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Jakob Mattice sits down with Kory Kostecka from RemX to discuss his insights into the ways we are staffing our call centers and how we can improve our hiring.

Our standard screening questions when hiring new call center agents focus on hard skills instead of the soft skills that really move the needle with brand loyalty.

Topics we discuss:
[ 4:59 – 5:44 ] Here’s what contact centers should be looking for: problem solving skills, listening skills and phone etiquette.
[ 8:06 – 10:44 ] Surveys show that customers value a friendly tone from customer service representatives. They want someone who’s trying to help solve their problem and they say they feel loyalty to the brand when they feel that helpfulness.
[ 12:51 – 14:36 ]  Here’s how to encourage our agents, who were hired for their hard skills, to develop their soft skills as well: incentive pay, providing a flexible schedule, company culture. and helping them feel like they are important and that the work that they do is important.
[ 15:27 – 16:59 ]  The opportunity for advancement is essential for retention.
[ 19:47 – 20:35 ]  We are often using screening questions that are too binary. For example, we may ask “How many years experience do you have?” And, if the candidate doesn’t say the right number, the recruiting team isn’t even going to get the chance to meet these new, “green” agents who may have the soft skills that we are looking for.
[ 24:13 – 26:09 ] Inherent AI challenges to watch out for and how to avoid them.

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