The Full Process of Customer Service Skill Assessment: Cognitive Tests and Communication Skills Evaluation for HR Professionals

Many organizations underestimate the importance of customer service, which is a mistake because the quality of your service has a direct effect on your bottom line. A Hubspot study showed that 93% of customers seek out companies that deliver superior customer service, and 58% will pay more for excellent service.

A Microsoft survey shows that quality of service is a priority for 90% of customers considering doing business with your company. A Gladly report on customer expectations shows that 40% of clients will stop buying from a brand after two bad customer experiences, anda Zendesk survey shows that 61% of your customers will take their business elsewhere after one negative service experience.

Businesses worldwide have learned that providing excellent service helps them attract and retain customers, which is why they use customer service assessment tests in hiring to identify top candidates.

Why is Customer Service Important?

Your customer service representatives are your goodwill ambassadors. When clients and prospects contact your company, a customer service rep is probably the first person they talk to. In many cases, it is the ONLY person they speak to. Your customer service team also represents your brand and helps you build a loyal customer following.

Customer retention is key to the overall health of your company and your ability to increase market share. As most business leaders will attest, retaining an existing customer costs about one-fifth as much as acquiring a new one. You can also increase profits by up to 25% by increasing customer retention by just 5% since you invest less revenue and fewer resources in customer acquisition.

Your success rate while attempting to sell a product or service to an existing customer is about 60% to 70%. However, there is only a five to 20% chance that you will close a deal and convert a prospect into a new customer.  So, you will always be “playing catch up” if you rely heavily on new customer acquisition to grow your business.

Your business flourishes when you retain customers, while high employee turnover stifles growth and negatively impacts your bottom line, which is why it’s important to use customer service assessments to identify and hire top candidates for your service and support team.

What is a Customer Service Assessment Test?

A customer service job assessment test helps business and HR leaders evaluate applicants and confirm they have the skills needed to be successful in customer service and support roles. Instead of screening hundreds or even thousands of candidates, they can instantly see which applicants are qualified and which ones should be eliminated from consideration.

Once applicants complete and submit customer service assessment tests, HR teams can sort them by score and review cumulative scores and section-specific data. This gives them the information they need to create a shortlist of candidates who can deliver the quality of service customers deserve.

Customer service assessments decrease the risk of hiring mistakes because HR professionals can rely on hard data instead of gut feel to make decisions. They help employers maintain compliance with fair hiring practices and standards by minimizing the chance that unconscious bias will taint hiring decisions.

Customer service job assessment tests also reduce the risk of hiring errors. Hiring mistakes are expensive and can kill productivity and harm staff morale. Even one bad hire can cost thousands of dollars when you factor in recruiting expenses, staff disruption, loss of customer goodwill, and potential litigation expenses.

What Attributes Do Customer Service Assessment Tests Measure?

Customers and prospects often ask what is on a typical customer service assessment. There is no set answer because it depends on the job requirements and the organization’s goals and objectives.

For instance, if the primary focus of a job is entering and processing orders, you need a detail-oriented person with accurate typing skills. So, in this case, your customer service assessment test should include a typing assessment and questions from eSkill’s Attention to Detail, Typing, Form-Fill Data Entry, and Customer Service skills tests.

If the new hire will handle customer inquiries and track order and delivery problems, you need candidates with excellent listening skills, good problem-solving skills, and the ability to work effectively with all types of customers. So, in this case, your customer service assessment should include questions that assess effective listening, empathy, and problem-solving skills, as well as questions from the eSkill Emotional Intelligence skills test.

Why You Should Customize Customer Service Assessments

HR leaders ask, “What is the full process involved in creating a skill assessment?” We explain that it depends on the situation because organizations have different requirements.

Not every company is structured the same way. So, it is not unusual for the same job at two companies to have different requirements. This means one-size-fits-all assessments are rarely effective. Therefore, choosing a provider that offers a solution that allows you to customize skills tests is important.

Top assessment solutions allow you to build custom assessments and tailor them to match your job roles. For example, if you work for a healthcare organization and need to hire a customer service representative with strong MS Office® abilities, you can build a customer service assessment test using questions from the eSkill Customer Service, MS Office®, and Medical Terminology skills tests.

What are Good Customer Service Questions for Hiring?

HR professionals often ask what types of questions are asked in a customer service assessment. The answer depends on what the new employee will do and the organization’s mission.

As many hiring managers will attest, the best way to confirm applicants can do a job is to ask them to complete tasks they will perform if hired. This is why recruiters include simulations in customer service assessment tests. For example, a chat simulation helps hiring teams confirm that candidates can communicate with customers using popular applications, and a multitasking simulation confirms that candidates can manage several tasks together.

Which Skills Can Customer Service Assessment Tests Measure?

A common question from customers and prospects is, “Are good customer service skills learned or natural ability?” Business leaders are also curious about which skills they should test to hire top customer service representatives and what the results will tell them about candidates. Questions they ask include, “What cognitive tests estimate attention to detail?” and “Are some people better at problem-solving than others?”

We tell them that some attributes can be taught, and some are innate. Assessment results show whether applicants have the required skills for a job, and behavioral assessments reveal which candidates are the best fit for a job and their company culture.

For example, if you are hiring a customer service representative for a position where accuracy is critical, the eSkill Attention to Detail, Data Checking, and Proofreading skills tests will show you which candidates are meticulous in checking their work.

If the new hire will be responsible for helping customers track orders and shipments and assist with issue resolution, the eSkill Problem Identification, Problem-Solving, and Decision-Making skills tests will help you identify resourceful candidates who can zero in on a problem, understand the underlying cause, and find a solution.

Other skills you should test candidates for when they apply for customer service jobs include:

• Empathy: Applicants should be able to understand peoples’ feelings and why they react the way they do in specific situations. If a customer has a problem, displaying empathy demonstrates that the candidate knows it is important to acknowledge the customer is upset, express concern, and explain how they will solve the problem.

• Communication: Good communicators can convey messages accurately and tactfully, both verbally and in writing. This is important because unclear communication can cause misunderstandings and confusion, which can lead to incorrect orders and lost business.
  
  
• Active Listening: Active listening is an important attribute for customer service representatives because it is easier to help clients if you take the time to listen to them and completely understand where they need help. Applicants who are good listeners can concentrate and focus on what a customer is saying.

• Patience: Patient individuals are good at working through complex situations without expressing frustration, anger, or other negative emotions. They also remain calm and collected and show customers they want to help, even if the caller is angry. Customer service representatives must be patient because they often deal with frustrated customers.

• Positive Attitude: Candidates with a positive attitude can look at situations favorably and optimistically. When employees are positive, it assures customers that someone is trying to help. This is important because it shows professionalism and increases customer satisfaction. A positive attitude also gives customers a good impression of your business, translating into better customer retention and more referrals.

• Emotional Intelligence: A customer service representative must be able to relate to all types of people–especially those who are frustrated or angry. They are good at understanding the other person’s point of view and know how to empathize with their situation rather than take things personally.

• Resourcefulness: Customer service representatives must be able to take charge of a situation while infusing warmth and personality. This is not something you can easily teach. Candidates may or may not have this ability.

• Technical Knowledge: Customer service representatives talk to prospects who want to purchase one or more of their company’s products and services. They also work with customers who need to upgrade existing products and services or make additional purchases. So, they must be knowledgeable about their company’s offerings and be able to make specific recommendations based on the customer’s needs.

• Adaptability: Customer service representatives must be able to think “on their feet” because they often deal with unusual requests. Customers and prospects may request things that are not covered during training, for which customer service reps must be prepared.

Is Customer Service Training a Worthwhile Investment?

Business leaders ask whether customer service training is a good investment. We tell them it is because today, generally, service delivery does not meet customers’ expectations. A recent Netomi Pulse Report shows over 50% of consumers have not noticed any improvement in the customer service they receive from organizations, and 23% say it has gotten worse. 

A large part of the problem is that recruiting good customer service representatives is challenging because they wear so many hats. They must be excellent verbal and written communicators, be good at multitasking, manage their time efficiently, and know and understand their company’s products and services. They must also be accommodating and sympathetic and be able to work with angry and difficult callers without getting rattled.

Another problem is HR teams can no longer use traditional hiring practices such as resumes and interviews to find top candidates. There is a good chance the information is inaccurate because over 77% of applicants lie about their qualifications and experience.

So, an applicant with a perfect resume, who sounds great during interviews, could be wrong for the job because they either lack the required skills and experience or are not a good fit for the role. Customer service assessment tests reduce the chances of this occurring because they help hiring teams identify candidates who really do have the right stuff.

Get Started with Customer Service Assessments

Building a strong support and service team can improve customer retention and increase profitability. When you provide clients with exceptional service, they are likely to become repeat customers and loyal advocates for your brand. This helps you maximize retention and reduce churn. This is significant because new customer acquisition costs six to seven times more than retaining existing clients.

You can improve customer service delivery by hiring better-qualified candidates. Customer service assessment tests help you recruit top candidates with a high likelihood of success in customer service representative roles at your company.

Do you want to learn how customer service assessments can help you build a strong service team that will help you grow your customer base and retain current customers? Contact eSkill to request a demo.