Mastering the Art of Multiskilled Agents

Shaunna Ruddick at Route 101 explores what multiskilled agents really are, why they matter to modern contact centres, and how organisations can build a multiskilling strategy that supports both performance and agent wellbeing.

You hear the phrase everywhere in our industry: “multiskilled agents.” It’s become a catch-all term – almost a buzzword – and yet different organisations can have wildly different definitions of what it actually means.

Everyone agrees multiskilled agents are valuable. But what exactly are they, and what value do they add? And more importantly, how do you build a multiskilled workforce without overwhelming the very people you rely on?

One thing is clear: successful multiskilling isn’t just about training. It’s about strategy, balance, and understanding your people. So let’s go back to basics.

What Do We Really Mean by “Multiskilled Agents”?

At its core, a multiskilled agent is someone trained to handle multiple tasks, brands, or channels – whether that’s sales, service, complaints, billing, or specialised queues across voice, email, chat, social and beyond.

Multiskilled agents may also be able to support customers in different languages or have specific specialised product knowledge. It’s about capability and adaptability.

The goal is flexibility. Rather than scheduling an agent purely for phone or purely for email, multiskilled teams can work from a blended queue where the highest-priority customer need routes to the next available expert.

Why Multiskilling Matters More Than Ever

So why has multiskilling become so important to contact centres? At the end of the day, it’s about the value they bring. Providing agents with training so that they become multi-skilled – or hiring multiskilled agents – brings multiple benefits, including:

1. Operational Flexibility

Customer demand shifts constantly. Multiskilled agents allow businesses to flex coverage across channels and contact types, reducing bottlenecks during planned or unexpected peaks.

2. Faster Response Times

More agents available across more queues means reduced wait times – and improved first-contact resolution.

3. Higher Quality Customer Experiences

When an agent can handle a customer’s full journey end-to-end, you minimise transfers, frustration and repetition. One conversation, one resolution.

4. Sustainable Cost Optimisation

This isn’t about cutting corners; it’s about using your existing talent more effectively. Better occupancy reduced overstaffing on single channels, and a more dynamic workforce all contribute to long-term savings.

Most importantly, well-designed multiskilling offers development opportunities for agents – improving wellbeing and reducing attrition.

How to Approach Multiskilling the Right Way

All of this sounds amazing, but it’s easy for businesses to stumble when it comes to the actual implementation of a multiskilling strategy. Multiskilling isn’t simply “train everyone on everything.” It needs thoughtful execution.

Key steps to take include:

Assess Your Skills Landscape

Identify which specific skills matter most to your business, which are complex, and where you need true subject matter experts (SMEs).

Not all skills are born equal. At the same time, assess the current skills gaps across your agent workforce, and evaluate the appetitive amongst the team for additional training.

Some agents may find multiskilling an additional pressure, whilst others will seek it out – adapting your strategy to match this is crucial.

Introduce Skills Gradually

Rather than overloading agents with loads of new skills at the same time, introduce these gradually. This will also enable the business to monitor performance data, agent confidence and customer outcomes as you go.

Tiered training can be a great option for this as well. For example, you can offer basic, intermediate and advanced levels, with SMEs handling the most complex cases. This supports consistency and builds clear progression pathways

Provide Post-Training Support

Don’t assume that an agent can go through classroom training and be done. Shadowing, coaching and regular check-ins will ensure agents feel confident before going fully live.

Avoid Overtraining Low-Volume Skills

If a queue receives only a handful of contacts daily, training 100 agents creates knowledge decay and unnecessary cost. A smaller specialist group is often more effective.

Monitor KPIs Closely

Watch CSAT, AHT, quality scores and occupancy for signs that agents are stretched too thin or switching contexts too often.

Don’t Forget the Human Element This is especially important as AI and chatbots absorb simpler tasks, leaving agents with the emotionally demanding or complex interactions.

We cannot expect agents to jump from a basic billing enquiry to a vulnerable customer case without breathing space, structure or support.

Multiskilling only works when wellbeing is genuinely prioritised. It’s not about giving agents “all the skills” – it’s about giving them the right skills.

One Size Does Not Fit All

There’s a misconception that every business should be fully multiskilled to cut costs and increase efficiency. The truth is that every organisation is different. What works brilliantly for one may overwhelm another.

The real art lies in finding what works for your business – with enough breadth to enable flexibility, enough focus to maintain expertise, and enough support to protect your people.

When you get that balance right, multiskilling can unlock improved customer experience, empower agents and drive long-term operational resilience.

Call Centre Helper is not responsible for the content of these guest blog posts. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Call Centre Helper.

Reviewed by: Megan Jones