Call centers are outfits where trained telephone agents field incoming calls or make outgoing telephone calls to clients. There are various types of call centers and they include:

Virtual call centers. These can be described as home-based call centers. They are operated by a single person, and in most cases, inside a person's home. A home-based agent is contracted by an organization to perform a non-core task that traditionally required the agent to commute to the physical office. Virtual call centers require substantial investment in technologies such as Internet bandwidth, powerful computer systems, antivirus solutions, and reliable head set gear. Some of the common virtual call center jobs include reservations, quality assurance, online surveys, technical support, verification, customer service, and telemarketing.

Inbound call centers. In this kind of setup, the agents only field incoming telephone calls. The agents provide customer service or some kind of technical assistance. They might also sell a company's products and services. Inbound call centers can be virtual or traditional. In inbound call centers, clients make telephone inquiries and agents are available on standby to answer their telephone calls. Automated call distribution technology is used to distribute incoming call traffic to idle agents. Inbound call centers are basically customer service centers, and mainly dealing with telephone calls that are related to banking & finance, credit card operations, and back office operations.

Outbound call centers. This is also known as a phone bank, telephone bank, telemarketing center, customer service center, or a telephony sales center. In this type of call center, the agents are only concerned with outgoing telephone calls. Here, the agents call the customers. Agents use dialer systems that automatically dial some batch set of numbers to the clients. An outbound call center agent mainly deals with selling products and services and can be either virtual or traditional.

Web-enabled call centers. Over the last decade, these web-based call centers have increased in popularity. This type of a call center is mainly used to fetch answers to questions, or resolve client issues without necessarily disconnecting from the Internet. Such call centers enhances e-commerce initiatives by providing superior customer service.

Telephone call centers. This type of call center offers flexible telephone routing techniques. It utilizes sophisticated telephone and Internet technologies and the call center agent within the telephone call center provides accurate and timely information. These call centers offer personalized call management via a team that is comprised of call center operators, or agents who have information pertaining to clients.

Various types of call centers require employees to have different skill sets, but all call centers should have employees that are properly versed with handling customers. For instance, in a web-based chatting system, an employee is not required to sharpen his/her accent. But in inbound and outbound operations, call center agents should have clear and neutral agents because they communicate using their voices.

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