5 Reasons Staffing Agencies Use Call Center Listening Skills Tests

Many business leaders say their call center agents are the backbone of their company because no matter what product or service they sell, their customers remember how they are treated when they call to ask a question or get help with a problem.

Many staffing agencies say it is challenging to recruit call center representatives because they need a variety of skills to be successful. They need excellent verbal and written communication abilities because they talk to customers and correspond with them via email and chat. They must also be friendly and understanding, be able to manage difficult callers without getting frustrated or flustered, and be excellent listeners.

It is difficult to recruit candidates who meet all these requirements. So, staffing agencies implement an industry-leading assessment solution like the eSkill Talent Assessment Platform^TM.

Why Staffing Agencies Use Listening Skills Tests for Call Center Agents

Customers often provide valuable feedback that can help businesses improve products and services and identify problems that hinder productivity. So, recruiters use call center listening skills tests to hire call center agents who can:

• Quickly establish a good rapport with customers
• Build trust so customers open up and talk about how they feel
• Know what to listen for during calls to identify problems and areas for improvement
• Summarize what they heard to verify they understood correctly
• Know which follow-up questions to ask to gain additional insight

These are called active listening skills, and finding call center agents who have them is difficult.  This is why staffing agencies use listening skills tests for call center agents in their recruiting process.

What Are Active Listening Skills?

Active listening goes beyond simply hearing what a customer is saying. It means understanding the customer’s meaning and intent and requires the call center agent to actively participate in the conversation. This is essential in a call center environment because it makes customers feel heard and shows that you value their opinions. These are common active listening techniques:

• Build trust and rapport by speaking in a friendly tone so customers feel you are doing everything possible to help them.
• Demonstrate concern about problems and requests. Empathy is one of the top traits that customers expect from a call center agent.
• Repeat and paraphrase what was said to summarize the situation and confirm you understand.
• Ask open-ended questions that encourage customers to provide more information so you can get to the root of a problem and determine the best way to solve it.
• Withhold judgment and advice. Listen to understand rather than to respond.
• Listen for non-verbal cues such as a change in voice tone or sudden unwillingness to talk.
• Demonstrate that you are listening to what the customer is saying by using verbal affirmations such as “I see,” “I know,” and “I understand.”
• Do not interrupt while a customer is talking or voicing their concerns unless you are acknowledging what they said.

Staffing agencies prove their worth to clients by finding them top candidates to fill critical job roles. By using call center listening skills tests, they can identify applicants with good active listening skills and present them with confidence.

How Call Center Listening Skills Tests Work

Call center listening skills tests include different types of questions like multiple-choice, true/false, simple select, and select all that apply. You can use a pre-prepared assessment from the eSkill Assessment Library or build customized listening skills test for call center agents by selecting questions from multiple assessments.

Suppose the primary focus of the job is inputting and processing orders. In that case, you can use questions from the Call Center and Call Center Operator skills tests and include questions from the Form-Fill Data Entry Typing and Attention to Detail skills tests.

If your call center team handles customer inquiries, choose questions from the Customer Service Skills Test that assess listening, empathy, and problem-solving abilities, and add questions from the Emotional Intelligence Skills Test.

Why Your Staffing Agency Should Use Simulations

Staffing agencies use simulations to see how candidates handle situations they will encounter on the job. These are popular simulations for call center agent jobs.

• Inbound Call Center Simulation: Verifies applicants can handle customer calls and inquiries promptly and efficiently without losing their cool.
• Outbound Call Center Simulation: Evaluates candidates’ ability to collect survey information and basic sales skills essential in fundraising and telemarketing environments.
• Basic Computer Skills: Tests candidates’ proficiency with MS Office® applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Email Etiquette: Confirms that candidates understand email etiquette and can format and write email messages using correct grammar and spelling.
• Multitasking: Confirms candidates can manage multiple tasks simultaneously and complete them promptly, accurately, and efficiently.
• Chat: Demonstrates that applicants can respond to customer inquiries promptly and politely using popular chat applications.

Get Started with Call Center Listening Skills Tests

Call center listening skills tests help staffing agencies vet candidates before presenting them to clients. Clients are assured that they are only considering applicants with a high likelihood of success and can rest assured that they will avoid costly hiring mistakes.

Do you want to learn how call center listening skills tests help you identify top call center agents for your clients? Contact us to request a demo.