It’s not just the application, interview and hiring that brings you the best people. It’s also what happens just after they are hired. It’s the onboarding process, the training, the short-term reviews and more.
I had a chance to connect with Andre Lavoie, the CEO of ClearCompany, a talent management company that offers tools to help with the hiring and onboarding process. Lavoie said, “The three most important aspects to look at when you’re assessing a new hire are goal setting, role fit and cultural fit. These evaluations reveal the quality of hire, the most powerful tool for building a strong organization.” This got me thinking.
With Lavoie’s suggestions, I started to create a list of “Top 10” best practices for hiring the best people. I also have to give some credit to my friend and hiring guru, Mel Kleiman of Humetrics. Over the years he’s been kind enough to help me understand some of the best techniques for getting the best people. Some of his ideas have made their ways into my thinking, and therefore this article.
By the way, whether it is for customer service or any other position your organization is looking to fill, all of these strategies and tactics (maybe with some minor modification) will work.
So, here are the 10 ways to hire for customer service (and almost any other job):
1. Be clear on the job description and expectations of the new talent. This is what will set you up for success (or failure). The key is to be very specific. This is paramount. The description and expectations need to be clear, and the interview questions and process must align. In one word: focus.
2. Define the success criteria for the job. What measurements are in place to define success? Are they obvious to the new employee? If he/she knows what is expected, and it is measurable, then it becomes a goal that can be tracked and monitored. Once the employee starts, revisit these goals frequently to help build the employee’s momentum and confidence. “Goal setting helps new employees stay focused on their personal and organizational goals, and it informs leadership of how to guide teams to success,” says Lavoie. “The goals should be SMART and aligned to ensure that all employees are on the same page and can work together to achieve success.”
3. Integrate core values into your hiring process. What does your company stand for? Do your employees know it? (I hope so!) Just as important, when you hire someone, do you check to ensure that the potential employee’s core values align with yours? (Again, I hope so!) I remember reading in Tony Hsieh’s excellent book, Delivering Happiness, that Zappos hires for 10 core values. Also, the lack of any one of these values can be grounds for termination. Don’t just hope that new employees will adapt to your core values. Be sure they come with them.
4. Hire people who believe in a customer service philosophy. Note that I use the word philosophy. Customer service is not a department. It’s a philosophy to be embraced by everyone, in any role of your organization. The people in the finance department, the IT department, the warehouse, the support department and everyone in between have to be customer-focused. If they’re not supporting the outside customer, they're serving an internal function that impacts the outside customer. Regardless of what they are hired to do, they must have a customer service mentality.
5. Use behavioral-style assessments to hire people with the right personalities and the right qualities. This is a quantitative way of finding the right personalities and behaviors to fit the role of the new job as well as the culture of the company. Many people have taken DISC or Meyers-Briggs types of assessments. These are great hiring tools. Take a look at the typical style of your top 10% and bottom 10%. Using one of these (or other) assessments, note the differences between the successful employees versus the struggling employees. When your candidate takes one of these assessments, which type of employee does their result most resemble? While this doesn’t guarantee success, it can give you additional insight into the type of person you’re considering for employment.
6. Demonstrate the culture throughout the hiring process. You’ve heard the expression “lead by example.” I would add “hire by example.” Treat the applicant the way you want customers and colleagues to be treated. The hiring process should be a reflection of your customer service values. How does the applicant respond to the way he or she is treated? What kind of feedback do you receive about the experience? Do they buy into it? Is your hiring practice congruent with the company culture? The answers to these questions will help you know and understand the applicant’s mindset before you offer employment.
7. Hire for personality. We’ve heard the old expression, “Hire for attitude and train for skill.” I’m a big fan of hiring people who have a great attitude as long as the skill can truly be trained, but what I’m talking about here is different. Attitude is the individual’s approach to the job. Personality is about fitting in. Question whether applicants have the personality that will fit in with other employees and the culture of the company. This is not about how excited or motivated they are to do their job. This is about fitting in.
8. Ask about the future. An interesting question to ask is about the future: Where do you see yourself in three years? This can give insight into the goals and ambitions of your applicant. My friend and coach, Dan Sullivan of the Strategic Coach program, has come up with a powerful question that could allow you to foresee the future. It goes something like this: If we met again three years from now, what would have to happen for you to feel that you’ve been successful?
9. Ask the applicant for his or her definition of customer service. This is a powerful question, and there are many right answers. The answer doesn’t have to match exactly with your company’s definition of customer service. There are many right answers, but the wrong answer, when you hear it, is obvious. If they can’t get this right, there may not be a reason to continue the interview.
10. Get feedback from new hires. After the applicant has been hired, ask about the process.“Many times, companies forget to ask for feedback from new hires. This is a major error. You have to reach out and step into the shoes of someone on the other side to see what’s working, what’s not working, and what can be improved upon,” recommends Lavoie. “That goes for every stage of the hiring process, from the application and interview experience to the actual offer of employment. Constructive feedback leads to talent success.”
This list is a starting point and is by no means complete. Which leads me to ask, what hiring strategy would you add to the list? Feel free to leave a comment with your suggestion.
