Hiring decisions matter now more than ever. When companies are trying to do more with less, successful customer management with fixed or fewer resources will be a key determinant of survival and profitability. Because agent performance directly impacts top and bottom line revenue, quality of hire for these key customer-facing roles becomes even more important.

The Remote Agent

Call center agent roles have changed dramatically over the past few decades along with changes in technology, organizational structures, and so-called off-shoring trends. Particularly important, though, are recent advances in broadband internet connectivity, remote job performance monitoring technology, and an increased need for cutting overhead costs that have led to the emergence of a new type of call center agent. Many call center agents can now work entirely from their home offices without ever stepping foot in a “real” office. These remote agents engage in the same job duties as their onsite counterparts, just in a different environment.

Many organizations are offering their top performing call center agents the opportunity to move their role to their home offices. Other organizations utilize entirely remote agent workforces. For the latter, hiring, interviewing, training, and all subsequent work related activities are often done without ever meeting the candidate or employee face-to-face. Though entry into the role differs, the unique challenges facing all remote call center agents are the same.

Call center agents have virtually no physical interaction with their coworkers. If a remote agent has a question for a coworker while on a call, they would likely use an instant messenger program or locate the information him- or herself. In addition to the tactical disadvantages remote agents face due to lack of face-to-face contact with coworkers, remote agents do not get the daily social interaction and opportunity for camaraderie that in-office agents benefit from. In fact, in many call centers that we have visited and worked with, the in-office camaraderie and socializing is often reported as one of the most positive and rewarding parts of the agents’ job. Many remote agents are required to supply their own computers and related equipment. They are also responsible for the setup, configuration, and maintenance of this equipment, along with a high-speed internet connection that facilitates “soft-phones” and many of the other technologies companies use to manage their remote agents. For many, although the opportunity to work from home seems like a wonderful way to maintain healthy work-life balance, the line between “work life” and “non-work life” can become blurred. All of these challenges are, of course, added to the unique challenges already faced by call center agents, and need to be accounted for in the screening process.  So how do you identify the best ones?
Remote Agent ROI

Effectively identifying high-potential candidates requires a deeper approach than just resume reviews and background checks. While these processes may be effective at raising red flags or surfacing gross mismatches between candidates and jobs, they do little to describe (or quantify) candidates’ competencies and skill levels in a meaningful and consistent way. Organizations that go beyond experience and actually assess candidates’ skills and competencies in the hiring processes have seen:

• 107% more sales conversions among outbound agents
• 31% reduction in turnover among inbound contact center agents
• 11% reduction in average handle time among remote agents
• 68% higher customer satisfaction ratings among remote agents

As you can imagine, these types of metrics have a significant impact to the bottom-line. 

How Does it Work?
What traits make a remote agent successful?  What are assessments and how do they deliver such startling bottom line impact when used in selecting remote agents?  How do you implement an assessment program in your organization?  If you would like to learn more about questions download the white paper, Hiring Remote Agents and the Science of Assessment.  Click on the upper right hand corner.