Contact Center Pipeline December 2025 | Page 7

Here are the questions we posed and their answers:

WHAT KEY TRENDS AND THEIR DRIVERS ARE YOU SEEING IN CONTACT CENTER AGENT STAFFING, ASSESSMENT, AND RETENTION?

LIZ GRIFFIN

THE NORTHRIDGE GROUP

LIZ GRIFFIN( LG): Across the industry, we’ re seeing a fundamental rebalancing between efficiency and experience. Leaders are moving past reactive staffing to more predictive, data-driven workforce models.

AI-enabled forecasting, intelligent scheduling, and self-service tools are helping teams manage volume and complexity, but the human side is where the real differentiator lies.

Agents today expect flexibility, growth, and purpose. As automation removes repetitive work, the new challenge is keeping employees engaged in higher-value tasks.

Companies investing in clear career paths, stronger coaching, and adaptive learning platforms are the ones seeing measurable improvements in retention and performance.

MARK PEREIRA

MARK PEREIRA( MP): One thing that hasn’ t changed in contact centers is turnover. It remains high, often ranging between 30 % and 45 %.

Replacing agents is challenging, especially in on-site centers or when the job requires specialized experience, such as expertise in health insurance. The reasons for turnover are familiar: limited career progression, stress, and pay competition all play a role.

Another big trend is the shift toward hybrid and remote work. Centers that stay flexible not only save money on real estate, but they also tap into a broader talent pool. Cloud platforms and better security make this setup possible, and frankly, most agents and managers prefer it.

Having worked in both in-person and remote settings, I’ ve seen firsthand how hybrid models keep people engaged while keeping costs down. However, remember that the cost savings from high-cost real estate need to be invested in employee morale initiatives.

Then there’ s AI assist. AI is now woven into the contact center at nearly every level:

• Agents use AI-powered knowledge bases and chatbots to get quick answers.

• Leaders rely on AI for quality assurance( QA), such as sentiment analysis, and in workforce management( WFM), where AI significantly reduces the guesswork involved in forecasting and scheduling.

I still remember the old days as a team lead, when if 10 agents didn’ t appear in our WFM tool, I’ d spend hours manually piecing together a week’ s schedule. Today, AI can do that heavy lifting in seconds.

Finally, flexible labor models are on the rise. Staffing agencies, gig platforms, and BPOs provide centers with extra capacity during peak times or when specialized skills are required.

Customer expectations continue to drive this growth, leading to faster, omnichannel, and more personalized service. Rather than struggle with staffing gaps, many centers are building flexible partnerships to stay agile.

STEPHANE RIVARD

HIRINGBRANCH

STEPHANE RIVARD( SR): In contact centers, two major shifts are reshaping staffing and retention.

First, hiring continues to move from résumé-first to skillsfirst, with organizations expanding their funnels and using automation to handle early-stage coordination and screening.

This shift is driven not only by skill shortages and application volume but also by a smaller overall labor pool, as the U. S. labor force participation rate is projected to drop to 61.1 % by 2034, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics( BLS) data( also see BOX on U. S. Outlook).

Given that customer service employment is expected to decline by 5 % between 2024 and 2034, contact centers are focusing more on quality of hire rather than quantity.

As automation and self-service systems handle simpler interactions, organizations need agents with stronger interpersonal and problem-solving skills to handle complex or emotionally charged situations.

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