How can you assess communication skills for customer service positions?

1 Define communication skills

Before you start assessing communication skills, you need to define what they are and what level of proficiency you expect from your candidates. Communication skills can be divided into four categories: verbal, non-verbal, written, and listening. Each category has its own subskills, such as clarity, tone, grammar, body language, and feedback. You also need to consider the context and the audience of the communication, as customer service may require different styles and formats depending on the situation and the customer.

2 Use multiple methods

To get a comprehensive and objective view of a candidate's communication skills, you should use multiple methods of assessment, such as interviews, role-plays, simulations, and references. Interviews allow you to observe how candidates communicate verbally and non-verbally, as well as how they respond to questions and scenarios. Role-plays and simulations give you a chance to see how candidates handle real-life customer service situations, such as complaints, inquiries, or requests. References can provide you with feedback from previous employers or colleagues on how candidates performed in customer service roles.

3 Focus on behavior

When assessing communication skills, you should focus on the behavior and the outcome of the communication, rather than the personality or the intention of the candidate. For example, instead of asking candidates how they would deal with a difficult customer, you can ask them to describe a specific situation where they did so and what was the result. This way, you can evaluate how they applied their communication skills in practice and what impact they had on the customer satisfaction and loyalty.

4 Use rating scales

To make your assessment more consistent and reliable, you can use rating scales to measure the communication skills of your candidates. Rating scales are numerical or descriptive scales that indicate the level of performance or competence of a skill. For example, you can use a 1-5 scale, where 1 is poor and 5 is excellent, to rate how candidates communicate verbally, non-verbally, written, and listening. You can also use rating scales to compare candidates against each other or against a benchmark.

5 Provide feedback

Finally, you should provide feedback to your candidates on their communication skills, both positive and negative. Feedback is a form of communication that can help candidates improve their skills and learn from their mistakes. It can also help you build rapport and trust with your candidates, as well as show them that you value their efforts and potential. You can provide feedback verbally or written, depending on the method of assessment, and you should be specific, constructive, and timely.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?