Melbourne, Victoria Australia 
If you are an employer, you are probably having increased difficulty finding a decent hire locally. And that is where remote work working can help you. Since the start of the pandemic, remote working has become a trend for any sized company, small or large. In fact, Upwork projected that by 2028, 73% of all teams will have remote workers.
So, this is good news for you. These days, you can hire any type of expert or employee remotely, even the Remote Customer Service Team. Hiring them gives you many advantages such as low cost, flexibility, and adaptability.
So, how do you successfully hire a remote customer service employee? Let’s find out in this article!
Why Hire a Remote Customer Service Team?
As mentioned earlier, hiring a remote customer employee is not taboo these days. Since the pandemic, many employees have found the perks of remote work and simply want its flexibility. They can work anywhere they want and anytime they can.
But the benefits do not stop with the employees. Hiring remote customer service employees can also help a company more compared to the adverse effects it is believed to have. With the enhancement of technology and equipment, companies can now hire remote customer representatives without the risk of error or data breach. It can also help them be more accomodating to their customer 24/7, especially if your customer service team is working offshore.
Likewise, here are some benefits of hiring remote employees or a customer service team.
1. Cost-effective and affordable
Since you are hiring a remote employee, the typical cost of hiring does not apply to you. Usually, your remote employee or third-party agency takes all tools and equipment when you hire your remote customer service team. In addition, since they are working remotely, you do not need to maintain a physical office location which can sometimes be expensive for a team.
You can finally slash that new hire equipment and tools for your hires.
2. Access to a pool of experts worldwide
Hiring a remote customer service team will also give you access to a pool of experts worldwide. Most third-party agencies providing customer service teams are located offshore or in another country. They will provide you with a choice to hire highly talented experts that you wouldn’t be able to hire locally.
3. Scalable and Flexible Hiring
When you hire a remote customer service employee with an agency, you can scale up your team based on your need. You can grow your remote team anytime you need. Just tell the company what you need, and they will take care of it.
4. Higher Productivity
It is believed that remote workers are more productive than their onsite counterparts. According to a two-year Sandford Study, people who worked from home experienced increased work productivity compared to in-office employees.
7 Steps in Hiring Your Remote Customer Service Team
So if you finally decided to hire one or two remote customer service team members, here is a guide to teach you how to hire customer service representatives.
STEP 1 – Write your business needs and requirements
The first step in hiring a customer service representative is writing your business needs and requirement. By doing so, you will know what kind of an employee you are looking for. Think about your business needs and what type of role you think will suit this work. Then, try asking yourself the following questions.
- Which customer service skills are needed for this role?
- Do they need to have specific tech skills?
- Do they need to have experience working for a platform or some kind?
In addition, you can ask your existing team (if you have one) for their input. What kind of coworker do they think can help the section the most?
STEP 2 – Create a job description
The next step in hiring a remote customer service employee is creating a good job description. The job description is the first thing that any candidate will see. So, you need to make it compelling and clear. A job description is a marketing tool. You are selling the role to candidates who will apply for the position.
Start by writing a job title that is clear, direct, and in line with the role you are looking for. Next, make sure to list down all the skills you are looking for. In addition, list down the company benefits and company culture and values.
STEP 3 – Find the right candidate from multiple platforms
The next step in hiring a remote customer service employee is posting your job vacancy. In this time and age of digitalization, there is no point in advertising remote candidates in the newspaper. You need to find the right platform on the internet to post your remote job posting.
Consider posting your job post on the following job boards:
- Upwork
- Indeed
- Facebook Jobs
But if you are hiring a whole customer service team, contacting a third-party outsourcing provider can be the best approach.
STEP 4 – Sift through the candidate’s tech and soft skills
Once you receive applicants for the position, the next step is sifting through the resume and evaluating each applicant. Excellent customer service demands people who listen carefully and understand what the customer is going on. They should have excellent communication skills and sympathy to relate with the customers.
So when you are screening applications, try to converse with them first to test their communication skills. Ask for easy-to-find answers and see their ability to communicate with you. You can also try asking for a cover letter to demonstrate their writing and convincing skills,
STEP 5 – Refine your interview process
The fifth step in hiring a remote Customer Service employee is an interview. Once you find the perfect candidates, it’s time for you to interview them. Your interview questions should be able to test their ability to communicate and answer back to you.
Ask technical questions or experience related to your product and ask questions on how they would be able to deal with specific issues.
In addition, try asking them the following questions to deep dive into their personality:
- What is your communication style?
- What makes you good at self-managing?
- Why do you want to work remotely?
Doing so will better understand the candidate and verify what they have written on their resume. You will also see if they are a good fit for your company and its culture.
STEP 6 – Improve your onboarding experience
Once you find the perfect candidate, it’s time for you to onboard them! But before that, make sure you have an excellent and outstanding onboarding experience.
According to a study conducted by Jobvite in 2018, almost 30% of new hires leave their position after the first three months. And this could hurt your company with the right people going to waste and wasting your time and resources. This is also most critical in remote work as it can be harder to communicate with your employees
As such, you can fight this issue by building a completely digital onboarding process which can include things like:
- Q&A Video Orientation
- Team Greet and Meet
- Digital Paperwork
- Small welcome gift
Lastly, make all policies clear with the new hire regarding vacation time, benefits, etc. This way, remote customer employees will feel engaged by your company.
Conclusion
Hiring remote Customer Service employees will take more effort than hiring onsite employees. But with the right tool and knowledge, you will be able to do so. Just take account of the following tips mentioned above when hiring new customer service employees.
And if you need help, don’t hesitate to contact us! Remote Developer is your gateway to hiring remote exports in the Philippines!