This is where pre-hire assessments tests and call center simulations become relevant. With the advance in technology, online testing suites can now simulate normal as well as stressful conditions. The skills assessment test can determine the strengths and weaknesses of agents as well as supervisors. Each agent can then be given specific training based on the results of the test.
Another advantage of the test is that it helps you pick potential candidates from those who appear to be highly unlikely choices- those who have no experience in the call center industry, for example, or job-hoppers. Such a person might reveal the right competencies and abilities in the simulation tests. In the same way, those who appear to be perfect for the job with the best qualifications might prove to be average or simply unmotivated. In other words, the skills assessment test reveals qualities of a person such as their drive, achievement orientation, reliability, dependability, conscientiousness etc. While all skills-related deficiencies can be rectified by training, nothing can help an employee who is just not motivated. Motivation, in turn, is related to absenteeism.
Efficient assessment, right at the recruitment stage, can prevent the hiring of wrong people, which in turn can reduce staff turnover. The candidates themselves can get an idea of whether they are suited to the job or not, whether they have the right skills needed to be successful in the job. Candidates who find themselves unsuitable for the job can thus opt out before the interview stage itself.
Also, the simulation test can give a person realistic expectations of what the job will actually be like on a day-to-day basis. It can take them through data entry, looking up information as well as handling callers in a variety of emotional states. It can also measure the person’s keyboarding skills as well as their ability to multitask.
In short, the skills assessment test can help you select the right persons, rather than those who appear to be the best.
But at the same time, simulation tests cannot be relied upon too much. Even a candidate who feels unfit for a job might not admit it and will want to give it a try, in most cases. There are also chances of a good candidate not getting selected just because he did badly in the simulation test.
Here are some of the skills you’ll want to make sure you
evaluate before hiring anyone:
Uncover and confirm customer requests
Ability to respond, and resolve, customer needs and questions
Clear understanding of processes and procedures, and ability to apply them
Establishing effective customer relationships
Strong sales acumen
Cooperation with managers, peers, and especially unhappy customers
Capacity to effectively manage more than once project at once
Quickly learn new call center software and apply as necessary
Reading, verbal, and writing skills
Short-term memory
Orientation towards technology
Business and personal values
