Expert insights from Graduation Alliance COO Fernando Moreno on attracting top talent, building strong culture, and retaining the right people.
"Call center culture" has become one of the hottest buzzwords in the industry — and for good reason. All managers want to build scalable, successful call centers with happy employees. Great culture is essential, but it's not the only ingredient you need to get the right people on your bus.
Happy agents are usually a direct result of a great working environment. If you boil it down, the one step you have to take is to create a great environment for your agents in all senses of the word.
But there are many elements that influence overall feel, so see this as a gradual process rather than a single step.
Chief Operating Officer at Graduation Alliance
Graduation Alliance specializes in helping students of all ages get the support and resources to reach their educational goals and succeed in life. Fernando manages their contact center team directly, bringing decades of experience in remote team management and agent development.
"We've definitely had our ups and downs, but having a mission like advancing students' lives in an academic way makes it easier to motivate agents."
— Fernando Moreno
Not all call centers have such a clear-cut societal impact, but managers should still remind agents of their positive influence. Even inbound sales agents help customers find the best fits based on needs. Give agents a sense of professional purpose beyond a paycheck.
"One of the keys to a great company culture is transparency towards your staff. People want to win — I don't think agents come in thinking 'man, I want to be terrible today.' It's my job to show them how to win."
— Fernando Moreno
Your call center culture = the values, customs, and mentality that rule your organization. This shapes how team members act and influences collective decision-making. Strong culture strengthens your brand, keeps agents engaged, and helps deliver higher-quality service.
Fernando Moreno shares proven strategies from years of building successful remote contact center teams at Graduation Alliance.
"Building up your people from the start is one of the best ways to keep your agents happy, which in turn will help you attract and keep better prospects."
— Fernando Moreno, COO, Graduation Alliance
Agents want to do well and it's our responsibility, as leaders, to not only provide everything they need but to make sure that they feel supported. When you help your agents, give them everything they need, and watch them grow, man it's amazing.
— Fernando Moreno
Support isn't just about resources — it's about showing agents you're invested in their success. When agents see their numbers improve, it creates satisfaction for both them and leadership.
It's not just how you treat them at work, but how you treat them and their families outside of the job. You have to find out what it means to get to know your agents, then you'll see what that trust-building process is able to achieve.
— Fernando Moreno
Trust is crucial at every level. Getting to know agents beyond work builds relationships that translate to better retention and performance.
Some managers believe that being a great leader is about getting the most out of agents, when it's actually about helping them succeed. The leadership effect definitely trickles down from the top.
— Fernando Moreno
Train all individuals in leadership roles to focus on agent success, not just extraction of productivity. Poor leadership drives away even high-performing agents.
I don't really look at resumes as much as I look at each individual. It says a lot about your prospects when they've overcome adversity and are able to articulate these situations properly.
— Fernando Moreno
Quality over speed. Being selective during recruitment — even if it means adjusting training schedules — prevents introducing poor matches into your team.
I believe that I can teach the skills needed to succeed to any agent. When I see someone willing to overcome adversity and eager to succeed, I know I can make that person achieve great things because of our training program and its structure.
— Fernando Moreno
Craft course-like training that teaches both skills and company culture. Complex products require longer training periods — adjust expectations accordingly.
I hated the idea of going remote. Then the pandemic hit and I ended up loving it. I told my team we were never going back to the office. But you have to make sure everyone has the resources they need to do a great job from home.
— Fernando Moreno
Remote work is now table stakes for attracting talent. Provide reliable computers, fast internet, proper routers, and time management training.
Your management style has to change because the same things you did in the office don't work remotely. You have to find ways to manage your team without being a micromanager.
— Fernando Moreno
Give managers tools to evaluate engagement and energy levels. Teach them how to positively leverage these tools rather than breathing down agents' necks.
Many call centers only cover the basics, but you have to pay attention to detail to avoid frustrating your agents. If having multiple monitors can help them be more efficient, that should be an option.
— Fernando Moreno
Go beyond the basics. One client has a dedicated technician just for agents' internet connections. Small details make the difference.
Employee satisfaction is so essential that we brought in a VP of HR who specialized in remote work setups. We had valuable team members leave us because they were not happy, so we learned from our mistakes.
— Fernando Moreno
Modern employees expect more from employers. Bring in or appoint specialists focused solely on keeping agents satisfied and engaged.
We have a recognition system called Bonusly, where everyone can give each other points and team members can redeem these for gift cards. It's a big deal so we make sure to keep doing that.
— Fernando Moreno
Top agents expect more in every way. Develop reward systems based on metrics not directly related to operational performance.
One thing we started doing is providing onboarding kits for new team members, which we never did before. There is no magic bullet — you have to learn what your reps like and work with that.
— Fernando Moreno
Top agents know the best call centers focus on small details. Onboarding kits, welcome messages, and integration support set the tone.
The mistake I made last year was taking the foot off the pedal a little bit. I became so employee-centric and less focused on the results. You have to have a balance.
— Fernando Moreno
Agent-centric culture is essential, but balance it with performance expectations. Over-indexing on either side creates problems.
Just because you're remote doesn't mean you can't get together. If you go two years without seeing your people face-to-face, that's a problem. It doesn't even have to be about business.
— Fernando Moreno
Face-to-face meetings show agents they matter. Visit locations where you have multiple agents, take teams and families to dinner.
Every time we communicate it's through video, not emails. If everybody has their camera off, that's a bad sign. People are not engaged. I need to do more one-on-ones.
— Fernando Moreno
Develop emotional intelligence. Learn to read cues like camera-off meetings, body language, and engagement levels before problems escalate.
I've learned to become better at identifying the areas that need my attention and choosing my battles. I don't have to die on every single hill. Wasting energy leads to bad decisions.
— Fernando Moreno
Focus on battles that matter. Understanding what merits your attention saves heartache and delivers results faster.
I like to get my hands dirty and lead by example. I'd say 'who had the most dials yesterday? I'll dial your students today,' and try to get as many enrolled. I would kill it too, which built confidence.
— Fernando Moreno
Don't just manage — demonstrate. Showing agents you can do the work (and do it well) builds team confidence and morale.
Agents need access to support networks that improve phone performance. Tools like Autopilot Reviews collect feedback from clients immediately after every call and present it on an interactive dashboard.
This gives agents real-time insights to make daily adjustments rather than waiting for feedback sessions.
Shift from viewing employees as resources to seeing them as individuals. Team structures give leaders the ability to connect at an individual level and foster stronger bonds.
Agents at risk of leaving are more likely to open dialogue with managers and seek resolution rather than leaving immediately.
At Autopilot Reviews, we specialize in helping contact centers through our specialized feedback collection mechanism. We know the importance of attracting the right people and building teams of knowledgeable, reliable agents.
Collect feedback from clients immediately after every call
Present feedback insights agents can use to improve daily
Give agents the tools they need to feel supported and succeed