How to Hire the Best Customer Service Employees

Great customer service is essential for operating any business, especially in a time when the customer experience means everything. Regardless of your business’s size or industry, you need employees who are great with people — professionals who can offer clear, concise explanations while making consumers feel comfortable and safe. There’s just one challenge. How do you find and hire these types of customer support employees?

The qualities that make a great customer service representative are often intangible, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a single tried-and-true method that works for every individual. That said, the following tips can help you on your endeavor to hire the best customer service employees.

Use a Thorough Profiling Process

While you can train an employee to talk to customers and make effective sales, a few natural traits and skills can make for a truly astounding customer service representative. These types of people are often great at speaking, listening and improvising. They’re compassionate and eager to please, yet independent and adaptable.

To find these characteristics, it’s important to have a detailed profiling process in place when you interview potential new employees. You can use data to screen for and identify qualities that might make a candidate more apt for a customer service job. Although a program will likely cover only part of the whole story, it can be a great place to start.

Ask the Right Questions

The types of answers and body language your candidate provides during their interview can speak volumes about the type of individual they are and how they’ll conduct themselves at work. Simple questions will get you simple answers, and they’ll leave you with an incomplete picture of the interviewee.

The best way to learn about your potential employee’s speaking skills is to ask them for stories and longer explanations. For instance, you may ask them about a time they succeeded or failed at work or request that they talk about their goals, ideas and interests. This process will help you get a better feel for the person and how they convey their thoughts on a one-to-one basis.

Look Beyond the Interview

Although conducting a good interview can offer excellent insight into a job candidate, there’s so much more to consider. Almost anyone can practice enough to ace an interview, so consider other factors as well. Are they prompt? How do they interact with other people at your facility? Do they give off a warm, friendly vibe between interview times?

Another method you can use to test for the qualities you’re seeking is to have a phone conversation with the candidate. Customer service often happens over the phone, which usually takes a unique set of skills. Doing a brief phone screening or interview can help you determine if a person is cut out for remote support positions.

Hire Customer Service Employees You Can Trust

Maintaining your business’s brand and reputation is paramount to its success. With these tips, you can start hiring employees who help create a seamless, pleasant customer experience for everyone you serve. Subscribe to our blog today for more industry-relevant content.