Assessments are frequently used to select call center personnel. There are several reasons for this. One is the sheer number of call center positions with some estimating that over 4 million people do this work in the US alone, not to mention millions more in offshore locations. Another contributing factor is the nature of call center work. On the one hand, a high level of customer service and accuracy is critical in addition to computer skills, attention to detail, problem solving, and multi-tasking. Complicating things, call center representatives are often asked to help confused, angry, or upset callers in a professional manner yet do so as quickly as possible because a frequent performance metric is number of calls handled.  However, since the work is often routine and repetitive, it can become boring fairly quickly and lead to absenteeism and turnover unless the right employees are selected.

Fortunately, there are a number of assessments that have been developed specifically for call centers (and pan is fortunate to distribute a number of them). Some look at personality factors such as conscientiousness, customer service attitude, and reliability. Others, which are designed to test an individual’s call center skills, actually  place the individual in the simulated  role of a call center representative.  

A dynamic to consider when selecting call center personnel is that given the substantial cost in reputation that negative client experiences can bring coupled with large number of people employed in these positions is that even relatively minor improvements in the hiring process can have a substantial impact upon the bottom line.  A final consideration is that unlike many other jobs, call centers can often readily provide accurate and meaningful metrics about call center performance with indicators such a number of calls handled per shift, sales, and caller satisfaction surveys. As a result, it often can become apparent quite readily if a selection system is working and how it might be adjusted to further optimize the process.

Reid Klion