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by Scott Harding, Director Talent Strategy and Programs, Self Management Group - November 23, 2009

Process Compliance – The Key To Reducing Agent Turnover by 30% by Scott Harding

Understanding and measuring results and key objectives is critical to any organizations success. If your are like most experienced organizational leaders, clearly defined expectations and outcomes drive almost every management decision you make. Shouldn’t you apply the same rigor to the decision to add the most valuable asset to your organization, your next contact center agent?

Our studies indicate that the typical contact center business can achieve a reduction in turnover of up to 30% by simply following a well defined, measurable, recruitment, screening and selection processes.

Most businesses attempt to track their selection efforts through an applicant tracking systems (ATS) but these efforts fall short if they do not include a means of measuring and predicting the performance and retention of applicants. Organizations that implement an ATS that includes a predictive measurement and that consistently use a systematic method in their recruitment and selection efforts typically experience a reduction in turnover of up to 30%. This translates to significant savings each year and can make the difference between a contact center that struggles to survive in a down market and one that thrives.

Industry best practices indicate that effective recruitment and selection efforts should include:
 An effective attraction strategy
 A web based screening system to identify basic requirements
 A Contact Center Specific Simulation / Assessment for Hard Skills
 A phone interview
 A Normative Psychometric Assessment to predict performance and retention
 A Behavioral-Based Interview
 A Hiring Manager Fit Interview

The reality is that the hiring process is often split across different departments within the organization. This disjunction makes it difficult for organizations engaged in high volume, de-centralized recruiting to comply to a systematic selection process. The risk is that good candidates end up being missed or poor candidates skip a step in the process and get selected. Both of these selection errors can have serious financial consequences for the organization.

In a recent conversation with a senior contact center manager he agreed that something should be done to measure the process but he went on to explain that the costs associated with hiring were in different budgets and that improvements would not affect his P&L.
This common oversight causes organizations to have a difficult time calculating the true cost of turnover. The information required to make an effective hiring decision is often fragmented and makes tracking of the process difficult. In these tight economic times, the decision is often made to eliminate any spending. However, losing money annually because poorly implemented hiring procedures is the same as wasteful spending, if not worse.

A realistic look at a return on investment most often indicates that the return will be 10 to 12 times the expense involved in institutionalizing a well-defined talent acquisition process.

Our customized, web-based pre-screening, simulation, assessment and selection system ensures compliance across the hiring continuum.

The candidate’s potential is scored at each step in the process and a final hiring score is tallied. This method is effective for comparing candidates to each other and to your existing top performers regardless of how many divisions or departments the candidate’s application moved through. The selection process becomes more consistent and you will improve both retention and performance in your new hires.

Don’t you think your business deserves the opportunity to run this efficiently?

For detailed information and client case studies please contact:

Scott Harding
Director Talent Strategy and Programs
Self Management Group
416 746-0444 ext: 251