It’s not surprising that call center associates who are great at their jobs are very hard to come by in the job market. This is becoming even more difficult because unemployment rates are the lowest they’ve been since the recession and there are substantially more companies hiring call center employees to work from home. Turnover is generally high in call center work because it’s stressful working with people on the phone and trying to meet sales goals each month.
It’s no wonder you are reading this article now – you need to find a way to attract passive call center candidates! Passive candidates are those who have been in the business a while, are loyal to the companies they work for, have developed a ‘thick skin’ and know how to do their jobs well. They may not be looking to switch jobs now, but in the very near future they could be open to an attractive job offer.
How can you start building a pipeline of passive call center talent? Here are some tips.
1. Build a strong corporate culture.
Call center professionals often seek out new jobs when they are tired of the negative culture they are working in. To capture their attention and get them to learn more about your company, create a friendly website that shares your positive corporate culture, including success stories of some of your call center personnel.
2. Develop a strong compensation program.
Take a moment to see what call center employees earn in your region and type of industry. Then increase the value of your compensation program by increasing it by 10 percent, adding a full benefits program, and including a few unique perks. Shop this around to call center candidates.
3. Build a social network talent pipeline.
Call center candidates will likely have social media profiles set up on LinkedIn and call center discussion forums, often as a way to show off their skills and receive support from the community. Go where they are. Build a social media group and invite passive call center talent to your group where you will share interesting news, resources, and job leads.
4. Work with a call center staffing agency.
The fastest way to passive call center employees is to partner with a staffing agency in this area, like TempStaff. They often keep directories of call center talent who may be ready for a change. Candidates are pre-screened and ready to start work immediately.
5. Provide ongoing professional development and promotion.
One of the things that call center talent like is the ability to build their skills on the job and earn more through career promotions. Offer on-the-job training and support for college coursework as part of the process of attracting call center employees to your company.