Overcoming talent gaps: 7 tips for contact centers

Faith Ocampo Published on December 6, 2016

businessman sitting alone by ledge broken bridge

Despite recruiters’ best efforts to find skilled employees and get them to stay, 68% of human resource professionals are still having difficulties filling vacant positions in their organizations.

The Society for Human Resource Management said this is an 18% point increase from the 2013 figure. Back then, only 50% of those surveyed reported having hiring woes. According to their study, plenty of factors are causing this, including the following:

•     The number of available talents is dwindling.
•     Applicants lack the needed work experience.
•     Employers are competing over qualified candidates.
•     Job hunters lack technical skills.

From these numbers, it’s clear that there’s a gaping talent shortage across industries and countries. Among the positions that are hardest to fill are in IT, engineering, sales, and management.

cutout paper people on the floor
Contact centers are not exempt from these recruitment concerns. In fact, as multidisciplinary organizations, they’re extremely vulnerable to talent shortages. It can be difficult for them to find people from various specializations—IT, communications, marketing and sales, public relations, and others. Plus, these firms often suffer from high attrition rates. Customer support reps usually leave because of chronic stress and long-term burnout, made even worse by their largely routine-based tasks.

Effective workforce planning is crucial for these organizations so they can keep delivering high-quality customer service without disruptions. Here are seven recruitment strategies to help you cope with talent gaps.

1. Partner with other organizations.

teacher lecturing classroom students

To widen your talent pool, you can partner with external organizations such as educational institutions and training schools. Because they house plenty of budding professionals, these orgs are likely to have candidates with your desired skill set. Multilingual outsourcing companies may also connect with language centers as they build a multicultural team of agents. Just make sure to tap into reputable institutions so you can gain access to highly skilled professionals.

2. Use online talent solutions.

Most HR professionals turn to the Internet to find prospective employees. This is a powerful recruitment strategy, as more and more job seekers are using the web to find career opportunities. You may use this to your advantage by leveraging online recruitment tools to streamline your hiring process. Creating targeted ads on job search portals and social media websites like LinkedIn and Facebook can also help you find qualified candidates.

3. Hire competent professionals.

confident job applicant sitting with job interview panel in back

It can be tempting to hire the first applicant who walks into your door so you can fill the company’s vacant positions right away. But as much as possible, you should refrain from doing this. Instead, make sure that your new hires are all experts in their respective fields. Doing so will let you build a reliable team.

4. Implement a referral system.

A referral program can be a rich source of potential candidates. You may provide incentives to your current employees who’ll be recommending their colleagues or friends for an open position. However, they must also be able to vouch for their referrals’ professional skills.

5. Improve your call center training programs.

business team in corporate training workshop

It takes more than just stringent screening procedures to build a high-performing team. To keep people engaged and to help them develop new capabilities, you need to bolster your training programs. They must be specifically designed to provide employees’ knowledge and skills needs. Effective training sessions will enable you to hone your customer support reps into well-rounded, dynamic, and flexible professionals. This way, you get to maintain the high quality of your services while retaining your top performers.

6. Focus on employer branding.

Companies aren’t only competing over customers but also over the most sought-after professionals. To attract the right people into your organization, you should focus on building an employer brand that reflects your culture and values. All these must be clearly communicated to your target employees through your job ad copies and marketing messages. This will ensure that you’ll be getting resumes from people with the skills and attitudes you’re looking for.

7. Bolster your employee retention strategies.

office employee having fun chatting with coworkers

Part of a holistic human resource management approach is ensuring that your people are happy. Thus, aside from building new recruitment strategies, you should also focus on employee engagement to encourage people to stay in your organization. For instance, you may launch team building activities, join volunteer programs, or encourage promotion from within your company. These tactics can help reduce attrition from burnt-out call center agents.

 

Faith is a digital media enthusiast aiming to become an active part of the tech world by sharing her insights. She likes to blog about everything digimarketing, technology, and social media.
Join us on facebook
Open Access BPO 15 hours ago
𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 #𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺.

This week's #LinkRoundup lists down the ways #CallCenter leadership is instrumental in developing #CustomerSupport that empowers #CX for brands: https://buff.ly/3tfmzbq

• 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗮 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝘆𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀
https://buff.ly/46ssJmB

• 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲
https://buff.ly/3PVKHYn

• 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆
https://buff.ly/3ZHL9xO

• 𝟭𝟬 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲
https://buff.ly/3ZxxwBf

• 𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀
https://buff.ly/3PVKHHR

• 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗱 𝗙𝗹𝗮𝗴𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗣𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽
https://buff.ly/3ZC4UXt

• 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀
https://buff.ly/3Zyx3Pd

----------
Open Access BPO's rigorous recruitment, training, and continuous development ensure that only the best specialists will work and lead your ops.

Contact us today: OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
Open Access BPO 18 hours ago
Receiving a negative performance review can be challenging, but it doesn't have to signal the end of the road.

Instead, it presents an opportunity for personal and professional growth, allowing you to return even more resilient and determined.

Read our blog post right now: https://buff.ly/469BCSj
And let's explore:
• the importance of recovering from a bad performance review;
• the causes of performance failures; and
• how to determine the best course of action to address these challenges

----------
Contact us today and find out how our 24/7 multichannel services (in over 30 languages) can upgrade your #CustomerExperience: OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerSupport #CustomerService
Open Access BPO Yesterday
Knowing what influences customer expectations is the first step to improving your relationship with your customers.

Here are 7 things that can guide you: https://buff.ly/3tfzni4

----------
Cultivate your customer relationships with our smart business solutions: OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerExperience #CX
#CSat #CustomerSupport
Open Access BPO Yesterday
The right choice of words (and tone) can calm down and bring conversations to a better outcome...even if it's with an update customer.

Here are 5 statements #CustomerSupport agents need to tell irate callers: https://buff.ly/3PtRYOG

----------
For #outsourcing services that build and maintain strong customer relationships: OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerExperience #CX
Open Access BPO 2 days ago
#SocialMedia has become the hub where consumers freely share their opinions, chat about brands, and express their thoughts on products.

That's why you need to provide memorable #CustomerSupport on these platforms at the speed of now:

Discover the 5 essential components of a strong social media #CX strategy here: https://buff.ly/3PC7dFg

----------
Give your brand a CX boost on the social web!

Upgrade your #CustomerService today:
OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerService #CSat
#CustomerSatisfaction
#RepManagemenet
Open Access BPO 2 days ago
It's crucial to meet your customers' expectations, but sometimes unforeseen circumstances can get in the way.

Here's a quick guide on how to handle those challenging moments and come out stronger with our #CustomerSupport strategy: https://buff.ly/46t8p4u

----------
Let's turn mishaps into opportunities: OpenAccessBPO.com/get-started

#WeSpeakYourLanguage
#CustomerExperience #CX #CSat
Open Access BPO