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Five Steps to Building a High Performance Organization (Part 1)      In order to have a high performance organization, it takes effort and discipline to ensure that the right processes are in place. A high performance organization involves all people in its organization, providing excellent quality in both, products and services. Exceptional customer services and continuous improvement programs are also vital. The first step to be a high performance organization is to have the right people in your organization. In this month’s newsletter we will cover the first step of a five step series to building a high performance organization.      If your call center is a high performance car then your people are the engine. So, like building a high performance car you must pick the right parts. There are several accepted models for hiring, some involve many onerous steps and some as simple as a sign in the window and hire whomever applies, still others include hiring relatives or friends.      The proper recruiting and testing procedures involve job description/posting, testing/validating, interviewing and reference checking. Job Description/Posting: The recruitment process always starts with identifying skills required for the job before advertising for the position. Always be clear with what the position entails and what the requirements are. The job qualifications need to include a list of the minimum skills required, such as typing skills of 25 words per minute, telephone skills, etc., as well as preferred skills. The minimum skills are the essential skills needed to ensure that the tasks can be performed successfully. For example, you do not want to hire someone who does not know how to type, if the tasks include data entry. On the other hand, you do not need someone with a Computer Science degree for the data entry job, as this will drastically lower your bottom line and the candidate may lose motivation in the job. Unrealistic expectations may bring in many prospective employees, but they will not have the proper skills and may not have the motivation upon realizing the job is not as advertised. In addition to the skills requirement, the job posting should have some background about your company and create excitement about your company. Keep in mind that it’s a two-way street during the job interview process, as the candidates are also evaluating your company. The job posting should entice more qualified candidates - the more excitement you can build in the job posting the more likely you are to get more resumes from candidates that are qualified for the job. Testing/Validating: Evaluating a prospective employee’s skills is not as easy as one would think. There is more to it than reading resumes and conducting interviews. Future success can usually be predicted by past success, but the true indicator is the testing process. It is critical to test the skills that are most important for the job, whatever that may be. The minimum skills you post need to be tested, verified and passed before any candidates move through the interview process. If the agents do not have the minimum skills needed then you must be prepared to train, otherwise the candidates should not be hired. Other common skills for aptitude in a call center may include, customer service, sales aptitude, computer skills, and typing skills. You may choose to create your own tests or opt for the numerous tests available for these skills. However, before choosing one specific test you should be sure it has been thoroughly validated to prove that it accurately predicts success on the job. If the candidates do not pass the tests, they are removed from the interview process. Interview/Reference Check: Once the candidate has passed the test for minimum skills, he/she moves on in the interview process. The interview should involve the people, either manager(s) or colleagues(s), who will be in daily contact with the candidate as they will be able to assist with evaluating proper skills, ensuring the likelihood of the new hire’s success. These people should be part of the decision-making process in order to find a candidate whom has compatible values and characteristics to succeed. At the same time, the candidate is able to evaluate the company, its values, culture, and the team members of whom they will be working with prior to accepting the job. Finally, after the candidate passes the interview process, there should be a reference check to ensure that what the candidate said in the interview is true and validate whether they have the right skills for the job. For some clients, that requires working with sensitive materials, such as credit card companies. The candidate will also need to pass a criminal record check to ensure all critical data is protected.      Having the appropriate hiring process is the initial step of getting your organization to be a high performance one. Steps two through five will be revealed in following newsletters to help you take your organization even closer to excellence. The next steps include "Tell them what to do", "Show them how to do it", "Give them feedback on how they are doing", and "Make supporting them your number one mission". Upon completing the five steps, your organization should see improvements in quality of service, employee morale, customer satisfaction and ultimately, your bottom line. << PreviousNext >>

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