How you can Use Better Call Middle Agents - Each individual Time!

Reduce Turnover o Elevate ?bpo contact center Productiveness o Lower Absenteeism

A standard Simply call Centre employs three Different types of Connect with Centre Brokers:

1. Prime Doing Brokers - "Grade A" Brokers with the "Right Stuff" that pushes them to Do well, as well as the seemingly Organic Compatibility with all the Obligations on the Posture. You almost certainly have a very number of in the Simply call Center Operation now and wish which you could copy them.

2. Ample Brokers - "Grade B" Brokers who Perform their Obligations Adequately Adequate "to get by" - but No Better.

three. Marginal Agents - "Grade C" Agents that have a Higher Amount of Absenteeism, Small Productivity, Lousy Effectiveness & Inadequate Customer Satisfaction Ratings and who have a Negative Impact on Agent Team Morale.

We ask for a lot from today's Phone Centre Agent: Handle More Customers & Calls, Order Taking, Cross-Selling/UpSelling, Being Proficient with Computer & Support Systems, Being Non-Confrontational & Good-Humored, Work Well in a Team Environment, etc., etc.

As a Contact Center Hiring Manager, your Challenge is Twofold:

1st - How Do You Find a Sufficient Quantity of Quality Applicants for your Contact Center Agent Positions?

Many North American Labor Markets have reached the Saturation Point for Simply call Heart Agent Applicants in the Local Labor Pool. In fact, 64% of all North American Simply call Centers now find it a "Major Struggle" or "Somewhat of a Challenge" to Find Quality Applicants for Phone Heart Agent Positions. And 37% of Simply call Centre Employers are now Reporting "Severe" Competition for Phone Middle Agents by Other Employers.

2nd - How Do You Weed Out the Job Candidates Who Will Burn Out Fast Because They Aren't Suited For The Work, and Identify the People Using the Skills, Motivation, and Work Ethic to be Your Best Phone Center Agents?

While Almost Everyone can Use a Telephone, Not Everyone is Cut Out to Work Successfully as a Simply call Center Agent.

Hiring the Wrong Get in touch with Heart Agent is the Root Cause of Turnover and Absenteeism, and is a Significant Drain on your Bottom Line, on Customer Satisfaction, and on your overall Contact Middle Agent Team Morale.

Today, the Average Annual Turnover Rate of Full-Time Connect with Centre Brokers is over 30%. The Turnover Rate for Part-Time Phone Middle Agents is Worse (84% - with 15 Month Avg. Job Tenure). And, the Average Cost to Recruit/Hire/Train a Replacement Simply call Middle Agent ranges from US$2,600 - US$15,000 (depending on the type of Agent Situation).

Every single Failed Seek the services of Causes You to Throw Precious Budget Dollars Down the Drain Retraining Recruits for the Same Posture. Not to Mention the Lost Sales & Service Opportunities, Very poor Customer Satisfaction Ratings, Lowered Productiveness and Higher Absences associated with a Weak Job Fit.

There are a Series of Best Practices Steps you can take to address these Two Issues in order to Recruit More Leading Accomplishing Simply call Middle Brokers:

STEP one: Create an Agent Success Profile - What are the Core Competencies, Personality Traits, Skill Set(s) and Demographics of your Optimal Doing Brokers?

Who are your Major Executing Agents?

You should be Profiling your Top Accomplishing Brokers for their Gender, Diversity, Economics and Education.

Across all Phone Centre Industry Segments (except OutBound TeleSales and Technical Support/Help Desk), over 75% of all Best Accomplishing Brokers are Female and 66% of them are Working Mothers. Only 5% have College Degrees, and 30% of them participated in "Welfare-to-Work", Unemployment Insurance or Public Assistance within 6 months prior to their Hiring.

Is there Specific "Must Have" Skills/Knowledge that your Major Undertaking Brokers need?

How do your Top Carrying out Brokers Profile in Terms of Typing Speed/Accuracy, Computer Literacy, Specific Industry Knowledge/Experience, etc.?

What are the Key Personality Traits of your Top Performing Brokers?

Are you looking for an InBound Agent? (A Persuasive Communicator Motivated by Security, Work Environment, Coworkers / Team, Service and Recognition).

Are you looking for an Inside Sales Agent? (A Persuasive & Persistent Communicator who is Service Oriented, yet Motivated by Sales Opportunity).

Or are you looking for an OutBound Sales Agent (An Assertive & Persistent Closer who is Motivated by Income and Conquering Challenges and who Initiates Customer Interactions).

STEP 2: Create a Recruiting Strategy - Create a Recruiting Communications Plan that Identifies & Targets the Job Seekers that Meet your Agent Success Profile Criteria.

Your Recruiting Communications Plan should include:
Personal Referrals

Print Advertisements

Elementary & Substantial Schools (Part-Time Job Opportunities for Working Mothers of Students).

Colleges, Universities, & Technical Training Programs (Part-Time Job Opportunities for Students).

Minority Organizations (Native Americans/First Nations, Gay/Lesbian, New Immigrant Support)

Online Job Postings

Virtual Communities

Job Fairs

Outplacement Programs (Transferable Skills: i.e. Laid-Off Customer Service/Sales Staff).

Unemployment Offices

Welfare-to-Work Programs

STEP three: Deploy an In-Depth Telephone Screening Process - All of your Recruiting Advertising should use as the Call-to-Action a 24x7 Automated "Employment Information Line"/Phone Screen which is then followed by a Structured Telephone Interview.

A 24x7 Automated "Employment Information Line"/Phone Screen Can Be As Simple As An Extension on your Current Voice Mail System:

"Hello ... and Thanks for Calling ... you've reached the 24 Hr. Employment Information Line for the ABCXYZ Company.

At ABCXYZ Company you will have the Opportunity to Have Fun ... Make Good Money ... and provide a Service that Our Customers Really Appreciate.

You'll Earn a Guaranteed Base Wage of $__/Hr ... Bonuses ... Get Training ... and All the Support you'll need to Succeed.

We're Conveniently located Downtown ... with Easy Public Transit Access ... and there's Plenty of Parking nearby.

To Triumph ... You'll need to be Confident ... Professional ... and have an Excellent Telephone Communication Style.

To Take The Next Step in Our Hiring Process ... at the Sound from the Tone ... Please Tell Us Your Name ... and Please Spell Your Last Name.

Also ... Please Give Us Your Telephone Number ... along with the Best Time to Contact You Back.

And finally ... Please Read Back to Us the Ad you are Responding to ... and Remember ... this is a Telephone Audition ... So give it Your Best Shot!

Here Comes the Beep ... So Give Us Your Name ... Your Telephone Number ... and Read Back the Ad.

Good Luck with your Job Hunt ...

Thanks for Calling."

A 24x7 Automated "Employment Information Line"/Phone Screen can also be as Sophisticated as an Interactive IVR System:

"This Position requires you to Read ... Speak ... and understand English. Are you able to do so?"

"Press one for YES ... Press two for NO"

"This Place will require you to work Non-Traditional Hours ... including Evenings ... Weekends ... and Holidays. Do you would like to continue this Process?"

"Press one for YES ... Press 2 for NO"

"This Place is Fast-Paced ... Structured ... and Requires that you choose to have the Ability to Multi-Task. For the Majority of your Shift ... you will Remain at your Workstation ... while Assisting Callers and Customers by Telephone. Your Effectiveness will be Monitored and Measured ... to Ensure the Highest Levels of Customer Service. Do you would like to continue this Process?"

"Press 1 for YES ... Press two for NO"

You will Save Time and Money using a 24 Hr. "Employment Information Line"/"/Phone Screen by:

o Reaching More Applicants Faster.

o Recruiting Leading Candidates Before Your Competition.

o Building a Bigger Applicant Pool.

o Ensuring that Applicants have got a Clear Understanding of Important Job Requirements.

o Assessing Applicant's Ability to Follow Basic Instructions.

o Conducting "Voice Auditions" to assess an Applicant's "Telephone Personality".

o Reducing time spent with Unqualified Candidates.

o Maximizing Applicant Buy-In and Participation with your Hiring Process.

o Part of a Legally Defensible Hiring Process.

The Job Candidates who pass through your 24 Hr. "Employment Information Line"/"/Phone Screen should then be promptly followed up with using a Structured Telephone Interview.

A Structured Telephone Interview is:

o Used to Further "Sell The Job Opportunity".

o Used as 2nd Screen of Candidates for "Must Have" Skills & Attributes (Start Date, Shift Availability, Wage Rate, Typing Speed, Specific Product Knowledge, Sales Ability, Security Clearances, etc.)

o Used to Further Evaluate a Candidate's "Telephone Personality".

o Where Appropriate, Used to Schedule a Candidate Visit at your Office for Going Forward with Hiring Process.

Delivered consistently, a Structured Telephone Interview is part of a Legally Defensible Hiring Process - as all Candidates are asked for the same information in a uniform and consistent fashion.

STEP 4: Deploying Pre-Employment Assessment Testing - to Confirm Personality Traits/Job Fit and Skill Set(s).

Candidates for Phone Center Agent Positions need to possess a Unique Constellation of Traits - and Specific Amounts of those Traits - in order to Successfully Complete the Job Requirements.

A Connect with Middle Agent's Success Depends Much More Upon Personality/Job Fit Factors than Product Knowledge, Past Experience or Skill Set.

Merely knowing tips on how to react in a Customer Service Situation is Far Distinct from Actually Engaging in the Necessary Appropriate Behavior - Consistently - and for the Long-Term.

This is what Phone Centre Agent Personality/Job Fit Testing Measures.

SPAS - Service Personnel Appraisal System - is CD-Rom based Get in touch with Middle Agent Pre-Employment Screening Software, which is Easy to Deploy, Very Cost-Effective and Highly Predictive of an Individual's Suitability for a particular Connect with Centre Agent Place.

SPAS Weeds Out Job Candidates Who Burn Out Fast Because They Aren't Suited For The Work, and Identifies The People Along with the Skills, Motivation, and Work Ethic to be Top Get in touch with Center Agents.

There are Specific Versions from the SPAS Call Heart Agent Pre-Employment Testing Software Validated to Test for Simply call Centre Agent Positions such as:

o InBound Customer Service

o OutBound Telephone Sales (B2B) Business-to-Business

o OutBound Telephone Sales (B2C) Business-to-Consumer

o Inside Sales Agent

o Tier one Technical Support/Help Desk Agent

o Central Station Monitoring Operator

o Telephone Collections

o Telephone Answering Service Operator

o Reservations/Guest Service Agent

o Government Information & Referral Operator

o Tele-Counselor

o Mystery Shopper

Whatever Connect with Heart Agent Personality Testing Instrument you Deploy - make sure it is Validated for the Specific Contact Middle Agent Placement you are looking to fill - and Use it Consistently - at the Same Point as part of your Hiring Process - and with All Candidates.

You should also carry out a Skills Test on your Job Candidates. Skills Tests are designed to Identify a Candidate's Skill Stage in Specific Areas such as Keyboarding, Software Literacy, Spelling, Telephone Etiquette, Listening, etc.

STEP 5: Using a Structured Face-to-Face Interview - based on Core Competencies, Personality Traits and Skill Set(s).

This Style of Interview has Great Value in Phone Centers because it allows you to Identify Candidates' Past Behaviors and Use Them as Good Indicators of Future Performance and Behavior.

Before you conduct a Structured Face-to-Face Interview, you need to go back to your Original Success Profile and Core Requirements Document. Identify the Most Appropriate Core Competencies for the Posture and Build your Questions around these Competencies.

They should be Very Specific Questions Designed to Determine How Candidates Behaved and Thought during Certain Situations.

Structured Interview Questions could include:

"Tell Me About a Time When You Went Far Beyond What Could Normally Be Expected In Order To Satisfy a Customer?"

The Target Behavior you are looking to uncover is Customer Focus. Can this Candidate Demonstrate that they can go "Above & Beyond The Contact of Duty" to ensure that Customer Requests are Handled Effectively - and with a Customer Service Orientation?

STEP 6: Having Your Candidates Experience a Job Preview - Depicting Day-to-Day Activities, Responsibilities as well as the Environment of the Get in touch with Center.

The Goal of a Contact Middle Job Preview is a Final Attempt to Sell the Candidate "In or Out" on the Job.

You need to Paint a Realistic Picture on the Company, Contact Middle Environment, Hours, Flexibility, Management Style, Functionality Expectations, etc.

This can be done as easily as having Candidates Sit in the Call Heart for a Period of Time to Form Their Own Opinion before Accepting or Declining the Job Offer (**Check Your Local Labor Laws to See If Candidate Time Spent in a Simply call Heart Preview by "Sitting In The Connect with Center" Qualifies as "Paid Time".)

There are also Software-Based Phone Heart Simulators that are available to give a Candidate the Ability to Accurately Experience Call Middle Work - such as Referencing and Cross-Referencing Data and Dealing with a Variety of Callers and Customer Service Scenarios. (**Used as part of a Pre-Employment Process, Software-Based Phone Center Simulators are Not Subject to Local Labor Law Interpretation as "Paid Time".)

During the Phone Center Job Preview Time, the Candidate should also be Encouraged to Speak "Off the Record" with Supervisors/Team Leaders and Potential Coworkers.

Done correctly, this Step will Help You Attract People who Genuinely Want to Work inside your Contact Middle.

STEP 7: Reference Verification - (also Security Clearances / Drug Testing if required).

These Best Practices Hiring Steps are Easy to Deploy, Very Cost-Effective and Highly Predictive of an Individual's Suitability for your Simply call Center Agent Positions. They will allow you to Recruit, Select and Employ New Get in touch with Center Brokers who fit your Employment Needs Improved and Stay On The Job Longer - leading to a Call Center Agent Workgroup that has More Experience and is More Productive.

Your Individual Connect with Center Agent Efficiency Will Go Up - Along With Your Customer Satisfaction Ratings - and Your Turnover Costs Will Go Down.