Navigating the call centre maze
Everyone’s experienced their own version of the call centre maze, stuck in the situation where they go around and around different departments without finding anyone who can help or even seem to want to.
Most of us have been through this kind of torture. Dealing with call centres can be a struggle. And although most companies are beginning to use the latest technology to make sure calls are accurately logged and routed, it is often when talking to a call centre agent that the real battle begins.
The call centre is where an organisation interacts with its customers, and call centre agents have a direct impact upon the company brand. Investing in recruiting quality employees is an investment in the brand. One too many conversations with a bored, unhelpful or ignorant operative and customers are off to check out a competitor’s offering.
Many call centre companies offer a strong, employee-focused culture, attractive premises and a pleasant working environment. But even so they are still having problems with the quality of recruits.
One of Skillsarena’s call centre clients recently tried to define its perfect employee. Important personal qualities were pride in their work and commitment to the job, as well as patience, empathy, resilience, dedication, tenacity and reliability. The necessary skills were found to be one-to-one communication, a good telephone manner, problem solving and the ability to process and analyse raw data and information were at the top of the list.
This was the blend of hard and soft skills the company felt was necessary to successfully work within the call centre environment.
Once employers have defined their ideal candidate they need to find ways of guaranteeing that their potential new recruits meet their requirements.
As the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) indicates there is no one way to go about testing for the right candidate.
“No single technique, irrespective of how it is designed or administrated, is capable of producing perfect selection decisions that predict with certainty which individuals will perform well in a particular role.”
However, the CIPD suggests that a “combination of techniques greatly increases the accuracy of selection decisions.”
To find the ideal call centre agent, a mix of psychometric testing and skills assessment should provide a clear portrait of every candidate. Furthermore, the same combination of evaluation methods can be used to identify skills gaps and training needs in existing employees and help them to do a better job.
Psychometric assessment will provide an informed and accurate picture of a candidate’s soft skills. However, how can recruiters test that candidates possess the necessary hard skills?
These tests need to be economical in terms of the time invested to administer, take and mark which is where online skills assessment comes into play. Straight forward and easy to use tests can be precisely tailored to fit a company’s exacting requirements.
An investment in a quality candidate testing system will soon pay dividends. With the right quality of employees being recruited and existing employees undergoing appropriate training for skills gaps identified through testing, companies can be sure that they have the right people in place to help customers find their way through the call centre maze.
Most of us have been through this kind of torture. Dealing with call centres can be a struggle. And although most companies are beginning to use the latest technology to make sure calls are accurately logged and routed, it is often when talking to a call centre agent that the real battle begins.
The call centre is where an organisation interacts with its customers, and call centre agents have a direct impact upon the company brand. Investing in recruiting quality employees is an investment in the brand. One too many conversations with a bored, unhelpful or ignorant operative and customers are off to check out a competitor’s offering.
Many call centre companies offer a strong, employee-focused culture, attractive premises and a pleasant working environment. But even so they are still having problems with the quality of recruits.
One of Skillsarena’s call centre clients recently tried to define its perfect employee. Important personal qualities were pride in their work and commitment to the job, as well as patience, empathy, resilience, dedication, tenacity and reliability. The necessary skills were found to be one-to-one communication, a good telephone manner, problem solving and the ability to process and analyse raw data and information were at the top of the list.
This was the blend of hard and soft skills the company felt was necessary to successfully work within the call centre environment.
Once employers have defined their ideal candidate they need to find ways of guaranteeing that their potential new recruits meet their requirements.
As the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) indicates there is no one way to go about testing for the right candidate.
“No single technique, irrespective of how it is designed or administrated, is capable of producing perfect selection decisions that predict with certainty which individuals will perform well in a particular role.”
However, the CIPD suggests that a “combination of techniques greatly increases the accuracy of selection decisions.”
To find the ideal call centre agent, a mix of psychometric testing and skills assessment should provide a clear portrait of every candidate. Furthermore, the same combination of evaluation methods can be used to identify skills gaps and training needs in existing employees and help them to do a better job.
Psychometric assessment will provide an informed and accurate picture of a candidate’s soft skills. However, how can recruiters test that candidates possess the necessary hard skills?
These tests need to be economical in terms of the time invested to administer, take and mark which is where online skills assessment comes into play. Straight forward and easy to use tests can be precisely tailored to fit a company’s exacting requirements.
An investment in a quality candidate testing system will soon pay dividends. With the right quality of employees being recruited and existing employees undergoing appropriate training for skills gaps identified through testing, companies can be sure that they have the right people in place to help customers find their way through the call centre maze.
