Finding and hiring new agents for your call center is more difficult than ever. Due to the nationwide shortage of candidates, centers must change their recruiting strategies if they are going to survive these challenging times. How do you find hidden call center talent? Let’s find out!
The Hiring Challenges Call Centers Face
Traditional methods are no longer effective or efficient because most applicants will not check every requirement box on the job description. In fact, their qualifications may not be straightforward at all, making it easy to overlook a candidate who will make an excellent hire. Call centers must learn how to interpret skills and qualities that will translate well into the work environment.
The second challenge is finding the right talent. It takes a bit of creativity and researching skills to find hidden gems. It is crucial to know who you are targeting and where to look. The good news is that they are out there! These tips will help you find your next great hire!
Loosen Up on Eligibility Requirements
The application process takes time, so job seekers will not waste time applying to positions they don’t feel they qualify for. If your job requirements are incredibly specific, you may be alienating top talent. For instance, stating that a candidate must have 5+ years of experience might be overkill. Instead, replace it with “prefer previous experience”. The years of experience are not as important as the skills and gained during whatever time the candidate has under their belt.
How to Rework Your Job Description
Draft job descriptions in a way that welcomes candidates who have the potential to be a great addition to your team. This may be in soft skills, education, experience, or transferrable skills. Let job seekers know that you are willing to train the right candidate. Broadening your job description will help attract a higher number of qualified applicants. Make a notation on the job description that those who feel this is the right fit are encouraged to apply. You want candidates to feel comfortable applying to your position even if their skill set doesn’t match up exactly.
Look for the Potential in Candidates
Now that you have eased up on job requirements, it is time to look at applications from a different perspective. Just because a candidate does not have formal call center training or previous experience doesn’t mean they should be instantly dismissed. Look for relevant experience and training. For instance, someone who has worked as a receptionist in a hospital or even owned their own business probably has the skills needed to succeed in a call center environment. They will already be familiar with handling customer issues in a fast-paced atmosphere.
A good rule of thumb is to look for the individual skills needed instead of the whole package. For example, instead of seeking someone who has worked in a call center, keep an eye out for candidates who have held jobs that required excellent communication skills, the ability to multi-task, and comfort working in high-stress situations.
The bottom line is that candidates who are perfectly molded right out of the gate are few and far between. Your company must be willing to hire potential and train accordingly.
Change Your Interview Tactics
Traditional interviews typically include mainly focusing on hard skills and previous call center experience. Shift your interview tactics away from this line of thinking and more toward personality and behavioral traits such as working well with a team and being customer-centric. Also, rely heavily on soft skills that are transferrable such as being detail-oriented and having strong communication skills.
It is crucial during the interview to determine who has potential for success in the job through training and who does not. Situational questions such as “What would you do…” can help you out tremendously in this area.
Broaden Your Potential Talent Pool
Consider structuring your call center to include demographics that normally wouldn’t be possible. This includes implementing a flexible or work-from-home schedule to include often-overlooked groups such as stay-at-home parents or those who are caretakers of elderly or ill family members.
The larger your talent pool and more inclusive your call center are to employees with various needs, the easier it is to find top-notch hires. Not to mention, you will gain a stellar reputation as an organization that welcomes employees of diverse backgrounds and needs. As a highly sought-after employer, talent will come to you, reducing the effort you have to put into chasing qualified candidates.
Redirect Your Job Advertisements
When announcing an open position with your call center, be sure to change up your strategy to target every group that will be a good fit for the call center. This includes taking full advantage of social media platforms, job boards, LinkedIn, and your website.
The bottom line is that you will never find the hidden talent your call center desperately needs if the right people do not know these opportunities exist.
Leave the Hard Work to Us! Salem Solutions Can Help!
The hardest part of the hiring process is finding the perfect candidates to fill your personnel needs. Making a bad hire is costly in the form of money and time. Bad hires either must be let go or leave rather quickly, all on their own. This means you must spend a valuable amount of time going through the recruiting process and training a new hire. The recruiting process takes a great deal of time. This may be time that you do not have.
When you partner with Salem Solutions, we will do the leg work freeing you up to run your call center. As the leading staffing agency in the nation, our staffing specialists will take the time to get to know your needs. We will then leave no stone unturned, combing through our extensive database and searching every connection to find only the best talent. After thoroughly vetting each candidate, we will only present you with the top applicants to interview.
Forget the bad hires and endless searches! Partner with Salem Solutions, and let us handle the rest!