Building an expert team of customer service representatives can be challenging for any call center recruiter.

Yes, you’ll get plenty of applicants, but finding the right people won’t be as easy, especially for programs requiring specific skills, experiences, and cultural proficiencies.

Some of the top challenges companies face when they hire customer support representatives include:

• inability to attract applicants;
• limited talent pool;
• shortage of qualified candidates; and
• inefficient recruitment process.

As a multilingual business process outsourcing (BPO) company, Open Access BPO has extensive experience recruiting for programs that require different language proficiencies, skill sets, and job experiences.

We developed robust recruitment strategies to overcome these challenges and find the most qualified customer service representatives. Here are some of our recruitment best practices.

1. Cultivate an Excellent Employer Branding

   

   Employer branding is what organizations present as their identity as an employer. A positive employer brand means they’re an excellent organization to work for, attracting new customer service representatives.

   We developed our employer branding around our genuine desire to fashion an open workspace with an inclusive culture that our people would find favorable.

   Our core values clearly reflect. We mold our global offices into safe spaces that value our employees and what makes them unique. Our employee development programs nurture and empower their growth. On the other hand, our events and activities keep things fun, productive, and stress-free at work.

   Salary and benefits can make job hunters look at our job ads, but our employee value proposition encourages them to consider long-lasting careers with us.

2. Know Where to Publicize Job Openings

   

   Aside from our website’s Careers section, we also utilize third-party platforms to hire customer support representatives. Recruitment sites like Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn have always been part of our call center recruitment process. Social media is also a reliable channel for recruitment where we receive applications and respond to inquiries.

   Call center recruiters from our HR team have also taken on creative hiring strategies to find customer service representatives for our new and expanding programs. These include holding recruitment events and partnering with schools and language institutions for our multilingual partners.

3. Involve Current Employees

   

   Open Access BPO employees have also been great staffing resources.

   • Hire From Within
     It’s not uncommon for employees to apply for a lateral transfer to another program, especially when their skills and experience would be more valuable in their new roles. Similarly, our employee development programs entail promoting from within, with employees moving to another program to fulfill higher positions.
   • Encourage Referrals
     Each employee has a network of friends and family members looking to work as customer service representatives. We post available job roles on our internal employee portal, offering incentives to encourage referrals.

4. Tweak and Streamline the Call Center Recruitment Process

   

   Open Access BPO’s standard recruitment is a seamless process from job announcement to contract signing. However, several factors make it necessary to update those steps.

   • Keep With the Times
     We streamline our call center recruitment process to address shifting job market trends, job search behaviors, and tech advancements.
   • Filter for Specific Program Needs
     Our partners may request tweaks to how we hire for their programs. We’ve added language proficiency tests for our multilingual programs and skill-specific evaluations for our knowledge process management teams, while some partners want to interview applicants personally.

5. Take a Guided Approach to Candidate Screening

   

   • Craft a Candidate Profile
     Our call center recruitment process starts with a candidate profile, which serves as a guide when screening applicants. In it, we list the must-haves (skills and work experience crucial for the job) and nice-to-haves (other useful competencies and work achievements) qualities of an ideal candidate.
   • Zero In on their Soft Skills
     Technical skills aside, focusing on our candidates’ soft skills helps us find indispensable members of our programs’ frontline teams. These skills include:
     • Communication skills
     • Critical thinking
     • Decision-making
     • Teamwork
     • Time management
     • Stress management

     • Openness to criticism
     • Adaptability
     • Resourcefulness
     • Persuasiveness
     • Conflict management

   
   • Screen for Cultural Fit
     Getting people with the attitude and personalities that fit our corporate culture makes for a harmonious workplace where everyone feels connected and engaged.
   • Practice Inclusive Hiring
     As a multicultural firm, Open Access BPO knows first-hand that work proficiency and reliability come in all forms and how that diversity helps enrich any organization. So, if you have the right skills, experience, and attitude, and can fulfill the responsibilities of being a customer service representative, we’d want you on our team.

With over a decade of expertise in the outsourcing industry, Open Access BPO provides high-quality 24/7 customer service, content moderation, back office, and knowledge process management support in over 30 languages.

Find out how our business solutions and our dedicated team of experts can help map out your brand’s growth. Contact us today!