Finding the Best of the Best
Most call centers utilize a “fill the seats” approach to agent screening.  Meet a few minimum standards and an agent is quickly transferred to the floor.  Client programs suffer from the influx of untested talent, both directly in call results and institutionally with high turnover rates.

 

Global Telesourcing does it differently.  Our recruitment and screening process has been strategically designed to select only those agents who will be successful.  In order to be trusted with a single client call, candidates must first excel throughout a rigorous, multi-stage selection process encompassing:

• Telephone interview—Because the phone will be the primary work environment, all prospects must score high on an initial, recorded telephone interview.  Our front-line staff is trained in evaluating communication skill, including language fluency, accent, familiarity with idioms and colloquial phrases, and overall presentation.  For most programs, agents must score a 9 or 10 in these areas; in no case do we utilize agents who score less than 8. 
• In-person interview—Prospects successful in the telephone interview are invited to our facility for a face-to-face meeting with a human resources representative.  Here, language skills are confirmed and general propensity to sell is gauged.  In this videotaped exchange, HR representatives are looking for outgoing, friendly individuals who interact and answer questions well throughout the interview.
• Psychographic testing—We have impressive talent internally, and we’ve modeled our most successful agents to identify even unexpected correlations between their profile and the results they achieve on the phone.  Prospective hires undergo a series of web-based surveys, testing their computer skills and providing additional personality insight simultaneously. 
• Group assessment—Candidates next undergo a proprietary battery of assessments in a small group setting.  These activities uncover a prospect’s ability to present information clearly, answer unscripted questions, maintain a professional attitude in a stressful environment, and other key qualitative measures of the highest performing agents.  These assessments are attended by human resources and quality assurance representatives, as well as the manager who would ultimately oversee the new hires.  Recommendations from this group must be unanimous. 
• 10-panet drug test—Most companies operating in Mexico settle for five-panel testing, but Global Telesourcing requires the full complement of screenings to meet the high expectations of our Fortune 50 clientele.
• Education/employment verification and criminal background check—Our human resources department verifies every piece of information contained on the candidate’s résumé.  A government-issued Certificate of Non-Conviction is required.

On average, a mere 7% of candidates ever make it into training.  These agents are, by every measure, the best of the best…but they’re still not done.

 

Training as a screening opportunity

Entering training is not a guarantee a candidate will make the call floor.  Every session is designed to meet the client’s needs and convey the product or service information agents will need for their calls.  To ensure only knowledgeable, motivated agents participate in a program, we build in testing and assessments throughout this process as well.  We evaluate attitude, ability to retain information, reliability, attendance, and other factors—and trim the pool of 7% of initial applicants to only 5%.

 

Lean Management, Empowered Workforce

How is it possible for Global Telesourcing to hire only five agents out of 100 prospects when other call centers can barely keep their seats filled?  By recognizing their value.

 

After meeting our high standards of employment, agents receive 20 to 50% more in base pay than their counterparts in other Monterrey call centers serving the U.S. market.  With incentive pay, they have the opportunity to make 100% or more than they could anywhere else. 

 

These aren’t aged statistics.  We continually monitor the market and adjust our compensation structure to attract and retain the best call center agents. 

 

To enable us to provide this level of compensation, we’ve eliminated the layers of middle management that typically separate agents from program leaders.  Rather than being locked away from day-to-day operations, our managers are engaged with agents on the floor at all times, answering questions, offering encouragement, and monitoring every aspect of the program. 

By closing the cultural gap between management and personnel, we:

• Increase motivation, productivity, and retention rates.
• Garner input and recommendations from agents, which in turn improve the work climate and program implementation.
• Offer clients greater qualitative insight accumulated via front-line personnel making direct customer contacts.

Beat domestic providers by delivering greater results at less cost—not by pushing wages down but by bringing performance up.