5335 or check out our furniture in our catalog section: http://www.tci-workplace.myshopify.com/collections/

We hope your time taken to consider these words of wisdom will be helpful to you in your future call center designing endeavors.