New Hires - Help!!

[Lynn Kiser]

Does anyone have any suggestions on a way to screen new hires for a call center? It seems lately, the new folks we have brought in are having a very difficult time understanding the complexities of our business. We need to find some type of screening process that will allow us to get a better fit for the environment we need agents to be productive in. We are trying to think of some 'thought process' activities. Any help would be great. Thanks!

[ranjanik]

I was the Ops Mgr of call center & am now into consulting for call centers.
It is always good to develop a framework to determine the suitability of the candidate for the job. For example if the job involves collection then test their mathematical abilities & also formulate a few questions to ensure they are aggressive & tenacious. These are abilities & competencies, which help them, adapt to the project better. U could also check their educational background to see if they have at least the basic grounding in the subject they are going to deal with. I could help more if I had more information, but this should serve as a pointer. Hope it helps.

[cindy.szpanelewski]

I have found that a technique called behavioral interviewing is very helpful. In behavioral interviewing you ask questions related to peoples' past experience instead of 'how would you handle a situation' that they may never have experienced. A response to a prior actual situation is a better predictor of how someone will handle future situations. For instance, you might ask "Give me an example of when you had an irate customer, what did they say, what were your responses, how did you handle the call."

[kevin]

First, do not make a mistake by trying to identify one component that will lead to better hiring decisions. A single magical tool does not exist. An effective hiring process within the call center environment should involve multiple steps ensuring that you are making the right decision at each stage in the evaluative process. For example, you should separate decision making into the following catagories: Quailification (does the candiate possess the base-level skill set to be considered - this is commonly referred to as the screening stage and can either be accomplished by reviewing a resume, but I prefer technology based setting to allow the candidate web asccess to respond to a series of qualification questions). The second distinct step is determining Suitability (is the person a match for your specific environment - I prefer to administer an off-the-shelf assessment measuring the key areas that make up the job, which could include people skills, tolerance, data input, math, etc.. The third distinct step that I utilize is the Recommend stage. A candiate is interviewed in this stage using behavioral interview tactics to determine how effective he/she will be in the job. What you will ensure by completing these distinct steps is that you will not make a recommend decision when you should be making a qualification decision. Separating the critical events will help lead to better decision making, resulting in improved retention/production. By the way, the steps that I have outlined call for strong candidate generation. If you really want to improve your recruitment function and you include these steps (including drug and background investigation) your candidate-to-hire ratio will likely by in the neighborhood of 10:1. Be prepared to fulfill your hiring goal with a strong candidate generation campaign that is targeted at the desired population, not simply warm bodies. That's a whole different discussion.

[sarakb]

Relative to Kevin's mention of behavioral testing, can someone recommend names of effective web-based assessments for agents?

[Lynn Kiser]

Thank you all so much for your feedback. I do appreciate all of the great tips and hope we will be able to begin to implement some of the suggestions during the initial interview process.

[Tracy Royal]

Have you thought about using a recruiting company to help you find people who already have the call center experience? Sometimes it is difficult to find candidates who understand a complex call center, but if you can get someone who has a couple of years under their belt, they can be a huge value add for your call center.

[eturner]

One option for new hire assessment would be the MAP (Match the Associate to the Position) which has been designed specifically for call center agents. If you would like more info, contact me at eturner@highperformancegroup.com

[CenterLead]

Recruiting or staffing companies can often also do testing for you in regards to call center environments. You can send the prospective employees, once passing the initial interview with you to the location to test on listening, math, customer service, etc. You dont necessarily have to hire from their base of employees. This has been the method used by my call center since we dont have the equipment set up for seperate testing of new employees. It works well for us.

[RGiacomarra]

Check out www.contactcenter.limra.com for some selection tools that may assist you in screening call center reps. Or email me directly at rgiacomarra@limra.com. These tools are specifically designed and validated for call center positions. They may be of assistance.

[tbilbrey]

Anyone know of any Call Centers in the Southeast that are looking for Managers supporting Inbound or Outbound??

Thanks.

[scott977]

Lynn,
Sounds like you already have some good ideas but here are some of the things we do.

We have several centers around the country including some in smaller communties. Our company not only looks at what we can do for ourselves but what can we do for the community. Some of the things we do are:

Applicants must pass a short technical evaluation during the interview. If they do not pass we run classes that are not paid and the candidate attends volentarily. The class teaches computer basics (how to get around in windows etc.). Once they complete it then we can place them. (It is a 8 hr class)

We have given seminars at the colleges on things like work ethic etc. to better prepare them no matter where they work.

We have even adopted co-op programs with local high schools to fill our part time model in the evenings.

We do use an online screening process however I would have to check with the recruiters to find out the name.

Hope it helps
Scott

[katalina67]

Everyone has alot of great ideas.

I will make one suggestion on the flip side of things...

What pay rate do you pay?

That will determine the kind of respondants you get.

Do you say in your hiring advertisement that you have to be experienced? And for how much time?

What type of call center work are you looking for? Technical or other?


I was recently laid off along with 440 other employees so as a looker for employment I applied for everything above and under my skills qualification. I was unemployeed from Jan. to April. Most who actually said come in and interview were under my qualifications. As was turned down often because they couldn't pay over 8 or 9 an hour. And many also said "You are over qualified for the position". Why they had me come in I will never know. 4 years customer service work and management experience in call center and ground up call center quality assurance team experience.

Too much information but may also be helpful.

Have a Great Day!!!!!!