In the corporate world, we often hear the terminology “he/she is a great fit for this position” or “he/she was just not the right fit for the job”. Finding employees who are a good fit for a certain position is critical to the over-all success of any business. The same holds true among Call Center Agents. People unfamiliar with how call centers work often assume that agents are hired simply to fill seats and receive incoming calls from customers looking to purchase products or sign up for a certain service. However, there’s more to it than that. Let me explain.
Companies will hire a call center to help them with various aspects of their daily operations. Sometimes those operations can be for receiving inbound calls and sometimes call centers will oversee outbound calls, which can often be of a sales nature. Each of these functions are important, but each require a specific skill set in order for the campaign to be a success. So, how does a call center manager ensure that he or she is putting the right agent into the right job? Here are three aspects that, I believe, are helpful in correctly staffing your call center to meet the specific needs.
Key Competencies:
First, determine what the specific task requires. Is the task of a sales nature? Will the agent be contacting current customers in an effort to “upsell them” to a larger cable package for example? The key competency this agent must have is the ability to convince the customer that they will benefit by investing in the larger package that offers more. If the task requires more customer service, different key competencies are needed. Are they a good listener, do they have a solid product knowledge to be able to direct the customer to the product or service that’s best for them? Taking the time to ask the questions of what is needed for the campaign will enable the call center manager to place the right people in the right job.
Personality type:
Personality is something that is unique to each one of us. Finding the right combination and fit for each campaign is something that has to be done by the contact center manager. Some individuals are very people oriented while others are more numbers oriented. Obviously, a people oriented agent will be more successful in a customer service or sales role than a numbers oriented agent. Determining an agent’s personality type is a critical first step in the hiring process as well as the process of assembling the best team for the campaign.
Motivational Fit:
Personal motivators vary from one person to another but they tend to fall into the general categories of Personal Interest, Job fit and Culture fit. Personal Interest, does the agent seem genuinely interested in the job and what it offers? Job fit, what are the person’s competencies and where will they fit best? And finally, Culture fit, does the culture and values of the company meet the priorities of the agent being hired for a particular campaign.
In my years of working in the call center industry, I’ve found that taking the time to look at these three aspects when staffing for a particular client, go a long way in the over-all success of the campaign. Having the right people in the right place at the right time means success EVERY time!
Source : LinkedIn
