The
Contact Center Screen™ is designed to help managers / recruiters make
an informed decision about the suitability of a particular candidate
seeking employment in a contact center environment. As such, the Contact
Center Screen™ highlights each candidate’s inherent strengths and
growth opportunities as they pertain to success in a customer service
role, allowing for strategic placement, selection, and coaching
decisions to be made in an informed manner.
John C. Marshall, PhD
CCS2 #823017523203 for Adam Test on September 23, 2008
Contact Center Screen™ (Version 2.0) (CCS2 #823017523203 for Adam Test on September 23, 2008)
Page 2
Recommendation / Background
Candidate Information:
Name: Adam Test Address: 123 Fake St. Telephone: 123-456-7658 Email Address:test@testing.ca
Desired Location: Test Position: Customer Service
Sales
Service
Conditionally Recommended 2.0
Recommended 3.0
Background:
1. Select the response that best reflects your current situation.
Employed Part-Time
2. If unemployed, how long have you been unemployed?
3. If employed, how long have you been at your current job?
1 to 2 years
4. If employed, what is your current job title?
5. What is the major reason you are currently looking for a job?
Did not like job
6. How much experience have you had in a sales or service environment?
1 to 3 years
7. How many previous jobs have you had in the sales or service industry?
1
8. In your current position, what percentage of your time is spent interacting with customers?
50% - 75%
9. How many management or supervisory roles have you had?
2
10. How many different jobs have you held in the past 5 years?
4
11. Please rate your level of customer service ability.
Excellent
12. Which of the following sales/service roles have you at least 6 months experience? Please select all that apply.
Call Center Customer Service
Call Center Technical Support
Call Center Telesales
Retail Sales/Service
Financial Services
Hospitality
Other
13. How long would it take you to get to work at the location that you applied to?
30 minutes to 1 hour
14. Do you have any family members or friends that work for our company?
Yes
Education
15. What is your highest level of education?
University/College Graduate
16. If you attended University / College, what was your course of study?
Other Questions
17. Do you speak any other languages? If so, please specify.
18. What is the best time to contact you?
Afternoon
19. What is the best day to contact you?
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
20. Will you be available to work evenings, weekends and/or statutory holidays?
No
21. This position requires the use of a computer and keyboarding skills. Please rate your level of proficiency in this regard.
Excellent
22. Working in a Contact
Center will require the use of a telephone head set for an entire shift.
How comfortable are you wearing a telephone headset on an on-going
basis?
Contact Center Screen™ (Version 2.0) (CCS2 #823017523203 for Adam Test on September 23, 2008)
Page 4
Performance Factors
Enterprising Potential
-2
High Initiative / Proactive
Responsive
Adam would be described as possessing an
average potential to self manage. As such, he will be comfortable in
situations that require a balance between a responsive and proactive
disposition. More specifically, Adam will be effective in environments
that require responsiveness to customer and organizational needs
combined with the need to plan and initiate additional tasks in a more
independent manner. Overall, he will likely work most effectively with a
manager who provides clear guidance and feedback, without being too
controlling.
Interview Suggestions
1. How do you currently organize and prioritize your daily responsibilities?
2. Outline a situation where you had to respond to the needs of a demanding customer.
3. Describe a situation in which you took initiative. Is there anything you would do differently?
Sense of Urgency
-4
Urgent / Impatient
Relaxed / Calm
Adam possesses a modest sense of urgency and
likely balances his efforts and motivation between short and long term
goals. When interacting with customers, he will handle their needs in a
timely manner, yet pay particular attention to being thorough and
precise. Adam is a stable and dependable employee, and is very
methodical and deliberate in all that he does.
Interview Suggestions
1. Describe a situation where you had to complete a task under very
tight time constraints. What strategies did you employ in order to be
successful?
2. If you had a choice, would you prefer to work in an environment where
you were responsible for several tasks at one time, or an environment
where you could focus on just one task at a time? Explain your answer.
3. What are the things that motivate you to do well in a service-oriented role? Why?
4. Describe for me a situation that illustrates that you are a patient person.
Independence Potential
2
Independent
Prefers Structure
Adam would be described as cooperative,
obliging, efficient and conscientious. He would function most
effectively in a group environment; however, one in which individual
initiative is promoted and recognized. He will appreciate, and in some
cases rely on, early supervision but will expect less guidance after
gaining the relevant experience. He would be expected to integrate well
within an organization's existing systems and work well with a group
of peers who are similar in nature.
Interview Suggestions
1. Describe the work environment that you have found most suitable to your personality.
2. What do you like most about working independently? In a group?
3. Describe your ideal manager.
4. Describe a situation where you worked independently in a group / team context. How did the group coordinate their efforts?
Contact Center Screen™ (Version 2.0) (CCS2 #823017523203 for Adam Test on September 23, 2008)
Page 5
Communication Factors
People Orientation
31
Outgoing / Sociable
Builds Relationships Over Time
Adam is quite sociable, cheerful, friendly
and outgoing. He is able to build relationships and friendships without
difficulty and is quite comfortable when placed in general social
situations. He will be able to work well in an environment where there
is regular contact with customers and will likely network and promote
your organization outside of work. It is likely that he would make a
good representative in terms of presenting a positive company image and
certainly possesses the social skills necessary to be effective in a
sales/service role.
Interview Suggestions
1. How do you make people feel comfortable when your meet them?
2. What are your strategies when attempting to create repeat customers?
3. Evaluate your strengths as a communicator.
4. What are your goals with regard to growth in interpersonal areas? What steps have you taken to improve in these areas?
Analytical Orientation
21
Analytical
Overlooks Detail
Adam would be described as practical and
somewhat analytical. He would be comfortable in an environment with a
balanced mix of technical and non-technical issues and some problem
solving components. He would be willing to attend training sessions and
learn the critical skills that are needed to perform the job more
effectively; however, he would not necessarily regard extra training or
research as an incentive. As a manager, coach him using a moderate
amount of detail and explanation in order to obtain the best results.
Interview Suggestions
1. What attributes do you possess that make you a strong problem solver? Growth Opportunities?
2. Describe a situation where you had to learn a lot of new material.
What strategies did you employ in order to retain all of the new
information?
3. What are some of the current developments that could have an impact
on this business? How would you keep informed of these changes?
Comfort With Conflict
-6
Very Comfortable With Conflict
Avoids Conflict
Adam is relatively comfortable in situations
where there is some conflict but would be most at ease in an
environment where conflict was neither the normal state of affairs, nor
too intense. He is best suited to roles that deal with some conflict
where the organization is prepared to invest in training and strategies
that will help him resolve such situations effectively.
Interview Suggestions
1. Describe one of your previous working environments that included a
lot of argument and conflict. How did you manage to work effectively in
this environment?
2. How would you handle an unruly (e.g., rude, profane, disrespectful) customer?
3. Describe a situation where you had to deal with an angry customer.
What was the outcome? Is there anything you would do differently looking
back?
Contact Center Screen™ (Version 2.0) (CCS2 #823017523203 for Adam Test on September 23, 2008)
Page 6
Attitudinal Factors
Self Confidence
21
Very Confident
Growth Opportunity
Adam possesses a below average level of
self-confidence. More specifically, he does not perceive himself as
possessing the skills or abilities necessary to be successful in the
service industry. Moreover, when asked about his success in other areas
of his life, he repeatedly attributed success to external factors (e.g.,
luck). Research in psychology refers to the idea of a "Self Fulfilling
Prophecy", where an individual's performance oftentimes aligns itself
with their cognitive projection of their likelihood for success (i.e.,
how successful they think they will be). As such, candidates with
extremely low levels of self-confidence should be screened thoroughly as
part of the selection process, as their likelihood for success may be
impeded by their current psychological state.
Interview Suggestions
1. What attributes do you possess that will allow you to be successful in the service industry?
2. What do you perceive to be your growth opportunities?
3. What steps have you taken to improve in these areas? How are you monitoring your progress?
4. If I had to ask your worst enemy to describe you, what would they
say? (look for honest answers - indicates strong self awareness and
confidence that the good outweighs the bad)
Lifestyle Management
25
Well Developed Coping Strategies
Growth Opportunity
Adam's scores indicate that he has trouble
managing stress on a relatively routine basis. More specifically, Adam
does not appear to be a strong multi-tasker and therefore oftentimes
finds himself feeling overwhelmed and ultimately stressed out. In
addition, Adam does not appear to have well defined coping mechanisms in
place, which would subsequently help buffer some of the perceived
stress. Overall, he is extremely susceptible to burnout in the workplace
and as such will require a manager who is flexible and can therefore
modify his workload on occasion. Adam would likely benefit from some
stress management training.
Interview Suggestions
1. Describe a situation where you had to multi-task. What was the
outcome? What strategies did you use when dividing up your time?
2. How do you cope with stress? How effective has this strategy been for you in the past?
3. How can you improve in the area of stress management? Have you taken steps towards this improvement?
Attitudes About a Service Career
29
Very Positive Attitudes About A Service Career
Negative Attitudes About A Service Career
Adam appears to be relatively ambivalent
with respect to his attitudes about a career in the service industry.
Overall, his responses are neither negative nor positive with respect to
how he perceives a career in a contact center, with his responses to
society's perception mirroring his own. Overall, Adam's attitude about a
contact center career is likely not going to impede or facilitate his
performance in the workplace.
Interview Suggestions
1. How does this job move you towards your long term career goal?
2. What do you see as the advantages of this job? Disadvantages?
Reliability of Results (Honesty Scale)
48
Potentially Unreliable Results
Reliable Results
Adam's responses are above the cut-off for
this scale. As such, Adam may have been trying to present himself in a
socially desirable manner, in hopes of appearing as a stronger
candidate. There are a variety of reasons why this score can be elevated
(e.g., language barriers), however the most common reason is socially
desirable responding. Please proceed with him cautiously.
