ICMI's Customer Management Insight - April 2008 - (Page 5)

Editor’s Page EDITORIAL OFFICE Attract “A” Players It has always been tough for contact centers to attract and keep the “A” players. In an industry historically plagued by high attrition, the typical strategy has been: Hire quickly; fill empty seats. And so it has become a relentless cycle. Even during boom times, the pickings for top talent can be slim. Refining your recruiting and hiring strategy can help you find the right candidates and lower the churn rate. The following tactics are covered in more detail in this month’s issue. USE PERSONAL RECRUITING SOURCES. LIMRA International’s Malcolm McCulloch advocates employee referrals as a source of higher-quality candidates (see SECRETS OF RECRUITING SUCCESS). An ICMI study found this to be true — among contact centers that measured recruiting success, employee referrals was named as the most effective method (see CALL CENTER RECRUITING AND HIRING PRACTICES). ENHANCE YOUR JOB BRAND. Let’s face it, when it comes to job 11 West 19th Street, NY, NY 10011 212-600-3000 Fax 212-600-3080 PUBLICATIONS DIRECTOR | Susan Hash DESIGN DIRECTOR | Ellen Herndon MANAGING EDITOR | Layne Holley CREATIVE PROJECTS COORDINATOR | Greg Levin SENIOR EDITOR | Alexander Dering CONTRIBUTORS | Bruce Balentine, Kate Donovan, Bruce Dresser, Malcolm McCulloch, Tim Montgomery, David Morgan, Daniel Ziv BUSINESS OFFICE 212 Carnegie Center, 2nd Floor, Princeton, NJ 08540 609-759-4700 Fax 516-476-8275 VP GLOBAL BRAND DIRECTOR | Ruthann Fisher DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS | Linda Harden INTEGRATED SALES MANAGERS | Bill Lange, Marge Genz INTERNATIONAL SALES/ISRAEL | Rhonda Abramson rhonda@marsmarketing.co.il SALES ASSISTANT | Maureen McGrath DIRECTOR OF MARKETING | Tara Gibb CUSTOM REPRINTS AND PERMISSIONS | PARS International Corp. 212-221-9595 reprints@parsintl.com LIST RENTAL | Merit Direct, 914-368-1000 CUSTOMER SERVICE | 888-824-9793 or 847-763-9589 icmi@halldata.com CALL CENTER EVENTS SHOW DIRECTOR | Joy Sobhani image, call centers have had a bad rap. Try to dispel negative perceptions and build positive branding during the recruiting process. As McCulloch explains, “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. (see ” JOB BRANDS: CHANGING APPLICANT REACTIONS TO YOUR OPENINGS). USE EFFECTIVE SCREENING AND ASSESSMENT METHODS. The ICMI ONLINE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR OF WEB OPERATIONS | Rick Luhmann UNITED BUSINESS MEDIA LLC CHAIRMAN | David Levin CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER | Scott Mozarsky CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER | David Wein PRESIDENT, THINK SERVICES | Philip Chapnick CORPORATE SENIOR VP SALES | Anne Marie Miller SENIOR VP, HUMAN RESOURCES | Marvlieu Jolla Hall SENIOR VP, MANUFACTURING | Marie Myers SENIOR VP COMMUNICATIONS | Alexandra Raine study found that the most common screening tools used were resume/cover letter evaluations (87.7%) and live phone screening (75.9%). Interestingly, the most used method (resume/cover letters) was also rated the least effective. Once past the screening phase, 93.8% of managers relied on in-person interviews to assess candidates. However, including as sessment tools along with a structured interview can dramatically improve your selection process, says Kate Donovan of Veritude (see HIGH VOLUME, HIGH STAKES: A BETTER STRATEGY FOR HIRING). The beauty of today’s assessment tools, is that they’re user friendly, have highly robust reporting features and are typically customizable to your center’s needs. ICMI’s Greg Levin reviews several top products in THE SCIENCE OF AGENT SELECTION: ASSESSMENT TOOLS HELP CENTERS FIND THE RIGHT FIT. Want to advertise in this publication? Contact: Bill Lange Integrated Sales Manager 609-759-4714 wlange@cmp.com icmi’s insight Skilled, high-performing contact center staff drive business success. With customer loyalty and retention hanging in the balance, you can’t afford to hire the wrong agents. Susan Hash ICMI Publications Director www.icmi.com | APRIL 2008 5 http://www.incoming.com/WebModules/Products/PubDetail.aspx?ProductId=579 http://www.incoming.com/WebModules/Products/PubDetail.aspx?ProductId=579 http://www.icmi.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ICMI's Customer Management Insight - April 2008

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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