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Improve Call Center Hiring with Talent Assessments

By Susan J. Campbell, TMCnet Contributing Editor

People are the greatest asset within the call center, but that asset can turn into a liability when management fails to implement the proper call center hiring practices. The costs associated with high turnover rates have caused executives within the human resource arena to take a closer look at pre-employment assessments and how they can help the business. 

A recent FurstPerson white paper examined the potential in improved call center hiring practices, citing a study from Aberdeen (News - Alert) Group where 61 percent of HR executives rated talent acquisition as their top priority for 2012. Assessments play an integral part in determining the talent available in talent acquisitions, making assessments an important part of this process. 

Several different factors are driving the growing use of assessments, including technological innovation and the ability to standardize a process that was once vulnerable to ad hoc decisions and human error. With the added growth of cloud-based applications, the adoption of assessments is receiving a healthy push. Content providers can now easily deploy the necessary content for assessments, connect platforms for interoperability and even customize client solutions. 

Call center hiring practices are improving with the growing push for intelligent data and analytics. Without the right assessment tools, human resource departments have been unable to quantify the return on investment for their efforts. Technology-based processes now enable leaders in the recruiting space to demonstrate a clear link between business outcomes and assessment content. 

When done correctly, the process to implement assessments for proper call center hiring processes allows the organization to drive alignment and objectivity. The process also allows a job analysis to determine and identify the competencies that drive success in the position; standard evaluations of key candidates; a clear connection between the process and job performance; and a closed-loop analytic process.

While human resource leaders understand the power of assessments in the call center hiring process, there are elements within the organization itself that can limit the use of assessments. The current recruiting process could be one of those things limiting proper call center hiring as it may present a bottleneck that reduces the effect and limits the talent acquisition potential. 

A well-defined call center hiring process demands the creation of key foundations, while a job analysis identifies the competencies important to job performance. A clear understanding of these competencies is critical to selecting the right assessment content. To measure multi-tasking capabilities, for instance, it’s best to measure performance in a simulation rather than a structured interview. 

The high turnover rates within the call center environment are pushing human resource executives and other leaders to dig deeper into call center hiring processes to identify weaknesses and opportunities for improvement. According to FurstPerson, improvements in recruiting assessments are a great place to start.
Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jamie Epstein