Why Call Center Recruitment Staff Should Use Call Center Assessment Tests

Hiring qualified call center representatives is challenging because they wear many hats. They should have excellent verbal and written communication skills and must be good multitaskers and time managers. They also need to understand the company’s products and services, be able to discuss them with customers, and be pleasant and agreeable—even with difficult (and sometimes rude) callers.

According to a recent HubSpot study, 61% of consumers will change brands if they have even one negative experience. So, call centers implement an industry-leading assessment solution like the eSkill Talent Assessment Platform^TM and use call center assessment tests to identify top applicants for customer service positions.

Why Use Assessment Tests for Call Center Agents

Call center recruiting teams can no longer rely on traditional applicant screening techniques. Tactics such as reviewing resumes and scheduling interviews are no longer effective because over 77% of applicants exaggerate their qualifications and experience on their resumes.

This means a candidate with a perfect resume, who performs well during an interview, could be a mistake that costs thousands of dollars. According to the US Department of Labor, a bad hire costs 30% of an employee’s first-year earnings, and a Gallup study shows turnover costs US companies $1 trillion annually.

Call center assessment tests minimize this risk because results show which applicants are best qualified. The HR team can then focus on top candidates and eliminate those who are unqualified. Using assessment tests for call center agents also minimizes the chance that unconscious bias will influence recruiting, which helps businesses avoid legal challenges.

How to Use Call Center Assessment Tests

eSkill provides a variety of assessment tests for call center agents, which recruiters can use to measure candidates’ communication and listening abilities, empathy, adaptability, and problem-solving abilities. Questions are normally multiple-choice, simple select, select all that apply, true/false, and open answer.

HR professionals can use pre-prepared call center assessment tests or build customized assessment tests for call center agents and tailor them to their needs. For example, if customer service representatives will primarily be responsible for processing and checking orders, recruiters can use questions from the eSkill Call Center Operator and Customer Service skills tests and add questions from the Form-Fill Data Entry Typing and Attention to Detail skills tests.

If the job focuses on answering customers’ inquiries and solving problems, they can build assessment tests for call center agents using questions that measure communication and listening skills, empathy, and problem-solving abilities and include questions from the Emotional Intelligence Skills Test.

Once candidates complete and submit call center assessment tests, HR teams can review the results, identify top candidates, eliminate the ones who do not meet the job requirements, and create a shortlist.

Which Call Center Assessment Tests Should You Use?

eSkill clients have access to an extensive library that contains hundreds of validated job- and subject-related skills tests. Some specifically pertain to call center operations and customer service, and others can be used to evaluate related abilities. These are examples of call center assessment tests that recruiters use.

• Call Center Operator Skills Test: Evaluates candidates’ ability to answer customer inquiries, resolve problems and complaints, and explain the value of products and services.
• Customer Service Skills Test: Assesses critical customer service skills such as listening, written and verbal communication, empathy, problem-solving, and dealing with difficult callers.
• Basic Computer Skills: Measures computer proficiency and verifies candidates have good knowledge of MS Office® applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Emotional Intelligence: Evaluates candidates’ empathy and social intelligence skills, whether they interact well with customers, and their ability to use their emotions constructively.
• Email Etiquette: Verifies that applicants can create email messages using correct grammar and spelling and confirms that they understand email etiquette best practices.

HR leaders know the best way to verify applicants can do a job is to present them with situations they will encounter on the job. So, they include simulations such as the following in assessment tests for call center agents.

• Inbound and Outbound Call Center Simulations: Indicates whether applicants can handle customer calls and inquiries promptly and efficiently without getting irritated or rattled.
• Multitasking Simulation: Shows you whether candidates can manage multiple tasks simultaneously and complete them all promptly, accurately, and efficiently.
• Chat Simulation: Confirms that applicants can receive and respond to customers’ chat inquiries promptly and politely.
• MS Office Simulations: Presents applicants with typical on-the-job situations that require them to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

It is difficult to measure some attributes, such as verbal communication and foreign language skills, using written call center assessment tests. So, recruiters include video response questions and request applicants to record and upload responses. This enables them to evaluate and rate the answers along with other hiring team members.

Get Started with Call Center Assessment Tests

Assessment tests for call center agents help you avoid expensive hiring mistakes by allowing HR teams to identify top candidates who will succeed in a job and at your company. When you recruit better-qualified candidates, you improve service quality and delivery, which results in improved customer retention and higher productivity. You also reduce employee turnover so you can build a cohesive team.

Do you want to learn how call center assessment tests can help you improve quality of hire? Contact us to request a demo.