10 Red Flags to Watch Out for with New Hires

10 red flags with new contact centre hires you need to look out for

10 Red Flags Call Centre Managers and Team Leaders need to look for

Marc Carriere shares his tips on red flags with new contact centre hires you need to look out for. 

Being on the front line as a call centre operator can be really challenging when you consider the amount of rejection they can face in a sales environment or dealing with irate customers providing customer service throughout their day.

Add to this little to no real coaching or support, and all for a low hourly rate, it’s not surprising many call centres experience low staff retention rates leading to a lot of hiring and training new staff every month.

Over the past 34 years, I’ve been involved in recruiting and training hundreds and hundreds of call operators and found there are certain red flags with new contact centre hires you need to look out for during induction training and the first few weeks of employment that indicate there may be trouble ahead.

When you see these red flags flapping, you need to take action as early as possible to get new hires on the right path, or at the very least be aware you may have a problem child on your hands that you should speak with your manager about and decide if they are a good fit for the team or not.

Now having said this just let me say that you need to look at these behaviours as warning signs, and if you see one behaviour from a new hire just once that doesn’t necessarily mean a red flag is being raised.

However, if you see the same behaviours happening often, especially when other negative behaviours show themselves as well, I’ll bet you dollars to doughnuts that you’ll have a problem with your new hire when they finish training and hit the floor.

Here are 10 Red Flags (in no particular order) you need to watch out for:

1. Being late for training, shift times or coming back late from breaks.

Now, it might just be that your new hire is having a problem getting to work on time for a particular reason not that they don’t care about being on time, or they’re just lousy at getting organised.

If you see them coming in late for a couple of days, and this is the only red flag you’re seeing, take them aside during a break to ask why they’re having a problem being on time.

You may find they’re simply having trouble with a bus schedule or connections. And, you might be able to fix the problem by introducing them to someone in the centre they can catch a ride to work with.

And, with breaks – it always amazes me how many people come back late from the first break on the first day of training with pretty much the same lame excuse!

When this happens, I usually stop the group and tell everyone that being late for work whether that’s coming in for training or their shift or coming back from breaks is unacceptable.

I point out being late without a good reason is disruptive to the group and disrespectful of everyone there. And, it’s their responsibility to be back in their chair before the break ends.

If they need to do something during their break that’s family or work-related that may cause them to be late, they need to mention this to their Team Leader or Trainer so they are aware of the possibility.

2. Not taking their training seriously by not following instructions or paying attention.

You see this behaviour with people constantly texting or having too much fun speaking with their neighbours and you end up asking yourself how serious they are about the job.

Sometimes you see this behaviour from new hires who had worked for another company in the same industry.

Many can think they know it all and don’t have to really pay too much attention because they already get it.

In those cases, you should remind them that it’s what they learn after they think they know it all that really counts!

3. Lying or overly embellishing

No one likes lying or at the very least overly embellishing the truth.

If you catch them out in a lie or they embellish the truth too much with you, they are capable of lying/playing loose with the truth while on the job.

Any hint of lying is a good reason to keep a close on them and monitor their calls in the early stages of their employment, and if you catch them out again you should consider immediately letting them go.

4. Negativity or complaining

If you see any unwarranted negativity or bad-mouthing a former employer or job this is an immediate red flag.

Negativity has no place in your team and has the potential to infect everyone, so you need to keep a lookout for any signs of unwarranted negativity and deal with it immediately.

If they continue with this behaviour you need to move them on quickly before they hurt the morale of the team.

5. Not Asking Any Questions

Typically, most new team members who are engaged with their job and want to do well will ask lots of questions about the company, product and how to do their job.

Even those new hires who are engaged and have worked with another company in the same industry will ask a lot of questions.

If they don’t, you have to wonder why?

6. Not Listening

It’s easy for a new hire to get overwhelmed during their training and the first few weeks of performing their jobs, which can directly affect their listening skills.

But if a new hire doesn’t listen during training, will they be able to listen when they are working?

7. Only Focused On Pay And Benefits

When a new hire only talks about their pay and staff benefits in the early stages of their time at the company, you should immediately be wary.

You don’t want people on the team who are only interested in the money.

You want people who can be passionate about the job and the company.

8. Poor Communication Skills

The ability to communicate is a huge part of any call centre job. Obviously, they should have been screened to make sure they can speak well during the interview process.

However, if they are poor at returning emails, missing scheduled phone calls or is unclear when communication with customers and team members this is clearly a bad sign.

9. Inability To Follow Directions

If a new hire continuously misses steps or disregards directions from their Team Leaders, you need to watch this very carefully.

This is something you need to correct very early, and if things don’t improve quickly you should move them on.

10. Unprofessional Appearance

When a new hire shows up dishevelled, dressed unprofessionally or reeking of alcohol you need to immediately reassess their ability to be a professional in the workplace.

If they can’t pull it together when they just got a new job, they probably won’t be able to do so in the long term.

These are common red flags Call Centre Managers and Team Leaders need to be on the lookout for during induction training and in the first few weeks of a new hire’s employment.

Of course there a many other red flags with new contact centre hires to watch out for, however in my experience, if any of these behaviours come up, they need to get straightened out straight away before this behaviour cause any real damage to the team.

Frankly, if someone isn’t a good fit for the team or the call centre generally, it’s best to deal it early on, even if that means having to let them go, rather than risk keeping someone on board who just doesn’t share the same values as the rest of the team.

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About Marc Carriere 22 Articles
With 34 years of worldwide executive experience managing Call Centre teams that have won 3 Silver and 3 Gold ‘Ardy’ awards, consulting with businesses mentoring and coaching their Call Centre Managers and Team Leaders and having owned a call centre himself Marc is well aware of the difficulties Call Centres face in consistently meeting their targets and KPIs.

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