If We Could Turn Back Time: 360 Recruiting>Training>Successful Agent

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Our Contact Centers need many things to be successful but at the top of the list is the need to have a great team of productive and Customer focused Agents. The challenge comes when we have a candidate who looks so great on paper, tested well with the tools we are using, seemed to have all the answers to our questions and then six months later, we find ourselves looking for a replacement for them due to their quitting or helping them find the exit.  While I don’t believe we can be 100% certain of all candidates, we can definitely learn how to improve our odds.

If we could turn back time, we might do things differently or at least be more prepared for what might happen.

One way to visit the past is to track data and our observations along these TouchPoints -  from Recruiting to Training to On the Job Performance.  We can think of this as an Employee Journey Map. It doesn’t come quickly as you are gathering data over months but it will pay off in the long run as you analyze your findings.

WHAT SHOULD WE TRACK?

We need to track every point we can along their journey to become a successful (or unsuccessful) Agent.  With data compiled over time, we can look back in a year or more to study what worked in our recruiting and training and what was a miss.  To do this, we need to create an Excel or other tracking form that has the candidate’s initial information documented during recruiting, what happened during training, and what they are doing now as an Agent. This data will give you a good overview.

Here are a few examples of what you might track:

Recruiting

• Sources of response:  Don’t be anecdotal about where your best Agents come from, have facts.
• Education/ type of degree if college grad
• Years of contact center/customer service experience
• Candidate testing:  (Hint: Did the top scoring candidates become our top Agents? If not, why not?)
• Interview rating:  Ask each person on your team who does interviews to rate the candidates based on whether they think they will be Top Agent (1), Average but Good Agent (2), Have some concerns but would consider hiring since customer service attitude is good (3).

Training

• Attendance and Tardiness:  Were there some issues during training?
• Class Participation – Interested, Eager, Bored, Not getting the information? Let your trainer comment on what they are observing and document it.
• Knowledge, testing, picking up on things quickly or needs extra time with trainer?
• Trainer comments and observations:  Ask each trainer to rate each trainee as to what they think will happen once they are working in the Center: Top Agent (1), Average but Good Agent (2), Will have some struggles with the job(3)
• Take a look at what your trainers are saying about each employee.  How do their observations and data compare with the recruiting information?

On The Job

Using the same tracking form, continue to record how the new hires are doing during the first 90 days in terms of skills, attitude, team work, work habits and other things you measure for productivity and quality. Go beyond the first 90 days as you feel would benefit your assessment.

Where does all of this lead us?

Did the Agent’s ratings as one, two or three prove accurate when compared to on the job performance or were they off?

Did college grads do better than those with no college but good customer service background? 

Are there are positive or negative trends we’re seeing as we compare before and after?

We are able to “turn back time” in terms of comparing what we saw initially and what is happening now that they are an Agent.  Having a clear-cut process for tracking and mapping the candidate to Agent journey will help us determine where the gaps are, provide feedback to those helping with recruiting and training, and better evaluate the tools and processes we use to support our efforts to hire and retain the best possible Agents.

“I’m a Supervisor, Jim, Not a Leader!”

Dr McCoy

If you were a fan of the Star Trek TV series, you’ll recognize my twist on Dr. McCoy’s catchphrase,  “I’m a Doctor, Jim, not a (insert job)” in my title.   The Doctor was often called upon to perform some task he had no training or skills to do.  In TV land, all this works out just fine.  In real life, not so much.

A similar situation sometimes happens when promoting a Call Center or Retail Service Rep into a Supervisory role.  The Rep is given a promotion because they had the following qualifications:

• They were an excellent Rep: met metrics and/or quality expectations.
• They knew how to be friendly with the Customers & their co-workers.
• They understood every policy and procedure and could quote them upon request.
• They came to work on time and rarely called in sick.
• They worked in the Service/Sales Center for more than a year.

So what’s missing?

Unless a Supervisor was chosen for their Leadership potential, the ability to Inspire, Motivate and Coach in addition to their Service/good employee skills, they will often focus on what they have done well in their role as a Representative – taking a lot of Customer calls (not just escalated), socializing with the Reps during breaks so the Reps continue to “like” them,  ensure attendance and lunch schedules are met, and act as the walking encyclopedia of policies and procedures (strictly enforced of course and communicated that way to Reps and Customers alike).

All the Supervisory classes and all the mentoring in the world will still result in a mediocre to poor Supervisor for your team if you didn’t promote someone with the “right stuff”.

“Do you like to talk on the Phone?” – Recruiting For Your Call Center

Recruiting Center in Denmark

INTERVIEW:

Q: What do you consider to be your weaknesses?
A: Answering silly questions like these.

Q: How do you get along with others?
A: Fine, as long as they stay out of my face.

ONE of the first questions I ask as soon as I begin working with a new Call Center client is “What are the first steps used when hiring a new Representative at your Center?”

I hear a variety of answers but mostly, “We use an agency to screen first” or “HR finds someone who looks interesting and then sends us their resume”.

The next question I ask is, “Have your outside recruiters or in-house HR people ever worked or managed in a Call Center?”  That question is often met with a blank stare or a comment such as, “Well I gave them a recent Job Description and we talked about the position.  They understand what I need”.

Talking with someone or looking at a descriptive piece of paper is not the same as observing first hand what it takes to do the difficult job that our Reps do day in and day out.  So how do you help your recruiting people get a better idea of the attitude and skills that you need for success?

(Notice the un-trainable attitude is mentioned first!)

1. Ask the recruiting person to spend time in the Center sitting side-by-side with your top Reps and observing calls with you.  Discuss what they heard and the skills and attitude that will be important to screen for.

2. Make sure that candidate contact involves a phone interview upfront with a checklist of their phone skills & behaviors.  Some candidates are professional face-to-face interviewers but freeze on the phone or have a flat speaking tone.

3. Tell them that you can train skills but not attitude.  You need the willing and able to learn only.  And, not the leftovers or unwanted problem employees from other departments with nowhere else to go (see my earlier Blog article on this)

4. Reps with lots of experience may have to “unlearn” bad habits from their previous position so understanding the type of Center they worked in, what the goals were including their own goals in regards to Quality and Metrics and how they achieved those (or didn’t) are important.  I’ve had Reps tell me they had won awards for various skills .  I’ve asked them to produce the proof via copies of anything they have in writing which most can.

5. Testing is good but old-fashioned probing using behavioral questions and even role-play of customer scenarios can tell you a lot more sometimes.

There are many more tips for best practice call center recruiting. I’ve shared a related article below.  I hope you’ll share of your ideas for candidate “screening” or stories of recruiting success or failure for your Center.

Related Articles

• How to Hire Better Call Center Agents (customerthink.com)

Call Center “Problem Employees”

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Sometimes, we just can’t change an employee’s behavior because they don’t want to change it.  You can read 1,000 books and articles on all the wonderful coaching ideas out there, try them all and that “problem” employee still isn’t going to change.

Many companies continue to use their Call Center as a “problem employee” dumping ground.  I imagine this is the dialog (with apologies to the great HR folks out there!) :

 

 

Department Head: “Well, Ed just isn’t coming to work on time and when he’s here, he’s always on his cell phone.  I don’t want him in my department any more”

HR Manager: “Ed has been here for 15 years.  What are you suggesting?”

Department Head: “I heard they need someone in Customer Service in the Call Center”

HR Manager: “Great idea.  Ed loves to talk on the phone so I’m sure he’ll love talking to our Customers on the phone.  I’ll talk with the VP and suggest we move Ed there instead of all the hiring expense for an outside candidate.”

The poor Customer Service Manager is later told that due to budget constraints, hiring from the outside won’t be possible but there is a great  internal employee who will be moving into their area. The Department Head never mentions the cell phone and tardy issues of course.  Ed joins the Center and now consumes a huge amount  of the Supervisor’s time due to his problems with attendance and bad work habits.

Another frequently seen scenario is the long time Call Center representative who clearly is burned out and no longer enjoys their job but stays because they “need a job”.   Despite continued lackluster performance, even when given coaching, the Call Center leaders give “Mary” a pass because “she’s been here so long…she’s our Senior Rep”.

Other times I’ve seen employees who have been written up multiple times and yet still continue to be employed.  It’s as if they are made of Teflon and all their bad performance problems just slide right off of them.

If these scenarios are happening at your own Center or company, I hope you’ll open dialog with Human Resources, Management and your Leadership Team using some of these questions or look to your own actions as a Manager:

• Why have we become so afraid to take action if Employees are unable to or unwilling to improve ?
• Why do we feel that Employee length of service trumps the need for superior service for our customers?
• Why are “problem” Employees just moved from department to department?  What are we gaining by this? Is it costing us (or losing us) money to keep them?
• If I have coached and documented the coaching interactions with the “problem” employee and have had no success in turning them around, what is preventing me from terminating their employment?
• How is continued employment of “problem” Employees affecting my staff?
• Are “good” Employees being neglected while I worry about the “problem” ones?
• If burned out in my area, do they have other fabulous skills that would be great in another department or would I be “dumping” like the Ed story above?

I’d love to hear your comments or stories related to my topic.

You might also enjoy this interesting post on Good Turnover vs. Bad Turnover from a Human Resources point of view: http://tinyurl.com/29go7oj