Eric Friedman is the Founder and CEO of eSkill, a global leader in skills testing and behavioral assessment solutions for employers.
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In Field of Dreams, the voice in the cornfield tells Ray Kinsella, "If you build it, they will come." That may work in the movies, but if you want customers to keep coming back, you need a product or service that offers value. After all, almost 65% of a typical company's revenue is from repeat orders. Existing customers' business greatly impacts your bottom line; even just a 5% increase in retention has substantial profit-boosting potential.
But your value goes beyond what customers can buy from you. For sustained loyalty, you must deliver an excellent customer service experience.
The Current State Of Customer Service
Organizations know improving customer retention starts with building a top-notch customer service team, which is why many have increased their investment in this area. However, the benefits haven't been fully realized because service levels still aren't meeting customer expectations. In 2021, nearly 51% of consumers said they hadn't noticed improvements in customer service, and 23% felt it'd become worse.
A good customer service representative must be a consummate Renaissance (wo)man. They need good written and verbal communication skills and multitasking abilities. Excellent organizational skills, effective time management and a strong understanding of the company's products and services are essential. They must always be friendly and understanding, even when working with angry or rude clients.
Among organizations looking to build up their customer service teams, many are choosing to implement a testing solution—customer service assessments—during the hiring process to identify and bring on top talent.
What Are Customer Service Assessments?
Customer service assessments can help HR professionals measure candidates' ability to perform essential customer service tasks and use verifiable data to make informed hiring decisions. For example, general skills tests can provide insight into applicants' aptitude with things like interpersonal communication, problem-solving, teamwork and collaboration.
Hiring teams could use emotional intelligence skills tests to ensure candidates have the social intelligence and empathetic qualities needed to build customer relationships. People with high emotional intelligence are likely to understand customers' pain points better, collaborate well with co-workers and be team players.
Hard skills are also key to customer service. Many jobs in this sector require employees to enter and process orders accurately and manage several customer inquiries simultaneously. In this case, hiring teams can choose assessments that measure candidates' attention to detail, ability to enter data quickly and accurately and ability to complete online forms.
When To Use Customer Service Assessment Tests
If your company is like most, you receive hundreds or even thousands of applicants in response to a single job posting, and many are not qualified. Implementing assessments can maximize your efficiency.
Reviewing the test results will show which candidates have the required skills and experience. This helps you eliminate unqualified applicants and concentrate on top talent. You gain back valuable time, fill critical job roles faster and address staffing shortfalls more effectively. Reducing time-to-hire also enables you to extend offers to candidates with in-demand skills ahead of your competitors.
Customer Service Assessment Tests Alternatives
While assessments can help you improve hiring outcomes, there may be instances when they aren't a feasible solution, such as when there are budget restrictions. In those cases, you can assess candidates’ customer service skills in a few other ways.
• Structured Interviews: Optimizing interviewing processes to assess candidates for empathy, problem-solving skills and emotional intelligence can help determine whether they’ll deliver to your company’s standards. By asking standardized customer service-related questions, you can create a consistent scoring system to measure all candidates against.
• Roleplay Exercises: Consider giving candidates an opportunity to show how they would perform in common situations that arise in their role, as well as demonstrate their communication skills. This can be done in the first interview or possibly during a second group interview.
• Trial Periods: Offering trial employment to promising candidates allows you to observe in real time whether they perform to a satisfactory level of customer service.
• Reference Checks: Because résumés can be unreliable sources, contacting at least three references is a good way to learn more about candidates' dependability, professionalism and skill sets. Personal references can teach you about the potential hire’s overall personality and likeability—two crucial components for customer service.
HR leaders will want to do a cost-benefit analysis when determining how to approach recruiting top-notch customer service representatives. While some online skills assessments may seem costly, it’s crucial to consider the cost of hiring errors as well.
Why You Should Consider Customer Service Assessment Tests
Your business flourishes when you retain good customers. Selling to an existing customer often yields greater success than trying to close the deal with a new one. On the other hand, high attrition stifles growth and hurts your bottom line because you're always playing catch-up. Building a strong customer service team is your first step to improving customer retention and increasing revenue.
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