How to Hire Call Center Agents

Call center Agents are undoubtedly the most essential part of any call center. Your call center may be equipped with the latest technology and software, but without agents who can adequately represent your company, your call center cannot flourish.

65% of customers find Customer Experience Service more valuable than price when making purchase decisions. 

The experience of your customer with your call center is a deciding factor of whether they should continue their journey with the brand or not. This makes it even more important to hire quality agents who can meet customer’s expectations and provide satisfactory service. Also, the agents must be able to work for the company goal. 

So, now you may be wondering what these qualities we should look for in agents are. 

Following are the qualities that every successful call center keeps in mind during the hiring process. 

Empathy: 

A call center agent has to talk to their customer all day long. The agent has to bear the brunt of the frustration and varying moods of different customers. This makes it hard for the agent to continue working calmly. 

This is the reason why “Empathy” makes into the list of qualities an agent should have. An agent must be able to empathize with the customer. They have to make sure that the customers feel heard. An agent should tell the customer that they understand the frustration the caller feels.

Validating a customer’s feelings can help the agency develop a bond with the customer. This can ensure that the customer has a positive experience with the company.

Problem Solving:

Call Centers often face unexpected issues. Most of these issues cannot be solved with standard practice. So, call centers are adapting a flexible method by letting the agent solve the issue on the spot. 

Therefore, the agent must be able to find or create a solution so that nothing hinders the customer’s journey. This ensures a seamless customer experience and improves their satisfaction. 

Detailed organization:

It is difficult to give your 100% when you receive calls with somewhat similar issues day after day. An agent may slack unwillingly in their work. This can cause problems. 

You must ensure that no matter the situation, every agent works efficiently and fulfills their duty. You can ask the agent’s previous colleagues about their work efficiency. You can track their work closely  and monitor their  reports.

Communication Skill: 

Communication is the most crucial skill of a call center agent. The agents must use clear enunciation, a stronghold on language, and proper etiquette to interact with the customers.

Along with speaking, it is also important the agents also listen to their customers properly. They should be able to understand what the customer wants and get the service properly. 

During interviews, you can role-play or play an audio recording of a customer’s query and ask the agent what they understand and how they will resolve the issue. 

Calm Attitude: 

When they can’t deal with the job pressure, Agents end up leaving the job. Moreover, the agents have to deal with frustrated customers. These factors lead to agent turnover. 

An agent must remain calm under pressure in order to pacify the situation. They should calm themselves down to help the customers. The agents need to keep cool when they get yelled at by the customer and patiently reply to that customer. 

When hiring a new agent, ensure they are emotionally stable and can skillfully take care of troubling situations.

Memory: 

Call Center agents cannot depend upon scripts or product manuals entirely. Moreover, the agents may not even get the time to look up information. 

This is why the agents must memorize information that is frequently asked or keep it handy. To provide a smooth interaction without any awkwardness from the agent’s side, the agent must know the services the company offers. 

The agents should be able to deal with frequently asked questions without looking up the knowledge base. The confidence the agents display when answering the questions and the promptness reassures the company’s trust

Positive outlook/ Emotional Stability:

Not all customers who call are going to talk politely. Some customers are going to talk rudely, no matter which agent picks the call. This will undoubtedly tire out the agents. 

It is important that the agents don’t take such behavior personally. The customers don’t have a problem with the agent individually but the company as a whole. So the individual agent must not take the comments to their heart. 

This is why a positive outlook is important in keeping up with the rush of the call center. The agents who remain calm and positive even when dealing with an annoyed customer can help turn the situation in a much better way; they can make the customer feel valued and make the customer experience positive as well. 

Team Work: 

There are times when agents need to work in a team to solve complex issues and craft methods to optimize the call center. These are the times when agents think and work like a team. 

Therefore, when hiring, you have to ensure the agents are friendly. A confident, social and assertive agent can boost the team morale and productivity and boost performance. 

Now that we have established the type of qualities you should look for in your agents, let’s see what kind of questions you can ask during the hiring process.