As the Indian BPO industry continues to expand and focus on providing on-demand customer service and support, the demand for contact center employees is rapidly increasing. According to recent Bloomberg research, the Global Business Process Outsourcing(BPO) market is presumed to reach above USD 422,605 million by 2029, and Indian BPO companies have an excellent opportunity to capitalize on this growth. 

However, like in many other countries, the high employee turnover rate in the Indian contact center industry remains a significant challenge. With turnover rates ranging from 30-45%, BPO companies in India need help to retain employees due to reasons such as misaligned expectations and poor cultural fit. This results in increased costs, lower productivity, and decreased customer satisfaction.

To combat this issue, Indian BPO companies must identify the right talent during hiring. Assessments can help companies identify candidates with the necessary skills and a good cultural fit for the organization. By accurately assessing skills and behaviors during the interview process, Indian BPO companies can increase the likelihood of hiring the right employees, reduce turnover rates, and ultimately improve their bottom line.

Essential Skills for Exceptional Customer Service in Today's Contact Centers

Contact centers have evolved from solely phone-based to encompassing various modes of communication such as email, live chat, social media, and text messaging. Inbound contact centers primarily deal with customer service and support, whereas outbound contact centers focus on sales and telemarketing.

Despite the differences in the types of contact centers, employees in both roles require similar skills and traits, such as service orientation, multitasking, and active listening. To ensure success in these roles, it's important to identify predictive characteristics for your organization's contact center and use assessments to select the best candidates. 

To ensure the success of your organization's contact center, it's recommended first to identify the key characteristics that are predictive of success. Once you've identified these traits, you can utilize assessments to predict job performance and select the most suitable candidates for the job.

7 assessments to make better contact center hires :

Here are some of the most efficient assessments to determine the top candidates for your contact center.

1. Computer literacy skills

In today's job market, computer literacy skills have become a crucial requirement for most professions and industries, and the same goes for contact center jobs. With companies employing various communication tools to stay connected with customers, contact center employees must adapt quickly to new tools and processes.

One way to identify candidates who may struggle with technology is by using a computer literacy assessment during the interview phase. Candidates unfamiliar with the tools and processes used by the company may prove difficult to train, and it is crucial to assess their basic math and analytics skills as well. 

However, it is equally important not to dismiss candidates solely based on their limited knowledge of the company's systems. Instead, focus on their potential to learn and adapt to new technologies.

2. Live speech simulation assessment

Although situational judgment tests are cost-effective for evaluating multiple candidates, they are only a partial substitute for an on-site test, especially for close-to-hire candidates. A speech simulation assessment can be used for a more realistic assessment of candidates, which replicates the work environment and provides life-like scenarios to observe candidate reactions and gain insight into their job performance.

Compared to an on-site test, which can only be conducted with a handful of shortlisted candidates, the Unberry Speech Simulation module enables the assessment of hundreds of candidates simultaneously without increasing the recruitment team's size. The module is an advanced AI-based tool that assesses a candidate's vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and context, providing ratings based on internationally recognized standards such as TOEFL/CEFR/IELTS. The module's sophisticated capabilities allow for measuring various key and complex parameters, including the relevance of the candidate's communication.

3. Language proficiency test

Ensuring efficient customer service and improving customer experience is essential, mainly when dealing with clients who speak different languages. Therefore, it is crucial to hire contact center employees fluent in the languages required, particularly English. While some candidates may claim proficiency in multiple languages, testing their skills before making an offer is recommended. 

Companies hiring for multiple languages can benefit from a comprehensive test that evaluates proficiency in various languages, allowing them to receive results in one place. One way to do this is through language proficiency assessments, which provide grammar, spelling, and reading comprehension tests tailored to specific languages. These assessments are instrumental in ensuring fluency in a required language. Setting specific benchmarks also automatically eliminates candidates who do not meet qualifications.

4. Cognition and Multitasking test

Contact center employees often face the challenge of switching between tasks and handling multiple calls or customers simultaneously while looking up information on the fly. However, not all candidates possess the ability to multitask effectively. Split attention can result in suboptimal responses and can lead to feeling overwhelmed quickly. 

Cognition is directly correlated to actual high performance on the job and refers to parameters like attention span, processing speed, and multitasking. Conducting a multitasking assessment can help identify candidates who can perform tasks rapidly and efficiently.

Unberry assessments gamify the process to make it enjoyable for candidates. A suite of games that test the candidate's cognition and higher-order intelligence traits, like problem-solving and learning agility, are the critical competencies needed to succeed in contact center/BPO roles. The overall score gives insight into the candidate's ability to multitask, which helps determine their suitability for the open contact center role.

5. Live chat simulation assessment

A chat simulation assessment is an effective way to evaluate candidates for a chat support role. This assessment mimics the daily work environment and presents candidates with real-life scenarios, allowing recruiters to understand their job performance better. 

The Unberry live chat support simulation module is a valuable tool that allows the candidate to experience and demonstrate their skills in a simulated work environment, giving the hiring team a clearer picture of how they will perform on the job, thereby testing hundreds of candidates at once, eliminating the need to expand your recruitment team or spend additional costs to assess a large pool of applicants.

6. Situational Judgement Test

The role of your contact center employees involves interacting directly with customers who may be experiencing issues, inquiries, or obstacles. Their primary responsibility is to transform the customer's experience into a positive one. Consequently, they are frequently required to handle dissatisfied customers who may already be unhappy with your service.

• This assessment will help determine the candidate's reaction to rejections and even rude scenarios.

• Providing candidates with a more comprehensive understanding of the job enables them to make informed decisions and align their expectations as they move forward.
  

7. Cultural fit assessment

Cultural fit assessment is a crucial component of the hiring process. Beyond just evaluating a candidate's skills and experience, it's essential to determine whether they will fit in with the organization's culture. This involves understanding their expectations and assessing whether they align with the company's values, leadership style, and work environment. By asking candidates to rate specific aspects of the company, organizations can determine whether the candidate is likely to be a good fit. 

Ignoring cultural fit can result in high turnover and unhappy employees who feel disconnected from the company's values and mission. Therefore, it's essential to evaluate the cultural fit of potential new hires to ensure long-term satisfaction and success.

Way Forward

 

Contact center employees must embody the company's values, ethos, and mission. However, recruiting the right employees is crucial to deliver an exceptional customer service experience that aligns with your organization's values.

Assessments can be utilized to evaluate their suitability to ensure that you select suitable candidates for your contact center. By selecting candidates who align with your brand, you can build a team of ambassadors to resolve customer issues and generate potential leads efficiently.

The Unberry platform offers a comprehensive range of pre-employment assessments that helps with volume hiring. To learn more about our software and its capabilities, you can schedule a demo using the link below.