STEP 1
Build the Ideal Candidate Profile
To find the best person for the role, you need to understand what the role involves. You can complete this with the hiring manager to define the role, its contribution, and the skills needed.
Contact Center Representative
Customer ServiceComplete with job descriptions, skill profiles, and interview templates. Use this Contact Center Representative hiring guide to help you make the right decisions, fast.
HOW TO HIRE A CONTACT CENTER REPRESENTATIVE
What does a Contact Center Representative do?
A Contact Center Representative is a customer service professional who handles inquiries, concerns, complaints, and problems, of the customers of the company. Communication channels may be via phone calls, SMS texts, emails, chat messages, or support tickets.
Day to day tasks of a Contact Center Representative
- Keep and maintain confidential information
- Ensure prompt response to customers’ inquiries
- Maintain an empathic and professional attitude towards communicating with customers
- Determine customers’ problems and offer solutions
- Know the company’s products and/or services in and out to be able to answer all queries
- Process requests, applications, transactions, or orders, if applicable
- Communicate with colleague or superior when necessary
CONTACT CENTER REPRESENTATIVE DEFINITION
A Contact Center Representative’s primary responsibility is to help customers with their inquiries and problems, and provide information about products and services. In line with this, the job entails good communication skills, both verbal and written, and ability to relate well with different types of customers.
HIRING PROCESS
Contact Center Representative Hiring Process
STEP 2
Write A Job Description Based On Skills
Once you understand the requirements for the role, you’ll need to understand the skills for success. You can then write an effective job description to promote your role.
STEP 3
Selecting The Ideal Candidate
See which applicants have the right skills for the role. Send all your applicants a Vervoe skills assessment from the expert library, or customize one for your organization.
STEP 4
Interview Top Performers
Your skills assessment results will identify top performers. Focus your time on interviewing those that have met or exceeded your requirements. Assessment results will also help guide which skill areas to focus on in the interview.
STEP 5
Making An Offer
Once you assess your candidates against these skills, you’re ready to offer the top performer(s). You should base your offer on the value that the candidate would bring to your team and your business as a whole. It is also important to ensure your compensation and benefits packages are competitive in the industry and help you attract and retain the top talent.
BUILD THE IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
Skills needed for a Contact Center Representative
A Contact Center Representative must be good in communicating and interacting with customers. Due to a variety of concerns ranging from questions to complaints, a Contact Center Representative must be knowledgeable with the products and services being offered to be able to help the customer. They should also be resilient and confident as they will encounter different types of customers.
- Empathy
- Communication
- Active Listening
WRITE A JOB DESCRIPTION BASED ON SKILLS
How to write a Contact Center Representative job description
Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position. Here’s what to include in your Contact Center Representative job description:
- Job Title
- What position are you hiring for?
- Summary
- What makes your company unique? What would it be like to work for you?
- Responsibilities
- An overview of the role’s day-to-day activities, and how the position contributes to the organization
- Requirements
- Skills a candidate must have to perform the job successfully
- Benefits
- Details of compensation, benefits, and any perks on offer
SELECTING THE IDEAL CANDIDATE
Sample skill tests for a Contact Center Representative
Create a free account today to access the full assessment and more from our library
Question 1
CommunicationQuestion Type: Audio
If a customer began complaining about how they were treated by one of your colleagues, what would you do?
Question 2
Active ListeningQuestion Type: Text
How do you balance high-quality customer service with speed?
Question 3
EmpathyQuestion Type: Video
It’s Friday afternoon and the call queue is the longest it’s been all week. By the time your next caller is on the line with you, their temper has escalated after failing to connect and then waiting in queue again - they begin berating you for taking so long. What do you say when you hear how frustrated they are?
INTERVIEW TOP PERFORMERS
How to interview a Contact Center Representative
Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The interview should focus on any skills that require development that were highlighted from the skills assessment.
Now you know that candidates can do the job, the interview becomes more of a relationship building exercise where you can get to know the candidate on a more personal level, understand their motivations, and how they would fit in with the team.
MAKING AN OFFER
How much does it cost to hire a Contact Center Representative?
The US average for a Contact Center Representative is $31,373 according to Glassdoor.com, while it’s $37,523 based on Payscale.com. The lowest base salary, according to both sites, are at $26,000. The highest salary that can be offered, depending on education, years of experience, and certifications, ranges from $38,000 to $48,000.
United States
Contact Center Representatives in the United States are paid annually in a range of $26,000 - $48,000. This figure is dependent on several factors such as education background, additional skills and certifications, years of experience, and even the location.
Source: Source: Salary.com, Payscale.com, Glassdoor.com
United Kingdom
Contact Center Representatives in the United Kingdom are paid annually ranging from £19,299 up to £25,167. Salary offered is dependent on the location, the nature of the company’s business, and the nature of concerns to be handled by the Representative.
Source: Source: Talent.com, Glassdoor.com, Payscale.com
Australia
Contact Center Representatives in Australia are paid annually ranging from $51,262 (AUD) up to $68,250 (AUD). Salary offered is dependent on the years of experience, location, and nature of the company.
Source: Source: Payscale.com, Glassdoor, Talent.com