How Customer Service Skills Tests Help You Hire Your Call Center Dream Team

According to the Hubspot 2022 State of Service report, 61% of consumers would change brands if they had a negative customer service experience. However, as many business leaders can attest, improving service quality is often easier said than done.

Although companies have increased their investment in customer service, they are still not meeting customers’ expectations. According to a recent study, more than 50% of consumers have not noticed any improvement in customer service, and 23% have said it has gotten worse. 

HR teams find recruiting good customer service representatives challenging because candidates must “wear many hats.” They must be excellent multitaskers with good time management abilities and outstanding verbal and written communication skills. They also need to be friendly and understanding and able to manage difficult (and sometimes rude) callers without getting rattled or angry. If they work in a sales environment, they must also be knowledgeable about their company’s products and services.

This is why call center companies implement an industry-leading assessment solution like the eSkill Talent Assessment Platform^TM and use customer service skills tests to identify top candidates.

The Importance of Customer Service Skills Tests

Over 77% of applicants exaggerate their qualifications and experience. So, HR leaders cannot rely on the applicant screening techniques they used in the past, such as reviewing resumes and 1:1 interviews.

An applicant with an impeccable resume who sounded good during interviews could fail miserably on the job, even though their credentials indicated they would be the perfect hire. Customer service skills tests virtually eliminate this problem because assessment results show which applicants are best qualified.

Testing customer service skills also minimizes the chance that unconscious bias will influence hiring decisions. This helps businesses avoid legal challenges while ensuring compliance with fair hiring practices.

How to Test Customer Service Skills

One of the most common questions we hear from HR teams relates to how to test customer service skills, which can seem overwhelming at first. However, most clients implement the eSkill Talent Assessment Platform^TM in an hour or two and begin using it the same day.

The eSkill Assessment Library contains hundreds of validated job- and subject-based skills tests. Those that are most popular for call centers measure abilities such as communication, listening, empathy, adaptability, and problem-solving.

Recruiters can use pre-prepared assessments or build customized skills tests by choosing questions from multiple skills tests. For instance, if a customer service representative’s primary responsibility will be inputting and checking orders, a customized test can use questions from the Customer Service Skills Test and include questions from the Attention to Detail and Form-Fill Data Entry Typing Skills Tests.

Suppose the customer service team’s primary function is market research or fundraising. In that case, the Outbound Call Center Simulation is perfect, particularly if questions from the Call Center Operator, Negotiation, and Sales Representative Skills Tests are included.

If the job focuses on answering customer inquiries and problem resolution, the recruiters can build a customer service skills test with questions that measure listening and empathy skills, reasoning and problem-solving abilities, and add questions from the Emotional Intelligence Skills Test and the Inbound Call Center Simulation. 

Which Customer Service Skills Tests Do You Need?

The assessments that are appropriate will differ depending on job requirements and your company environment. However, the following are especially popular with eSkill clients for testing customer service skills.

• Customer Service Skills Test: Questions cover a variety of essential customer service skills such as listening, problem-solving, empathy, and dealing with difficult or rude callers.
• Basic Computer Skills: Tests applicants’ computer proficiency to ensure they understand MS Word®, Excel, and PowerPoint well.
• Emotional Intelligence Skills Test: Evaluates candidates’ empathy and social intelligence and their ability to use emotions constructively to determine if they will interact well with customers.
• Email Etiquette Skills Test: Tests applicants’ ability to compose email messages using correct grammar and spelling and shows whether they understand basic email etiquette.

HR leaders know that the best way to verify that candidates can do a job is to watch them complete tasks they will be required to perform if hired. So, many include the following simulations in customer service skills tests.

• Inbound Call Center Simulations: Show whether applicants can handle customer calls and inquiries promptly and efficiently without getting angry or flustered.
• Outbound Call Center Simulations: Assess applicants’ ability to collect and compile survey information and measure basic sales skills critical for fundraising and telemarketing projects.
• Chat Simulation: Confirms applicants know how to receive and respond to customers’ chat inquiries promptly and politely.
• Multitasking Simulation: Helps recruiters verify that candidates can handle multiple tasks simultaneously and complete them accurately and efficiently.
• MS Office Simulations: Presents candidates with job-related tasks that require them to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint so HR teams can evaluate their MS Office proficiency.

Get Started with Customer Service Skills Tests

Customer service skills tests help organizations avoid costly hiring mistakes by allowing HR teams to identify top applicants with a high probability of success in a job and at their company.

Are you ready to learn how customer service skills tests can help you build a call center dream team? Contact us to request a demo.