When you’re ready to engage with a staffing firm to support your call center, don’t forget to ask these three questions to ensure you’re getting the best staffing support possible from your workforce partner.
#1 How do you attract and retain the best talent for me?
Don’t gloss over this foundational yet critical question that you should be asking any staffing firm that comes calling. It’s one that has seemed to grow in importance as many companies have experienced record turnover and continue to be challenged with attracting the workers they need, and who have the skills required to do the job.
Today, call center leaders are finding themselves wading through a seemingly never-ending pool of potential job candidates which can take an incredible amount of time and resources. In the end, you want to make sure you have a workforce that performs and that matches your call center needs. A staffing partner can help you with all of that, but how can you make sure that they’re actually bringing you the best match candidates for your open jobs.
We’re hearing from organizations nationwide that retention has really become a challenge -- and is especially noteworthy as organizations ramp up their virtual call center workforce. Make sure to ask your staffing partner what steps they’re taking to retain your call center staff – both onsite and virtual. Are they offering added training and support? Are they offering opportunities for growth? How are they keeping workers connected and motivated?
Our Answer
We ensure that we are delivering the talent you need by first understanding what it is you really need through our Manpower Needs Assessment. We ask the right questions, we learn about your organization and then we deliver. We work with you to assess and determine the best approach while also lowering the total cost of your workforce. (Yes, it’s possible and if you’re interested in learning how we’ve done this for other companies – reach out to my team here.)
Another way we attract the best talent is through our access to under-sourced populations including, but not limited to, seniors and retirees, military veterans, individuals transitioning to virtual work, and furloughed workers. Through our nationwide sourcing strategy, we build communities of talent so that when your workforce need arises, we’re ready.
Not only that, through our Manpower MyPath program, we retain our talent by providing them with career development, coaching and educational opportunities to help them excel at their job.
We are also seeing more organizations needing help engaging and retaining their virtual call center workforce. We’re ready to help with specially designed offerings including:
- Virtual Success 101 – a support guide for Virtual Workers with tools, advice, and insights.
- Virtual Contact Center Agent Manpower Acceleration Program to provide training to associates who wish to move into virtual contact center work.
- Customized onboarding to support the virtual worker and unique client requirements.
- 6,000 courses available to upskill and reskill to meet the demands of the future of work.
#2 How do you assess your talent?
In 2020, many organizations struggled with incredibly high turnover. Not only that but unemployment hit record highs. As organizations rebuild and redefine their organization, how do you ensure that you are getting the best, most qualified candidate match? Assessments.
But not just any assessment – ones that are designed for call center roles specifically. Particularly, if you are operating a portion or your entire call center as a virtual workforce, its critical you apply steps to ensure the workers you bring on are the best fit for the role and your company. Ask your call center staffing firm how they determine candidates’ competencies for your particular roles, as well as how they determine if they’re a fit for your remote work positions, which may require different nuanced assessments.
Our Answer
Manpower’s specialized recruiters are skilled in customized virtual workforce vetting methods that allow us to better match your open jobs to available job candidates. In addition, specifically for our clients operating remote call center teams, we deliver behavioral interviewing methods that target the competencies for remote workers. We also apply technology diagnostics to ensure workers have the tools and access they need to perform from day one. We also offer a variety of assessment options to evaluable candidates’ competencies.
#3 How does my organization compare to other companies in our marketplace?
This may be the most critical question you can ask of your staffing and workforce solutions provider; and not everyone will be able to give you an answer. But it’s critical you find out how you stack up against your competition.
During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, we are finding that the preferences of workers are changing; safety and flexibility have risen to the top of what they want from their employer. Are you delivering on those needs? And equally as important, are job candidates looking at your company seeing that you are? Communicating that you are keeping your workforce safe is just as important as doing it.
How does your pay rate compare, your work environment and your culture? All of those factors impact your ability to attract and retain top talent. This question is one that continues to burden employers and is an important one to ask your staffing firm.
Our Answer
Manpower’s Workforce Success Index is uniquely designed to answer these questions and give you a score that allows you to see how you stack up to the competition. Not only that, we’ll provide you with expert recommendations on how you can improve your score, and in turn, your ability to attract and retain the workforce you need to achieve your goals.
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