Call Center Hiring

Most call center hiring managers still rely on the in-person interview to make hiring decisions. But how many times have we heard a manager proclaim that the person he or she just hired is “the one,” only to hear them say, days or weeks later, “man, was I ever wrong about that one.”

The truth is, in-person interviews really aren’t an effective way to measure a person’s skills, aptitude or work ethic. Today, companies are increasingly using software-based evaluation and assessment tools to more accurately measure a candidate’s level of skill and “fit” for a job.

Considering this trend, what is the role of the live, in-person interview in the hiring process today? Considering the advent – and proven effectiveness – of software-based employee evaluation and assessment tools, are in-person interviews even necessary anymore?

 

In the June 2009 issue of Fast Company, Dan and Chip Heath, authors of “Made to Stick,” wrote a column entitled “Why It May Be Wiser to Hire People without Meeting Them.” The article makes some excellent points about the effectiveness of interviews for evaluating job candidates. It also raises some important points for contact center hiring managers to consider: With technology enabling additional methods to evaluate job candidates -- and the home agent model creating more virtual hiring processes -- does the live interview add value as a pre-hire tool? If it does, what is the right role for the interview?

A new white paper from call center hiring solutions provider FurstPerson, “The Role of the Interview: Ready for a New Job?” discusses the trend toward software-based evaluation and assessment tools and how the live, in-person interview format needs to be modified in response to that trend. It’s not that live interviews no longer have value – they still do – but how they are structured can and should change in the event companies are making use of software-based evaluation tools.

 

As the white paper points out, “the interview can take multiple forms,” including unstructured interviews, situational interviews and structured behavioral interviews.

 

“Choice of interview format is the critical first decision,” the white paper states. “Research and practical results suggest that the structured behavioral interview is the right interview form to use. In addition, interviewers must receive consistent, constant training on interview administration. And, interviewers must undergo frequent quality assurance testing to make sure that the variance between interviewers is controlled.”

The white paper goes on to outline in detail the type of information call center hiring managers should be trying to get through the interview process – and how this information can be combined with the results of software-based assessments to help managers make better, more well-informed hiring decisions that will result in improved call center performance and agent retention.

It also discusses solutions that can either augment, or serve as an alternative to, in-person interviews, including computer-based simulations, personality assessments, cognitive ability assessments and situational judgment tests.

To download a free copy of this informative white paper, click here.

To learn more about FurstPerson and its software-based call center hiring solutions, click here.