Call Center Staff and College Education
In spite of a global recession, the call center industry is growing. And what’s the best part about growth in any sector? It’s job creation of course! Many large global companies such as Dell, Symantec, and HP are having their calls outsourced to call centers located throughout the world. These big business are going global and helping fuel the global economy. With the sudden boom of jobs, people are curious what call center owners look for in any prospective candidate. Throughout this article, we will discuss the call center industry in general and the recommended practice of hiring agents with college level educations.
What is Outsourcing
Outsourcing has become very common, especially when it comes to large companies. Businesses are always looking for the most economical way to serve their customers and that path has led to growth in the BPO sector.
With more and more competition, it is crucial that businesses offer around the clock service to their customers. If a customer is unsatisfied with the level of service you provide, there are plenty of other companies out there willing to perform better. And, with unfettered access to social media channels, one customers bad review online can help cripple a business. When a customer is unsatisfied with a business, they talk. In fact, studies say that a person is 75% more likely to share a negative experience online versus a positive one. You want assurances that your customer is always happy. With around the clock availability, call centers help facilitate customer happiness. However, the mere existence of a call center is not good enough. The answering service needs to be staffed by people who professionally represent your brand. It’s great that outsourcing enables to serve your customers 24 hours a day, but what good is it if the people answering your calls misrepresent or even tarnish your image.
Hiring The Best Employees is Essential to Call Center Outsourcing Success
Knowing how important customer satisfaction is, a call center company should always focus on hiring the best employees. Most of the work force today has at least a college level education. Couple that with having more employees than job openings and you can see why today’s call centers are turning to a higher level employee. Proficiency in academia often translates to a more responsible employee. Educated workers are also more advanced in terms of technical support and being able to interface with all variety of CRM or online databases that call center customers may present. Call center employees don’t need to be ultra tech savvy, but most (if not all) college level employees have exposure to many different levels of computer applications which help them navigate a clients system more effectively.
Understanding English & Other Languages
Another important detail in a call center employee’s work is the need for a firm grasp on the English language. This is not only in speaking but in typing and taking notes as well. Aside from speaking English, it is important to hire a few people who are comfortable with speaking other languages. If you have ever been to college, you know that a foreign language is a common requirement. Many college level employees will have at least a basic understanding of a foreign language which will help you expand your service.
College Level Employees Exhibit Specific Marketable Skills
Another benefit of hiring a well-educated college graduate is they usually have a focus upon graduation. If you are looking for someone to handle communications, or a technical job, it is easy to find someone who can get the job done right when you are exclusively hiring college graduates and looking for a specific undergraduate education focus. For instance, a potential candidate with a public speaking or marketing degree is usually an excellent candidate for advanced receptionist services or telemarketing where a candidate who has a computer science background will be perfect for your help desk support service. By hiring someone who already specializes in a specific area, you will find it much easier to train that worker into becoming an exceptional employee.
Breathing Life into Your Answering Service
Aside from excelling in specific areas, college graduates are also young and enthusiastic about their work which can help breathe new life into your call center. Being in school for years, they are also more familiar with new technology and can help you pursue new marketing or technological channels. There is also the malleability with college graduates. They are always willing to accept suggestions and feedback given to them. By listening to this helpful advice, these young workers will be able to provide outstanding service to your call center.
A higher level call center employee leads to exceptional customer satisfaction levels and first call resolution percentages. The name of the answering service game is customer satisfaction. Recruiting young, fresh, college graduates is a sure way to fuel your company growth via a positive, helpful support staff. Even if you need to pay these job hunters a bit more than a lower level employee, you will find that hiring a higher caliber person offers a greater contribution to the growth of your call center than hiring the cheapest employee.
If you are interested in learning more, please refer to the call center customer blog which discusses call center hiring practices as well as hot industry topics like the use of social media analytics in the call center industry.