2021: New Recruitment Strategies And Remote Agents In Call Centers

Last year put many companies and workers to the test. The recession fueled by the pandemic has been like no other, producing high levels of instability, uncertainty and vulnerability and fundamentally changing the way business is done.

But there is also a brilliant example of a positive consequence: the shift towards a work-from-home model in the workforce in general and, more specifically, among agents and call center staff.

The increasing adoption of cloud technology has made teleworking available to more contact centers. An Aberdeen study revealed that only 14% of companies had remote capabilities in 2019 (before the pandemic), but that number increased almost three times in 2020 to 51%.

What Challenges Does The Switch To Remote Agents Pose?

Organizations have discovered how through remote workers they could find new business flexibility and resilience, lower fixed costs, and more satisfied and engaged employees. According to Aberdeen, companies with remote capabilities also experience higher revenue and employee productivity.

This change has technical implications, the hiring and onboarding processes must be modified, and managers must figure out how to monitor, engage and develop agents remotely.

There are many time-tested technical tools and best practices to help organizations successfully support remote agents. Call centers that take the time and effort to transition the right way will find it pays off in the long run.

How To Transform The Old Hiring And Incorporation Processes?

If the contact center is a traditional “in-office” workplace, there are probably standard hiring and onboarding processes that work very well for the current model. But they are likely to include a lot of in-person interactions – job fairs, on-site interviews, classroom training, HR sessions, etc.

Unless candidates and new employees are being dispatched for these activities, they need to be retrained in order to work remotely.

2021: New Recruitment Strategies And Remote Agents In Call Centers

1) Ensure That The Digital Presence Is Excellent

The fact that remote agent candidates are unable to assess the facility and their potential teammates first-hand means they will put more emphasis on their digital presence when making an employment decision. The company’s website should be of high quality and include features such as agent testimonials, details on how remote work is structured, information about their culture, and anything else a job candidate needs to know about the organization. In addition, social media accounts must be up-to-date and include posts on how to work at the company.

2) Update Candidate Profiles

Due to the nature of remote work, it is possible to have slightly different hiring profiles for agents in the office and at home. Remote agents must be able to perform well in an environment without direct supervision, so the candidate profile could have more emphasis on independence and proactivity.

3) Identify The Best Job Boards And Social Networks

Perhaps the usual places to post job openings don’t reach candidates looking to telecommute. Therefore, you have to consider job boards and social networks that specifically target people looking for work from home.

4) Interview Agent Candidates On Your Job Channel

If a telephone agent is hired, what better way to assess their skills than a telephone interview? Likewise, requesting that the candidates for agents in charge of e-mail inquiries answer the questions through this channel will allow the quality and tone of their writing to be evaluated.

Hiring using tools that can, for example, allow candidates to record video responses to certain questions, providing more material to evaluate and confirm that the person matches the identification they provided, can complement these methods.

5) Enable Video Training

The details of the agent training approach must be thought through. Will you have live training sessions or a video library that new agents can access on demand? How will you assess your knowledge and competence of the system? Will you build your own system or invest in a new training tool? Positioning new agents for success by providing good training is essential to ensure satisfaction and commitment.

How To Manage Agents?

The shift to a remote agent model requires a paradigm shift in management and processes and technology to ensure they are productive and engaged.

An investigation by Nemertes revealed that agent management is the second most cited challenge with respect to switching to a remote workforce. Fortunately, call centers can use modern technology to monitor agents, ensure they are engaged with teams and the organization, and offer ongoing development and support:

• Visibility of what agents is doing.
• Keep the lines of communication open.
• Instill teamwork and preserve culture.
• Performance improvement and continuous development.
• Help remote agents draw a clear line between work and personal life.