The difference between a call centre and a contact centre

A room full of call centre employees. Soundproofing between desks, partitions papered with important papers and family photos.

Call statistics on a big central screen.

We all have a certain image of a call centre - or is it a contact centre?
In this article, we answer the question of what is the difference between a call centre and a contact centre.

The difference is in the type of customer contact processed.
A call centre is a department or external organisation that handles incoming and outgoing telephone calls.

A contact centre is more than a call centre: in addition to incoming and outgoing calls, a contact centre handles e-mail and chat calls.

Other differences

The difference between the types of customer contact also brings different requirements. For instance, employees should receive separate training for each communication channel, such as answering e-mails or making chat calls.

Large organisations often put employees on one type of interaction, while other companies offer their employees variety with a mix of e-mails and phone calls.

Not all call centre software is capable of handling e-mails or chats so an expansion from call centre to contact centre may involve different licence costs.

Why are there different terms ?

In recent years, the number of interactions via e-mail, phone and chat has grown enormously.

Companies that deal with all forms of customer contact distinguish themselves with the term contact centre.

There are also those who find the term call centre to have a negative connotation. They associate a call centre with intrusive phone calls.