It’s no secret that extremely high attrition is a major issue for customer service roles. According to recent research, the turnover rate for inbound customer service agents was 30% in 2017 and the average cost to hire a new agent was around $2,500. The reason for such high turnover? One, employees do not have the skills to succeed, and two, excessive pressure or stress from customer and employer demands cause agents to quit.
Luckily, high employee churn is largely within your control. Automated pre-hire customer service assessment tests are a proven way to accurately predict candidates’ potential for success in CSR roles. Test results enable companies to make data-driven hiring decisions and train new hires and existing employees efficiently. You can also use test results to optimize onboarding and training by only covering areas in which the employee or new hire is deficient instead of wasting time and resources on “over-training.”
Align Workload with Skill Sets
If a new-hire is unable to provide quality service, maintain customer satisfaction, and efficiently handle customer inquiries, they will find the job exhausting and are more likely to leave. eSkill’s Customer Service Skills Test is the key to understanding if candidates “have what it takes” to make it in customer service. This test provides employers with an overall proficiency score for each candidate, and eSkill’s user-friendly platform allows hiring managers to view results-by-topic and results-by-question reports to pinpoint knowledge and skills gaps of individuals and design personalized training programs accordingly.
Since people skills are considered to be the most important skillset in customer service, eSkill’s Customer Service Skills Test thoroughly evaluates them using realistic scenarios that require candidates to show how they would work with customers, including appropriate tone of voice, i.e., conveying a positive attitude when conversing with customers. Top candidates must also be able to choose the right words or phrases to close sales and change a customer’s negative experience into a positive one, and much more. If a customer service agent becomes flustered easily or is unable to “say the right thing, at the right time,” evaluators will see that the job will be extremely difficult for them and that it is likely that they will burn out quickly.
Effective and efficient professional communication is key to success in customer service and, therefore, a large component of eSkill’s Customer Service Skills Test. The ability to quickly and correctly convey, understand and input information, such as phone numbers, billing totals, and the cost of adding additional features to services, is vital for customer service reps to be successful. Additionally, the test-takers’ knowledge of common customer service best practices, such as the appropriate way to word a voicemail message, transfer a call, and more are evaluated.
Problem-solving skills or the candidates’ ability to “think on their toes” is critical in customer service. If the answer to a customer question is not clearly defined in your company’s policies and procedures, the customer service agent must be able to think of other ways to satisfy the customer’s needs. Identifying candidates who can handle customer requests no matter what the circumstances quickly is paramount to their success. eSkill’s Customer Service Skills Test evaluates candidates’ ability to efficiently and professionally deal with customer issues, including the ability to provide customers with logical reasoning for company policies and procedures, facilitate solutions to reoccurring customer issues, and more.
By using the results of eSkill’s Customer Service Skills Test you can identify skill gaps in individuals and align training accordingly. Training and development opportunities that are uniquely aligned with the needs of individual employees and new hires will increase their likelihood of success in their role, ultimately increasing employee tenure.
Simulations Establish Realistic Job Expectations
Of new hires that have left a job within ninety days of starting, 43 percent reported their reason for quitting was that the day-to-day tasks were not what they expected. Providing potential new-hires with a realistic job preview allows them to understand what the role will entail. And introducing simulations into your customer service recruitment strategy does just that.
eSkill’s Customer Service Skills Test includes customizable Chat and Call Center Simulations. The simulations require test-takers to interact with a virtual “customer” and are timed to replicate the urgency of real customer service work environments, providing employers with a full picture of candidates’ capabilities, as well as speed. The simulations within eSkill’s Customer Service Skills Test include several typing scenarios from 10-key data entry to filling in forms and general typing.
With eSkill’s user-friendly customization features, it is easy to modify the simulations to match a position’s specific requirements. For example, if the position you are hiring for only requires the employee to communicate with customers via chat, simply delete the call center simulations and add more chat simulations.
Whatever your hiring needs, eSkill has a testing solution that will streamline hiring and reduce employee turnover. eSkill’s U.S.-based Client Success Managers can help employers customize, edit, and develop customer service assessment tests that align directly with the requirements of any customer service position.
High turnover and abbreviated tenure mean high costs for recruiting and training, lost employee productivity, and diminished morale at the workplace. Incorporating eSkill’s customer service assessment tests as part of the hiring process will effectively scale your recruiting team and enable them to make great hiring decisions consistently.
Interested in Customer Service Assessment Tests?
Learn more about the benefits of using eSkill’s customer service skills tests to reduce employee turnover and to find qualified candidates quickly.
