8 minute read
Posted by Chris Platts on 24 June 2020
Great customer service reps can be hard to find. In order to assess them effectively, you need to understand what an excellent customer service agent looks like and what universally good customer service skills to look for. This means having a list of customer service skills and characteristics that indicate success in the role.
In this post, we’ll provide you with the 9 best skills, behaviours and traits to look for when hiring customer service reps. We’ll also give you some pointers on how to assess customer service skills effectively.
Customer service representatives are the first point of contact most people have with your business.
According to a recent survey, 81% of customers are more likely to do repeat business with a company after receiving good customer service from them [1]. Companies, therefore, demand high-quality customer service agents whose client-facing skills are exceptional at keeping their customers happy.
So let’s dig in… here’s the list:
Customer service advisors need to be able to diagnose problems effectively and provide solutions to customer issues.
In order to assess this critical customer service strength, recruiters should pose role play questions on a subject the candidate is likely to know something about. For example:
‘A customer calls in and says “My WIFI is broken. How do I fix it?”. How would you go about troubleshooting the issue?’
Stronger candidates will show calmness under pressure and ask good, open questions, which should then enable them to solve the issue effectively. For example, good responses might include: “When did the issue with your WIFI first start?” “Can you give me further detail on the exact problem with your WIFI?” “What have you tried already to solve the problem?”
Confidence to make sound judgements. When hiring for customer service, it’s essential candidates have the confidence to make sound judgements. They work to help customers resolve issues and queries as quickly as possible and will need to know when to escalate issues to higher powers.
To measure decision making you can use a sample of actual customer queries you’ve had that have required a decision to be made by the customer service advisor.
You’re not necessarily looking for a right or wrong answer. What you want to know is whether the candidate can support their decision with logic and evidence. Check for signs that the candidate has considered the issue fully.
Working in customer service usually means handling phone calls, lots of them! Assessing oral communication is therefore essential.
The best way to assess oral communication is over a phone screen, video or face to face interview. Ask candidates open-ended question such as “Describe something you’re particularly passionate about” will give you some great material to score the candidate on. Scoring is often subjective and is more about how someone responds rather than what they’re saying.
Customer service is often now delivered via email, chat support and text message making written communication more important. When hiring, you want to find a candidate that shows empathy and understanding to customers. An ability to succinctly explain or describe a complex issue in writing is equally as important as oral communication.
Measuring speed and accuracy can be helpful here to come to an overall assessment score.
Quality customer service is about comprehending exactly what the customer requires from you. Comprehension shows a candidate can interpret customer aims, despite what they might be asking or saying.
Recruiters need to assess whether a candidate is able to understand product features or business services, and convert this understanding into fulfilling customer needs.
A good recruiting exercise for this is to present the candidate with a company service brochure and then provide them with a sample customer query of relevance. It might be the case that your services don’t stretch to what the customer is asking but there are other routes to solving the issue. Successful candidates should be able to comprehend this.
Attention to detail can distinguish a good customer service rep from a great one. Customer’s form an opinion based on little details; like how many times the phone rang before being answered and the manner of the greeting. Any errors in reporting data such as names, emails or numbers can be deeply frustrating for customers. Getting everything right first time, matters.
Recruiters should look for precise and thoughtful candidates that notice the small details. A good way to assess this can be through online work simulation assessments. For example, ThriveMap assessments often measure attention to detail via real-life image questions, data entry questions looking for both speed and accuracy.
Customer service reps should have the ability and desire to put themselves in the shoes of their customers. Empathy is a soft skill recruiters need to be looking for during customer service assessments.
A personality-based questionnaire can help when determining someone’s empathy as can role plays focused around a distressed customer.
Customer service staff often work with personal data and information so integrity and honesty are important characteristics to hire for.
Integrity is also of great importance when dealing with customers, employees need to be sincere and genuine.
Measuring integrity objectively can be difficult, but vetting the candidate’s knowledge of their own claims in their CV, cover letter, and application can be a good indicator here, as well as taking candidate references.
Working in a customer service centre is a demanding job, both physically and mentally. Advisors are often on the phone or in front of a screen all day, often dealing with stressful situations and complaints.
The perfect customer service candidate has an intrinsic desire to help customers and can deal with the stress that comes under constant customer scrutiny.
Each customer service centre is unique, so the best way to assess this is to give candidates a realistic work simulation of a day in the life of the job. It’s proven to be the most predictive method for testing a candidate’s commitment to any role
While efficiency and consistency are important in customer service, the best representatives also possess a genuine, human quality that allows them to connect with customers on an authentic level. Customers want to feel like they are interacting with a real person, not just a robotic script-reader.
To assess this skill, recruiters should look for candidates who can engage in natural conversation, build rapport, and tailor their communication style to each individual customer. Role-playing exercises can be useful here, with the candidate tasked with responding to different customer personalities and scenarios.
Pay attention to whether the candidate takes a one-size-fits-all approach, or if they can adapt their tone, language, and demeanor to make each interaction feel personalized. Look for those who can inject some warmth, personality, and even appropriate humor into their responses.
The goal is to find representatives who come across as authentic human beings, not just reciting canned responses.
Candidates who demonstrate emotional intelligence, active listening skills, and a knack for casual yet professional dialogue are more likely to make customers feel heard, understood, and valued as individuals – not just another number in the queue.
By designing a multi-faceted assessment process that holistically evaluates the full range of customer service attributes, the top-tier candidates will naturally rise to the surface. This structured approach empowers your organization to identify and secure the best talent, ensuring that your customer service operations are staffed with professionals who possess the perfect blend of technical expertise, problem-solving acumen, and genuine human connection – the ingredients for delivering truly remarkable experiences.
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ThriveMap creates customised assessments for high volume roles, which take candidates through an online “day in the life” experience of work in your company. Our assessments have been proven to reduce staff turnover, reduce time to hire, and improve quality of hire.
Not sure what type of assessment is right for your business? Read our guide.
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