RECRUITMENT GUIDE
Customer Support Manager
A customer support manager is responsible for leading a team of customer support representatives in a business. The manager needs to focus on leading an efficient, effective and productive team, and ensure that they are achieving the goals and objectives that are set.
Customer support managers must oversee employee performance, and make sure that the team is all working to the same practices, and all meeting both the business, and customer needs. They must also listen to and take on board feedback from customers, and implement changes to the business to ensure customer satisfaction and retention.
Customer support managers must hire customer support employees, and teach them the business protocols, about the products and services, and overall make sure that they have the knowledge to answer any customer questions, and know how to handle any customer complaints.
Day-to-day tasks of this role:
- Hire, and train customer support employees.
- Handle customer complaints.
- Listen to customer feedback and implement changes to the business.
- Set goals for the team.
- Check employee progress, and give employee feedback.
Recruitment Process
UNDERSTAND THE ROLE
Skills profile for a Customer Support Manager
There are no specific qualifications required to be a customer support manager, however completion of secondary education and relevant industry experience is favourable. There are some common skills required for this position.
A customer support manager will need to display leadership skills in order to be successful in the role. They will need to demonstrate genuine passion for leadership and management, and not be afraid to lead the team to achieve new goals and objectives over time. They need to prioritise team engagement and understand employee motivators to ensure that the team are all happy performing their roles, as well as being able to identify employees with potential for succession in the future.
A customer support manager must also have exceptional problem solving skills. They must be able to foresee problems before they arise and troubleshoot them effectively to minimise risk for the business. They must have the ability to think outside of the box for solutions that aren’t always immediately obvious, and also encourage employees to do the same. They must also encourage the team to be creative with their own problem solving, even if it’s not always ‘procedural’.
Another essential skill for a customer support manager to possess is business acumen. They must always consider the cost/benefit analysis for decisions, and always be looking for new ways to implement processes or tech that positively impacts the business. They must be creative and bring new ideas to the organisation for value-addition or ways to help customers, and also use customer feedback as motivation to implement changes to the business or to the products and services that are sold.
Once you’ve determined the skills required for the role, you can write the job description to advertise for your position.
SOURCE APPLICANTS
Customer Support Manager Job Description
Summary:
- Why is this role being filled?
- How does this role fit into the organization and the team?
- What makes your company unique?
- What would it be like to work for you?
Requirements:
- What technical skills are needed for this role?
- Which soft skills are applicable?
- What are the nice-to-have experiences of your ideal candidate?
- Include availability preferences in this section
Responsibilities:
- What are the key deliverables for this role?
- What does the day-to-day of this role look like?
Benefits:
- Compensation & bonuses
- Employee benefits & perks
- Ongoing training benefits
PRO TIP #1
In building your candidate profile, you’ve already identified what skills are needed to be successful in the role. You will have already identified the ‘must-have’ skills needed to be successful in the role, but it is also a good idea to include some ‘nice-to-have’ skills too. For example, a customer support manager must have exceptional communication skills, but it may be nice and useful to hire someone that is bilingual/multilingual, so that they are able to effectively communicate with any customers from any background that gets in contact with the business.
PRO TIP #2
Ensure to include in the job description what it is like to work for your company, what your company values and what your expectations are for the successful candidate. This will ensure you identify the right person for your company.
SKILL ASSESSMENT
Sample skills assessment
Question 1
Problem Solving
Question Type: Document
Tell us about a time where you have implemented a new process or procedure that has made your role (or elements of your role) easier. Please do so in the document below.
Question 2
Leadership
Question Type: Text
What has been your proudest moment or biggest win in management so far?
Question 3
Business Acumen
Question Type: Video
Tell us about a time where you have refined or created a process to save the business cost.
INTERVIEW
Interview guide for Customer Support Manager
Once your Vervoe skills assessment has surfaced the most qualified people for your open role, you can focus on interviewing these candidates. The PDF interview guide contains structured questions against each of the competencies for this role.
This interview guide is intended to be used in conjunction with the Vervoe skills assessment. Where a candidate has scored Low – Medium on a skill, focus on asking more questions from that skill to gain deeper insight into their level of competency.
PDF INTERVIEW GUIDE
Get your copy of the interview guide to complete the hiring process. Includes questions against each of the skill competencies for the role.
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