Skills assessment for the changing
call centre culture
The growth of the Internet and multi-channel communication has meant that call centres have expanded to become a multi-billion pound sector in their own right. Managers have long realised that the call centre is where an organisation interacts with its customers, and that operatives have a direct impact on the company brand. Therefore it is important that managers see investing in their staff as an essential business activity.
Employers need to look at hiring processes as well as retention schemes in order to halt the problem of high employee turnover; that has traditionally been so familiar in call centres. These areas also need more careful thought when you consider that the environment of call centres has changed dramatically in recent years. Telephone operatives are no longer conforming to the treadmill or ‘battery hen’ image of common myth. The discernable move away from simply offering a basic, scripted response to customer questions has resulted in operatives being increasingly required to show initiative by offering related services and responding to each customer’s unique set of circumstances. So, for example, a call centre which previously concentrated solely on filling as many seats on an airline as possible will now start to offer chauffeur services or hotel accommodation at the customer’s destination. The onus has shifted back to the operator to apply greater thought to each transaction and to consider up and cross selling opportunities.
This change in the working environment has required new hard and soft skills on the part of the call centre agents. They not only require stronger listening skills but good oral communication and concentration as well. And rather than accepting a candidate’s word on whether they possess these abilities, recruiters need to find ways of guaranteeing that their potential new employees have these skills. To achieve this, companies can integrate workshops, role-play and assessment modules into the overall interview process. These activities allow real-life situations to be simulated and allow the employers to gain a more accurate profile of the potential employee at work in a call centre environment. This is an essential task as it is important to remember that not everyone is suited to the job.
Running a workshop allows the interviewer to observe how a candidate would behave and react to a number of different work related scenarios. For example in a role-play exercise, the candidate’s responses to an angry, dishonest or unreasonable caller can be checked. The workshop activity also gives the interviewer an insight into the personality of the potential candidate and how they interact with other colleagues, something which would have been hard to gain in a thirty minute, one-to-one interview.
The use of assessment modules in the interview process enables the candidate’s ability to handle raw data – this is still a key function of call centre agents after all. But advances in technology mean that online testing suites can stimulate both normal and stressful conditions. As we increasingly understand the value of information quality in the enterprise, this ability is becoming even more significant. The majority of business processes require accurate information in order to function as efficiently as possible. Poor information quality costs both time and money, and alienates potential and actual customers, partners and suppliers. Again the call centre operative’s action impacts on the brand perception.
Research carried out by the Arizona-based Institute of Configuration Management showed that employee effectiveness falls rapidly as the quality of information they are using goes down. Data integrity of 92 per cent, for example, halves employee effectiveness compared to 100 per cent accurate data. The impact of inaccurate data can be felt through the whole organisation. So it is vital that recruiters assess the accuracy as well as the speed of a candidate’s data entry skills.
Effective assessment at the recruitment stage can help prevent some very expensive hiring mistakes, and help reduce staff turnover. It can also help with staff retention and motivation by providing ongoing training needs analysis. Just as customers are regularly told their call is important, so call centre staff need to understand that they are important too. Redesigned reward and recognition packages and incentive schemes are widely used, but training can be one of the most important ways of assuring staff that their contribution to company performance is valued.
As with any other industry, staff that see promotion as desirable and achievable will be far more likely to stay – and promotion is often dependent on the acquisition of new skills.
The problem is of course that everyone has different strengths in the first place - as recruitment workshops show - and so setting up a one-size-fits-all training programme is unlikely to deliver the desired results. A quick look at the demographics of call centre workers show why this is of particular concern to this industry. They tend to break down into three distinct groups. The first being those who plan to make a career with the company, and see working on the telephone front line as a stepping-stone to promotion and a promising future. The second group are time-sensitive individuals, who want a steady position, not to mention steady income, which they can walk away from at the end of their shift. The third group tend to be temporary or seasonal employees like students, who are often around for only short periods of time.
One training programme will not match all of these individual’s needs. However by regularly repeating the tactics used at the recruitment stage an organisation gains an accurate picture of each individual’s strengths and weaknesses and can see they are progressing. They can then plan training, coaching or mentoring programmes to meet them.
These kinds of techniques have been widely used by ‘blue chip’ accountancy and consultancy firms, but there is no reason why they should not be adopted by call centres. These companies recognise the value that getting the right graduate intake or new management blood adds to their firm. Call Centres are now recognising the value that agents add to their business. It is worth investing in them - and comparing this to the costs of high turnover.
Call centres are inevitably moving away from their sweatshop image, but at the same time are facing increasing competition from cheaper establishments abroad. Remaining competitive is vital. Getting and keeping the right staff can have a positive impact on an organisation’s performance; productivity levels increase; call rates go up; and the abandoned call rate comes down. Assessing and training staff is not a soft and fluffy option. It is a tough business imperative.
