Many say customer service representatives are the “backbone” of a company because no matter how good your product or service is, people always remember the quality of support they receive.
Staffing agencies find it challenging to recruit customer service representatives because they need a variety of skills to be successful. They need to be friendly and understanding and be able to manage difficult callers without getting frustrated or flustered. It also helps if they have excellent verbal and written communication abilities because they talk to customers and correspond with them via email and chat. They also need to be organized, have good time management skills, be good multitaskers, and be able to learn and understand their company’s products and services.
Since it is difficult to recruit candidates who meet all these requirements, staffing agencies partner with industry-leading assessment solution providers because staffing skills tests, like customer service skill tests, help them quickly identify qualified candidates with these attributes.
Why Staffing Agencies Use Customer Service Skill Tests
Staffing agencies prove their worth to clients by finding them top candidates. If they consistently present qualified applicants, clients depend on them when they need to fill critical positions. If the agency does not deliver as expected, the client will stop working with them.
Recruiters know they cannot rely on traditional screening techniques like resumes and interviews as they have in the past. The information is often unreliable because over 77% of applicants exaggerate their qualifications and experience.
This means a candidate they represent to a client as a “dream hire” could end up being their worst nightmare. Customer service skills tests virtually eliminate the chance this will occur because they provide staffing agency recruiters with proof that a candidate has the skills and experience a client requires.
How Staffing Skills Tests Work
Customer service skills tests include different types of questions like multiple-choice, true/false, simple select, and select all that apply. You can use a ready-made assessment or build your own using questions from multiple skills tests.
The topics covered can vary depending on your needs and the job requirements. For instance, if the primary focus of a job is inputting and processing orders accurately, you can use the Customer Service skills test and include questions from the Form-Fill Data Entry Typing and Attention to Detail skills tests.
If the job requires candidates with good problem-solving abilities who can handle customer inquiries, you can choose questions from the Customer Service skills test that assess listening, empathy, and problem-solving abilities and include questions from the Emotional Intelligence skills test.
Once applicants complete and submit staffing skill tests, recruiters can rank them by score, review section-specific data, and create a shortlist to present to the client.
Customer Service Skills Tests That Staffing Agencies Use
Customer service representatives wear a lot of hats. These are some of the skills and abilities recruiters need to ensure they are presenting clients with excellent candidates.
- Customer Service: Includes questions that assess anything from listening and empathy skills to teamwork, collaboration, and problem-solving abilities.
- Basic Computer Skills: Tests candidates’ proficiency with MS Office® applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Emotional Intelligence: Evaluates applicants’ social intelligence, empathy, and ability to use their emotions productively in situations that require a lot of customer interaction.
- Email Etiquette: Confirms that candidates can format and write email messages, use correct grammar and spelling, and understand email etiquette.
The best way to verify that candidates can do a job is to ask them to perform tasks they would complete on the job. This is why recruiters include simulations like these in staffing skill tests.
- Inbound/Outbound Call Center: Verifies that applicants can handle customer calls and inquiries promptly and efficiently without getting rattled.
- Multitasking: Confirms candidates can manage multiple tasks simultaneously and complete them promptly, accurately, and efficiently.
- Chat: Demonstrates that applicants can respond to customer inquiries promptly and politely using popular chat applications.
- MS Office: Evaluates applicants’ ability to complete job-related tasks using popular computer applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Recruiters can also include video response questions in customer service skills tests if a job requires extensive phone interaction or fluency in a foreign language. Video response questions require applicants to answer pre-recorded questions so hiring teams can evaluate their responses.
Get Started with Staffing Skill Tests
Customer service skills tests enable staffing agencies to present thoroughly vetted candidates to their clients. This means clients know they are only considering applicants who are likely to be successful on the job and at their company. They also avoid costly hiring mistakes, improve customer service quality, and reduce staff turnover.
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