ICMI's Customer Management Insight - April 2008 - (Page 47)

EXPERT’S ANGLE everyday food and extra grease. Bottom line: On the basis of job title alone, people don’t respect cooks as much as they do chefs. When people hear about call center agent job openings, what are their typical reactions? What do they envision? > Lily Tomlin’s annoying character, Ernestine the Operator > A person sitting in a cubicle, tethered to a phone, answering call after call > Rude and impolite callers > Telemarketers who want to talk your ear off at dinnertime When recruiting, you must address the negative “default reactions” to the job title “call center rep. This bias against the job may ” repel talented individuals, leaving you with a pool of candidates who are desperate for any job. ENHANCING YOUR JOB BRAND How can you recruit under this dark shadow? You must control your job brand or it will control your recruiting efforts. We can illustrate the point with an example from an organization that has had major recruiting challenges — the U.S. Army. There was a time when reactions to the job of “soldier” were all negative: a drill sergeant in your face, lousy food and morning runs with a full pack of equipment. The Army changed the job brand by emphasizing technical training, maturity, leadership skills and earning money for college. Now you could be “all that you can be” and “Army strong. Becoming a ” soldier will help you succeed in life. Your challenge is to create and communicate your unique job brand so that applicants don’t apply a default reaction to your call center. Like the Army, your benefits icmi’s insight should come from a high-level perspective that inspires, challenges or creates a positive emotional response: > Agents in XYZ drug refill call center play an important role in helping customers regain or maintain their health. The recruiting message can focus on how agents help people with their health and wellbeing. > A travel reservation center has extensive resources for agent well-being and morale, such as an in-house gym and an in-house bank. In addition, management goes the extra mile to support and recognize staff. People like to work for a company that respects and supports them. Recruiting efforts can attract talent by emphasizing support, work recognition and respect for the individual. > A center has earned company awards for outstanding customer service. It is highly regarded throughout the company, right up to the CEO. People like to work for winning organizations. Recruiting messages should talk about joining a work group that is highly respected and appreciated. These examples are an emotional repositioning of work in a specific call center. YOUR RECRUITING MESSAGE ties. Does your job brand include any of these features that resonate with quality people? > VALUES PEOPLE. Management respects the individuals and recognizes individual contributions. > PROMOTES TEAM SPIRIT. Management encourages a team spirit and recognizes team contributions. have opportunities for special assignments, additional responsibilities and career pathing. > EFFORT TO PROMOTE INVIGORATING MORALE. Center promotes a “work > OFFERS OPPORTUNITY GROWTH. Successful reps FOR hard, play hard” philosophy. To craft that compelling recruiting message, seek the services of your company’s marketing or sales group. They are well-versed in creating exciting and attractive messages that touch emotions and differentiate your company from others. Once you have your own job brand, all personnel involved in recruiting and hiring — recruiters, HR personnel and hiring managers — need to stay on message. With this consistent and repeated description of the job, you prevent knee-jerk reactions to the “sweatshop” brand and attract highly talented individuals truly interested in your center’s mission. • If you use a dry recruiting an nouncement, applicants will automatically think of call center stereotypes. Your job won’t entice highquality applicants. You must clearly and repeatedly communicate what makes your call center job special and attractive — your own job brand. MALCOLM MCCULLOCH, Don’t sugarcoat the job. But do PH.D. is the Senior Research Consultant at relate a forceful message about the LIMRA International. mmcculloch@limra.com positives, benefits and opportuniwww.icmi.com | APRIL 2008 47 http://www.icmi.com

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ICMI's Customer Management Insight - April 2008 Operations: Small Call Centers, Big Potential Ad Index Contents Editor's Page Contact Center Spotlight People: Assessment Tools Recommended Reading Technology: Speech Recognition Special Feature: Best of Show Strategy: Service-to-Sales Success Expert's Angle - High Volume, High Stakes: A Better Strategy for Hiring Experts Angle - Secrets of Recruiting Success/Job Brands: Changing Applicant Reactions to Your Openings Experts Angle - Speech Analytics: Uncovering the Voice of the Customer

ICMI's Customer Management Insight - April 2008

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