Keeping customers happy depends on exceptional customer service and building brand loyalty. However, hiring qualified call center customer service agents is challenging because they need very diverse skills.
Around 80% of customers cite service delivery speed and product/service knowledge as priorities. So, contact centers need customer service reps with good verbal and written skills, superior multitasking, and excellent time management. They must be friendly and empathetic and be able to manage difficult callers without getting frustrated or rattled. They must also understand the company’s products and services or can learn them.
Around 36% of US customers prefer to contact customer service by phone. However, by the end of 2020, 32% of organizations managed contact center technologies in the cloud, and 75% said they expected to move to the cloud within the next two years. This means contact center representatives must also know how to use phone, email, and chat effectively.
Since recruiting applicants with all these attributes is difficult, businesses implement an industry-leading assessment solution like the eSkill Talent Assessment PlatformTM and use customer service call center assessment tests to screen applicants.
What is a Call Center Assessment Test?
When HR professionals ask us, “What is a call center assessment test?”, we tell them customer service call center assessment tests allow HR professionals to evaluate whether candidates have the required skills, knowledge, and aptitude to be successful in a client-facing job.
Customer service call center assessment tests typically measure verbal and written communication skills, multitasking, and time management. They confirm that candidates can learn about the company’s products and services and effectively work with demanding (and sometimes rude) callers.
How to Test Call Center Customer Service Abilities
Previously, companies relied on traditional hiring tools and practices such as interviews and resumes to evaluate candidates’ skills. However, these are no longer effective ways to identify top candidates because the information is likely inaccurate.
Unfortunately, over 77% of applicants lie on their resumes and during interviews. This means there is a good chance that an applicant who sounds perfect during an interview will not work out once hired. Organizations that use customer service call center assessment tests minimize the possibility that this will happen because test results confirm whether or not applicants are qualified.
Examples of Customer Service Call Center Assessment Tests
Customer service call center assessment tests measure skills and abilities relevant to a job. They are typically written, validated, and reviewed by subject matter experts (SMEs). Reviewing them is important because skills test results provide relevant and accurate information about candidates’ abilities. It also verifies that the tests comply with fair hiring laws and standards.
Every customer service call center assessment test includes questions in multiple formats, such as multiple-choice, true/false, simple select, and select all that apply. The topics covered can vary depending on your job requirements.
If you are recruiting candidates for a job whose main focus is inputting and processing orders, you need detail-oriented applicants with accurate data entry and typing skills. So, in this situation, you would choose questions from the eSkill Customer Service, Form-Fill Data Entry Typing, and Attention to Detail skills tests.
If the new employee will be responsible for answering customer inquiries and solving order and delivery problems, look for excellent listeners with good problem-solving skills who can work effectively with discourteous customers and calm down angry ones. So, in this case, it makes sense to choose questions from the eSkill library Customer Service Skills Test and add questions from the Problem-Solving and Emotional Intelligence skills tests.
Once applicants have completed and submitted their skills tests, hiring teams review the results and rate their responses. Candidates with scores that meet your designated criteria move to the next step in hiring, and the others receive a message thanking them for applying.
How Customer Service Call Center Assessment Tests Eliminate Unconscious Bias
HR leaders agree that recruiting efforts must result in hiring the best-qualified candidate for every job opening. Unfortunately, this does not always happen because bias can influence hiring decisions. Eliminating subjective bias is important because companies that promote diversity are more productive than their competition. It also helps organizations avoid costly and time-consuming legal challenges.
Call center skills tests and customer service call center assessment tests help ensure all applicants are evaluated fairly and objectively because hiring decisions are based on hard data instead of gut feel.
How Customer Service Call Center Assessment Tests Reduce Turnover
Business leaders agree that employee turnover is disruptive and counterproductive. The cost of a bad hire can be as high as $240,000 when you factor in recruiting expenses, team disruption, loss of customer goodwill, and potential litigation. And this does not include incurring additional hiring costs to replace the employee.
Get Started with Customer Service Call Center Assessment Tests
Customer service call center assessment tests help you hire candidates who have the right skills and experience, will provide excellent customer service, and are a good fit for your corporate culture. This enables you to improve quality of service and customer retention and reduce turnover.
Are you ready to learn how customer service call center assessment tests can help you hire candidates who will deliver excellent customer service? Contact us to request a demo.