There's No Right Way To Train A Poor Fit For A Contact Center Job

You can deliver the world’s best training to the wrong new hires and still wind up with a low productivity Contact Center that generates mediocre Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores.

Onsite Or Work@Home: You’ll Generally Find 3 Kinds Of Customer Service Representatives (CSRs)

? Above Average Engaged CSRs Who Meet / Exceed Performance Standards

These ‘Best Fit’ CSRs are stable / conscientious frontline workers who achieve high training pass rates and ramp up to productive levels quickly.

They’re naturally caring and compassionate – and possess an affinity to display Empathy to form relationships based on Rapport / Trust in a Customer Service & Support and/or TeleSales context.

They receive high Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores and/or achieve their Revenue Targets.

They’re highly engaged & enthusiastic ‘Team Players’ who contribute to driving coworker performance.

? Average Not Engaged CSRs Who Struggle To Meet Performance Standards

Often these are good people in the wrong job – only ‘Moderate’ job fits.

They put in their time in body – not in spirit – lacking some of the job fit for customer facing work – essentially ‘Square Pegs In Round Holes’.

They have lower training pass rates – require more attention & extra coaching from Supervisors just to achieve average results – have higher error rates – higher absenteeism – receive lower Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores and/or fail to meet Revenue Targets – become burned out / emotionally exhausted faster – prematurely quit or are fired for cause sooner – because they are a poorer job fit.

‘Moderate’ job fits become more easily annoyed by callers – are poorer at avoiding or diffusing conflict – don’t handle complaints or retain customers well – and they’re weak TeleSales closers.

? Below Average Actively Disengaged CSRs Who Don’t Care About Performance Standards

They’re either new hires who should never have been offered the position to begin with – the product of a flawed hiring process – or burned out / emotionally exhausted too long in the job CSRs.

These are ‘Poor’ job fits – demoralized / cynical / unhappy employees – displaying ‘I Don’t Care’ apathy & a ‘Slacker’ attitude.

They tend to hold hostile / negative attitudes toward management – actively undermine supervisors & engaged coworkers – sabotage callers / damage brand – and have high Absenteeism levels.

They have a toxic effect on coworkers – infecting them with poor work habits & attitudes.

The negative thoughts & feelings below average ‘Poor’ job fit CSRs trigger in customers and coworkers are far larger – and longer lasting – than the positive responses generated by ‘Best Fit’ top performers.

Actively Disengaged CSRs are indifferent to customer needs and lazy in their adherence to company policies & procedures.

You Can’t Easily / Quickly / Cost Effectively Train People In The Wrong Job To Be Better

A recent Harvard Business Review study of 5,000 new hire CSRs – who all received 4 weeks initial training – including ‘Soft Skills’ modules on developing empathy & rapport – found that after 6 months on the job – the bottom performing poorer fit CSRs produced 4 negative customer encounters for every 3 positive ones.

Nearly 60% of the time – encounters with bottom performing poorer fit CSRs resulted in a negative caller experience – even after the employer had invested in an extensive training program that included ‘Soft Skills’ modules on developing empathy & rapport.

It’s the CSR’s Personality / Job Fit / Soft Skill / Work Ethic traits – combined with their ‘Train Ability’ – and competence speaking & understanding Business English that delivers value when it comes to the kind of service your customers demand – and the kind of performance your business requires.

These traits can’t be easily / quickly / cost effectively taught – so you need to hire people that already have the right mix of them.

There’s No Right Way To Train A Poor Fit New Hire CSR For A Contact Center Job

If your organization thinks that ‘Nearly Everyone Can Be Taught To Take Customer Calls’ – then you’ll be hiring people strictly on the basis of who interviews & speaks English reasonably well – has an acceptable level of Typing Speed & Accuracy – and can navigate their way around your software programs.

If that’s all you do to screen your applicants – then you’ll find that too many aren’t actually strong fits for the job – particularly for virtual Work@Home positions.

No training program exists that can substitute for a flawed hiring process.

Many ‘Moderate’ (and most ‘Poor’) job fits display less than desirable work attitudes – resulting in poor performance / poor Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) ratings / poor TeleSales results – and a lot of expensive ‘Just Out Of Training’ turnover – gone within 90 days of being hired – whether that be their choice or yours.

There is a Return on Investment (ROI) to be had when investing in training new hires who have ‘The Right Stuff’ for the job to begin with.

However – it’s a huge mistake to assume that everyone who is given training will benefit from it.

That’s simply not the case.

The training delivered to many ‘Moderate’ (and most ‘Poor’) job fits is simply an investment of dollars chasing dimes – just money down the drain – a recipe for higher hiring / training / onboarding costs – higher turnover – lower productivity – mediocre Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) ratings – and not a wise long term business or customer care strategy.

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Top Performing Contact Centers Drive Their Performance & Customer Satisfaction Through Superior Hiring Tactics

Customer Service & Support or TeleSales – with a 90% Predictive Ability – you should consider using the legal / proven / cost effective Service Personnel Assessment System (SPAS) Call Center Agent Pre-Employment Screening Software Psychometric Pre Hire Personality / Job Fit / Soft Skills / Work Ethic / Business English Language Competency Assessments to quickly gain better insight & more accurate predictions as to which applicants from a pool of candidates would perform up to or beyond your established standards – for Bricks & Mortar / Work@Home / Hybrid positions.

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