Customer Service Representative Research Assignment (Coursework Sample)

Customer Service Representative
Name:
Institution:
Customer Service Representative
Introduction
Customer service representatives interact with customers from time to time to handle process orders, complaints and provide information about organizational operations. Though employed in almost every corner of the industry, many have taken on jobs in retail stores, and telephone call centers. More importantly, for them to qualify for that job, most of them only need a high school diploma astraining is the most important thing in this job. Fundamentally, employment for customer service representatives is expected to increase by ten percent from 2016 – 2024.Indeed, individuals with good customer and computer skills have more chances of securing the job than those who do not possess any skill in either of the field (Arthur, 2001).
Customer service representatives have variousresponsibilities which include; incoming and outgoing call management, assessment and identification of customer requirements to obtain the satisfaction and to come up with sales leads. In other cases, customer service representatives are responsible for constructing a sustainable relationship of trust through interaction and open communication among others. Customer service representatives are required to possess customer support experienceto ensure that they havereliable phone contact, active listening, and handling skills. Also, they have an obligation tobefamiliar with CRM practices and systems, exquisite presentation and communication skills. When it comes to job duties, they are required to be in a position to attract prospective customers by answering service and product questions (Meister, 2014).
Recruitment Objectives
There are a considerable number of recruitment objectives. Nevertheless, these objectives may vary depending on the organization. Employing skilled employees who have the right skill sets in customer representation is one of the most important objectives. Therefore, the interviewing panel willnotbe required to gauge the level of education; they will be required to evaluate how equipped the candidate regarding their skill sets. They will have to be bachelor degrees, holders, after which they will be trained on the job. Again, they should have excellent communication skills and be capable of effectivelyoperating the dashboard. Essentially, determining the educational qualifications and skills that new recruits should have will help in driving the recruitment process smoothly. This objective, in the end, helps the company to recruit workers who will minimize errors in the company, therefore, increase the production levels in the company (Meister, 2014).
To incorporate employees who fit the company’s culture is also a very key objective. Fundamentally, employees should fit into the company’s culture, and toachieve this, the company should search for employees that they have interacted with on a personal level. On the whole, bringing in employees who engage well with others will boost the company’s team spirit instead of diverting from it. A company that works as a whole is moreeffective and efficient than a company whose workers are divided. Generally, teamwork gives the company and staff the ability to become more acquainted with each other, therefore increasing the levels of cohesion in the workplace.
Another objective of the program is to bring in employees who have good character. In relation to this objective it may be important to haveathorough background check on the candidates that the company is considering hiring. To ensure that the above objective is achieved, former employers may be contactedto ascertain the conduct of the candidate. By doing so, the company avoids fraudulent employees who may have caused the downfall in their previous employment. Additionally, the company avoids crafty employees who may have a bad reputation. Therefore, the company should incorporate workers with proper conduct so that there can be increased production levels (Meister, 2014).
Ensuring that the recruiting process is fair and legal and that it falls within the accepted standards that govern addition of employees to the company is also a key strategy. During cross-examination, the interviewers should avoid asking questions which go against the law governing that country. For instance, questions concerning a person's marital status and religion should be avoided. Again, the cross-examination team should consult with a business law attorney to ensure that the practices are acceptable under the business law. Therefore, the recruiting company should make sure that the employees are recruited in line with the law to avoid being convicted.
The recruitment is also aimed to add to the company employees who are willing to accept the salary being offered.It should be noted that salary plays a vital role in motivating employees. The details of the salary must be ironed out before any work is done so that there can be less trouble during payment. If the employed workers are not content about what they are receiving, they can deliberately produce poor results which can ultimately drag the company asunder. On the other hand, well-paid employees can be morally boosted to drive the company towards success. Therefore, the company should ensure that the employee is content with their salary to avoid poor results (Meister, 2014).
Recruitment Strategy
A better recruitment strategy for the customer representative position and selection process relies upon the resourceful application of a strategy for choice, which is established on three essential expectations. First, it is imperative that any recruitment and determination methodology be compounded of a sequence of interrelated phases. For example, the methodology of recruitment declaration will impact on the variety of the applications acknowledged. Secondly, in the recruitment framework, the last stages are sequentially dependent upon past stages. Hence, it is normal that all periods of assessment are a forecaster and a destructor of the candidate's work disposition. Therefore, to ensure that the best candidate for the position of customer representatives is selected, the recruitment strategies must be creative. Creativity in this sense entails the segmentation of strategies into two scopes of internal and external strategies (Buettner, 2015). 
Internal Strategies
Internal strategiesare steps that are dependent upon the resource capacity of the organization; in the case of a customer service representative, theinternal scope must consider the financial resources as well as the applicant’s input capability. Some of these internal steps include; arranging for a group setting discussion. The human resource manager can arrange for an interactive session with potential employees that are likely to suit the position of customer representatives. This shouldbecarried outby junior employees who seek promotion, or even internees. The idea behind the internal interaction process is to enable the human resource personnel to determine the characters, level of interest and most importantly the communication level of the potential candidates (Buettner, 2015). Moreover, the customer representative position demands employees who are well informed about thecompany’s culture and knowledge. Therefore, the internal interaction will help to determine their knowledge.
Further, considering past candidates for the same position is another effective internal strategy for recruitment of customer representative. This canbe done by reviewing the resumes that were rejected in past interviews. Hence, the candidates can be contacted for fresh interviews if necessary to gauge their improvement. Another effective internal strategy is the mentoring process for capable candidates who can step into the position of customer representative. Mentorship can be done through distinctive selection of a potential candidate and groom them to meet the expectations of the company’s objectives pertaining the customer representative duties.
External Strategies
The external strategies entail the steps taken in the broad concept that has passed the parameters of the organizations. These included the unique roles of attempting to obtain better customer representative candidates, but outside the pool of internal employees. The strategies might include commercial advertisements in places that are frequently visited, for example, bus packs and institutions. Moreover, the advertisement can extend to the broadcast media including; TV, Radio and the social media platforms (Cable, 2013). However, since the post of customer representative has dynamic requirements, the specific details of the candidates needed must be clearly outlined in the commercial adverts.
Secondly, publicizing referrals is another effective strategy for recruiting, customer service representative. Although it is regarded as a conventional method, a referral can be a great way especially when incentives complement it. Another applicable strategy is attending job-related public events such as trade fairs and mentorship programs. These places attract a pool of potential yet jobless candidates who can be great customer representatives for a company. Besides, visiting the events organized by higher learning institutions can be an opportunity to tap into raw talent that can be nurtured to improve the output of the company regarding customer services.
Recruitment Activities
Development of Position Description
To build effectiveness in the recruitment and selection of employees for a customer representative position and to guarantee consistency and compliance; the activities must integrate the key variables of affirmative action, equal employment opportunities as well as the diversit...