How to Troubleshoot Your Contact Center Hiring Process

In this next in our troubleshooting contact center issues series, we will focus on getting the right people on your team.

Hiring the right person is challenging at any time for any position, but in the contact center - where the agent is the brand representative of the company and where most interactions involve issues or problems - having the right person is critical.

That right person needs to be someone who is resilient, customer-focused, efficient, great under pressure, self-aware, open to feedback, and a team player. The stakes are high and the cost of “a wrong fit” goes way beyond just the cost of recruiting, hiring, and training. There is also the cost of lost customers, drain on other agents, and lost revenue to consider.

Your organization’s ability to hire and retain the right people heavily impacts your organization’s ability to deliver exceptional customer experiences and results. To effectively plan and hire for what’s next, you need to know where you are now. Here are five questions you can ask about your current hiring processes:

1. Does your company’s career page accurately reflect the organization’s brand, mission, and values?

a. Yes, our career page is well-organized, easy to sort and search, and contains links to company information. Applicants also can create an account to upload their resume and apply online, and get frequent real-time updates on their application status. Candidates can chat with an HR recruiter in real time, and view videos on the company and employee testimonies about what it is like to work here. The overall look and feel of our career pages are aligned with our overall brand, our mission, and our values.

b. Yes and no. Our career page is well-organized, easy to sort and search, and contains links to company information. Applicants can also create an account to upload their resume and apply online, and we do include some employee testimonies about what it is like to work here. There are still opportunities to include videos of what it is like to work at our company, as well as include more frequent status updates on application status and more seamless links to 3rd party employment sites.

c. No, our career page is often outdated, difficult to navigate, and is just a list of openings.

2. Are supervisors involved in the interview process?

a. Yes, and they are actively engaged and prepared, they take responsibility for the role they play in the process, and add significant value to the quality of our new hires.

b. Yes, supervisors are involved in the hiring process. They are willing to participate but often challenged to find the time, and they are sometimes unclear about how to interview and/or what steps they should follow.

c. No, supervisors are not involved in the hiring process. Human Resources completes every step in the hiring processes.

3. How would potential candidates rate their experience during the interview process?

a. Most candidates have rated their experience during the interview process as “good” to “great”. We have data to support this since we consistently ask candidates about this experience and act on feedback we receive.

b. Right now it is hit or miss – some candidates rate their experience during the interview process as exceptional; others mediocre; others not good at all. Much of this is driven by a lack of consistency in our processes and time constraints.

c. Honestly, we don’t have any way to know how candidates feel about their interviewing experience.

4. How consistent is your interview and selection processes?

a. We have a selection process that is followed consistently. It is straightforward and easily repeatable.

b. We have a selection process outlined, but we aren’t sure if it is followed consistently.

c. We don’t really have a standard procedure for selection.

5. How would new hires rate their first few days on the job/onboarding experience?

a. Most rate the onboarding process as an excellent, well-organized, informative, and energizing experience. While logistical details are covered, a large part of the onboarding process is focused on helping the employee learn their job and their opportunities to learn and grow, and to getting them excited about their role and the company.

b. Overall, most new hires feel their first few days are a bit overwhelming, but exciting. While there are a lot of logistical details to attend to, they also get to meet individuals they will be working with and others from the company, and gain great insights about the bigger picture regarding the company, but it is often rushed and can at times feel impersonal.

c. Most would say it is overwhelming and a bit impersonal. There are a lot of forms to complete, too many groups to meet individuals, and lots of “logistical” details.

Scoring: Highest score is 10

Score interpretation:

7-10: A proactive, data-driven hiring process

You have solid hiring processes. Your contact center and company understand that the hiring process begins with the interaction potential candidates have with your career page through the onboarding process and beyond. You have clearly defined and consistently executed interview, selection, and onboarding processes and have metrics that help assess the effectiveness of these processes and identify areas of opportunity. Supervisors are involved in the process and trained on the interview and selection processes. Engaging and equipping new hires for success are the key objectives of the onboarding process. There are feedback mechanisms in place for all aspects of the hiring, selection, and onboarding processes. Feedback is collected, analyzed, and acted upon.

4-6: Inconsistent hiring processes and/or execution

You are on the right track, but there are some areas of opportunity both in the processes themselves and in the execution of those processes. There is room to improve how interviews and selections are conducted and measured. There is a need to ensure everyone is on the same page to ensure the end results are better, and you are more engaged with new hires.

0-3: Reactive hiring

Currently, your hiring processes are very reactive. There aren’t any real documented processes and, therefore, all aspects of the hiring process are executed inconsistently. Supervisors are not involved in hiring, which often results in new hires who don’t have all the skills, knowledge, and abilities to be successful.

There are definite opportunities to improve the candidate experience and improve the interview and selection processes, and develop a standard onboarding experience. While this will require an investment of both time and resources, the result will be a greater ability to attract the right talent and new hires who are engaged and suited for the job.