How companies recruit qualified call center management: The inside story

Call Center CRM Solutions, Jan 2000 by DeMartino, Cathryn, Haberman, Dave

As call centers transition from cost-draining operations to profit centers, the personnel managing a facility become even more important to its success. Having the right call center leadership can make a tremendous impact on the bottom line. But in a growing industry, and with record-low national unemployment, these professionals are in high demand and often difficult to find.

The industry is changing. Companies that once hired passive customer service representatives (CSRs) to handle incoming calls now desire aggressive, yet friendly, personnel. The trend is for inbound customer service centers to also function as sales centers and drive revenue by cross-selling and upselling while the customer is on the line. For example, a credit card customer may call to inquire about the card's interest rate. By glancing at the caller's profile, the CSR might say, "I notice you've recently rented numerous automobiles. Let me tell you about our frequent rental program." It requires marketing savvy to turn "Hello, may I help you?" into a sales opportunity.

Hiring A Call Center Manager

The right call center management is critical to this process. Cross-selling skills, financial know-how and technical prowess are essential. Today's call center manager has three to five years of experience and commands a salary of $50,000 to $70,000.

Following is an example of an interesting placement. A credit card company was seeking a manager for an inbound sales and retention call center. The operation was a revenue-generating facility with 180 phones. The company was hoping to find a candidate with strong experience in a sales-oriented center.

An excellent candidate, "Bill," was identified through industry contacts. He had seven years of experience successfully running an operation for a paper company, as well as eight years in unrelated fields. In the world of call center management, it is not unusual and is often desirable for prospects to have experience outside a client's industry because "cross-pollination" brings new ideas and valuable skills. Although Bill had completed three years of college, he had not earned a degree. At one time, this might have been an issue, but because good candidates are scarce, many companies will make exceptions at the manager level if an impressive candidate meets other requirements. The call center Bill managed had 75 phones and was primarily an outbound, sales-generating operation.

An initial phone interview was conducted by our recruitment firm to assess Bill's skills, and he was determined to be a strong contender. He was then provided with the client's Web site address. The Internet is an outstanding resource to obtain information about a company, and having a candidate contact a company and visit its Web site is an excellent tool to determine initiative and encourage communication between the client and the candidate.

Bill was set up with a first phone interview with the client, who was interested in a meeting after reviewing his resume. The next component of the process was grueling. Bill spent an entire day at the company. The schedule included a halfday panel interview with the site vice president, the human resources director and another call center manager. The afternoon included a series of tests to assess education and behavior to determine how the prospect would treat people in the workplace. Even with the tight employment market, many companies today use tests to screen candidates. Their philosophy is that the wrong hire is worse than making no hire.

Bill cleared the interviews and tests with flying colors. One more in-depth meeting occurred before an offer was extended. He met with the site vice president for a situational interview. The client asked questions to determine the prospect's strategic thinking abilities. "How would you handle this situation?" he was asked. "What would you do the first week on the job?"

Once again, the client was impressed. The negotiations for salary and benefits began. Bill's annual base salary with his former employer was in the $50,000 range. Bonuses were limited due to low profit margins. He was motivated to change jobs because the paper industry was stagnating. He did not wish to relocate, and coincidentally, the new position was in the same Midwestern city.

The final offer included a $60,000 range base salary, a sign-on bonus of $5,000 and the opportunity to earn more though a performance bonus. Additional enticements included participation in the company's stock plan and four weeks of vacation during the first year. The base salary was a bit higher than the 20 percent it usually takes today to entice candidates to make a change. The client, however, was delighted with the candidate selection. With continuing enticements from an industry desperate for qualified personnel, the outstanding offer could help ensure loyalty should another job opportunity arise.

Hiring The Call Center Director

While the process to hire upper management (directors or vice presidents) for call centers is similar, there are differences. Directors should have five to eight years in the industry with strong experience managing profit and loss statements. A master's degree in business is preferred, but again, lack of candidates sometimes leads companies to overlook this requirement. Salaries usually range from $70,000 to $ 100,000.