The consultants we interviewed were skeptical about the value of references for determining which candidates to hire. Be realistic, D'Ausilio cautions. RDC's Jackson points out that for legal reasons, companies often do little more than confirm that the people you're asking about are current or former employees. But if applicants include former co-workers and friends as references, you can often gain additional insights by asking the right questions. You have to pay close attention and ask behavioral questions to ensure that the reference is giving valid examples of the applicant's work behavior, says Jackson.
Call centers rely on feedback to monitor and improve performance.
That same approach applies to staffing and recruiting. You may want to survey agents, especially those whom your center hired and trained within past few months, to find out about what they thought of the screening and interviewing process. The value for you is seeing how the job fits to the description you've given, the skills you tested to and to the profile you've developed, explains Jackson. Recruiting Channels Word of mouth has long proven to be one of the most effective methods of recruiting, says DDI's Burdette. They are very social and they network frequently.