"Companies should be prepared to invest in agents by raising pay packets to stem the 42 percent attrition rate and attract new staff, [then] use these extra staff for proactive customer courtesy calls," Brooks said.

"Customer engagement begins with agent engagement, and turning customers into positive 'word of mouth' advocates requires an emotional connection with companies that is delivered by agents."

"Agents continue to be the face of most companies and it's the experience they deliver to customers that has the most impact on customer loyalty."

According to the survey, increased staff numbers would alleviate busy periods and would allow agents to make client courtesy calls which improves customer (89 percent) and employee (39 percent) satisfaction.

However 27 percent of call centers do not conduct courtesy calls and in those that do, fewer than 5 percent of customers receive annual calls.