How should a call center in the Philippines hire its future CSRs?

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Customer service representatives are some of the most important employees in every call center in the Philippines. They are the front line employees who directly deal with customers on a daily basis. They're the ones who create the customers' first impression on the brand they're representing.

Simply put, they can make or break a transaction—or even the entire brand's overall reputation.

That's why all contact centers must give high importance to their hiring process. They must not forget that the fate of their company largely depends on the people they employ as customer service representatives (CSR).

If you lead a team in a Philippine contact center, would you do the same? Probably, you won’t. Below are some simple hiring approaches you can make use of to ensure that you won't end up with an incompetent CSR staff:

  • Hire the best employees, not the possible candidates.


    It's an obvious giveaway, but no one must underestimate the gravity of putting in only the best applicants in your customer service arsenal.

    The problem arises when the company decides to hoard potential employees and end up scrutinizing them when they're already on the floor. This not only adds up to the company expenses, but it also adds baggage to the supposedly A-list team.

    The best candidates have the experience, the drive, and the real makings of a customer service representative. Their resume also tells a lot about their attitude towards work; typically, if the resume's neat and organized, chances are, they’re the types who prepare for a specific task, which enables them to do it in a very organized manner.

  • Look for those who are strongly interested in the job


    Take note:strongly. If you hire an applicant who is just looking for a job to survive, to make ends meet, or to just go by, then you might end up having a CSR team that is money-driven and not goal-oriented. And you know that it's hard to strive hard for a specific goal if you're not strongly into it. Your future CSR must really love communicating with people, solving problems, and offering a helping hand.

  • Don't judge an applicant by her resume


    Academic records, university, age, and experience are important factors to look at when you're building a future customer service representative team, but you should go deeper and beyond these. Being a newbie doesn't mean that one is incapable of doing a customer service job.

    Give first-time job seekers a chance to prove themselves; give them written tests and real-life CSR problems to solve. Let them put into words what they think they can do for you, and through these, assess them if they can be part of a team, or if they have the makings of a team player.
Take your hiring process seriously, just like how every call center in the Philippines does it. Even so, you must enjoy every step of it. Treat this as though you’re meeting a new friend, making that moment a yardstick for building up future business relationships with the applicants. It's up to you if you'll use your snap judgment or you'll take time to decide. What’s important is that you would choose the person that won't make you regret your hiring decision.

Open Access BPO is a fast-rising outsourcing firm located in Makati, Philippines. Know more about our other services by visiting our website and Google+ page.