Generalized Vs Specialized Customer Service Agents

Should you train your customer service team to answer everything, or train each team member in a specific topic? 

I’ve seen this question arise at numerous organizations as they work to balance a positive experience with efficient operations at each stage of growth. While there isn’t a definite answer to which strategy is better, there may be one that makes the most sense for your business in its current state.

Having led service teams with both strategies, here are the benefits and drawbacks to each option, and some information you should consider before making your final decision.

Generalized Agents

Pros: 

• Less chance your customers will be waiting in a complex IVR

• Smooth customer experience with one individual handling their inquiry from start to finish

• Lots of capable team members available at any given time to provide a resolution 

• Can be leveraged by small teams

Cons: 

• Team members may be expected to retain too much information

• Team members may only have surface knowledge of each issue

• Diverse inquiry types requiring various tools and resources can create workflow inefficiencies

• Lack of inquiry ownership can cause delays in responding to challenging inquiries

Specialized Agents

Pros: 

• Customers interact with team members who are highly experienced in resolving their inquiry

• Agents responding to batches of similar inquiries can increase workflow efficiencies 

• Less content for training can reduce onboarding time

• Role variations (like product specialists and Tier 2 support) help create opportunities for growth and promotion within the team

Cons:

• Requires special attention to inquiry routing

• Can create dependencies on specific team members

• Lack of diverse inquiries may feel too repetitive for some team members

• Requires additional planning to match headcount to workload, and maintain equal workloads across team members. 

What to Consider When Choosing: Generalized Vs Specialized Agents

• The number of service professionals you have

• The nature and breakdown of your service inquiries

• Whether any inquiry types require more advanced training or specialized knowledge

• How you might separate inquiry types (transactional vs product, pre- vs post- purchase, Tier 1 vs Tier 2, B2B vs B2C)

• Whether you have technology in place to support routing

• Whether you have the financial resources to give everyone access to the same tools

• Whether you’re able to cross-train individuals on each topic.

• The amount of time required to effectively structure and schedule specialized agents

• Your team’s preferences

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