Read to learn the 5 common contact center recruiting mistakes. 1. Misaligned Job Description: Many times companies do not have the end in mind when they begin the recruiting process. Is your call to action in line with the company’s vision and strategy? Do you know specifically the job description that you are hiring for? Knowing what you are looking for and defining it within the overall mission of the company is paramount in a successful search. If you are recruiting for a manager to handle an inbound center, make certain that the qualities you are looking for are defined as such. Then, seek those that meet your definitions. This allows candidates to know exactly what they are applying for in advance, assuring a better success rate at the onset. 2. Carrying Out Defined Job Roles: Once you know what the job description is, do you follow through on it? Oftentimes employees hired for one position are quickly moved to another. This ‘on the fly’ management style might help in times of crisis, but as a common practice, it causes problems. Knowing what the job is and sticking with it is the most critical element in ensuring that the hiring manager and employee understand performance standards and what is expected of the role. By writing out a succinct game plan, employees know where they fit and what is needed to be successful. Many employers do not take the time to write out the job description. When that happens, the employee’s perceived role and the company’s do not match, leading to disappointment and disillusionment for both parties. 3. Lapping Roles/Mixed Responsibilities: Keeping with this theme, one of the biggest mistakes I see regularly is the confusion and duplication of responsibilities and tasks. If your company does not have specific roles and responsibilities for each manager, your performance standards will suffer. In today’s world, we all have to wear multiple hats, but each operating unit must have its role and objective to avoid duplication and repetitive tasks. By doing this, you establish proper accountability, allowing each position to know what is required of them and the level of execution expected. When problems do arise, you can quickly ascertain where the breakdown occurred and how to amend it. 4. Lack Of Interview Strategy: While almost every company has an interview process, few have an interview strategy. A strategy entails defining your mission and mapping out a plan to get there. Included in this, is knowing what position you are trying to place, as well as knowing what skills, experience, education, and personality you are seeking. This strategy should also include knowing HOW to interview. Will you do a skills assessment using certain software applications or peer-to-peer role-playing? Will you bring in a minimum number of candidates to compare, or will you hire the first available? What is your timetable? By clearly knowing what you are looking for and mapping out each step, including follow-ups with candidates, you are better assured of a successful hire. 5. Absence Of Training/Monitoring: Once you’ve hired the ideal candidate, you must make certain that you’ve given them every chance to succeed. This includes monitoring the performance of your candidate during training, after training, and during the first 90 days of employment. Most training and corrective issues can be made within this window to ensure long-term success with the employee. Typically, most turnover will occur in the first 90 days. By making a sufficient effort to train and monitor developing candidates, your investment should pay off.
