We are in the process of setting up a 30 seat call centre in Manchester and need some direction on the recruitment of all areas of the hierarchy.

Can anyone suggest the best way to manage this recruitment operation?

In particular, we are looking to recruit:-

30 Outbound telesales agents
3 team leaders
1 call centre manager
1 Dialer developer/ IT manager
5 administrators
1 Legal Researcher/ solicitor

Please can anyone offer some advice about the best place to source all these elements, and the best way to assess the different skill sets involved.

Thanks,

Nick Morley
Solar Contact ltd.

Can anyone suggest the best way to manage this recruitment operation?

Outsource it to call centre recruitment specialists - this will minimise time and maximise objectives and resources. You can sit in and have the final say on candidates should you wish.

There are plenty of companies out there who can do this for you. I have personal experience of and would recommend contact but I am unable to advertise.


The best format is competency based assessment centres designed in conjucntion with your role profiles and KPI's and company ethos, these will typically utilise role play, group discussions, exercises, presentations and interviews to assess candidate competencies individually. These are widely accepted as the most effective tall in many sectors and are extensively used in all blue chip organisations.

Nick

I'd have to agree with closed on this. A specialist recruiter capable of sourcing both agents, management and support staff will better ensure a sucessful take-on of service and would be well worth the investment.

I too have "names in the frame" if you're interested.

Eamon

I agree that outsourcing recruitment sounds like the best approach, however as you are starting from scratch I would recommend a "management building blocks" approach. Using your recruitment specialists:

1) Begin by recruiting Contact Centre manager
2) Recruit the resource / scheduling / MI manager (no mention of this position in your post but I assume you will require the role)
3) Recruit the IT/Dialler manager role
4) Work with these three to define the requirements for resourcing the contact centre and administration team
5) Recruit team managers, based on the above requirements, allowing the contact centre manager involvement
6) Recruit training manager (no mention of this position in your post but I assume you will require the role)
7) Allow your contact centre management team involvement in the recruiting and interviewing process for all agents and admin staff
?) Not sure why your require the legal researcher / solicitor but if it is for internal support then this may be needed at the begining.

This approach will allow the team to grow organically, and will ensure that the management at all levels has control and ownership of the operations team. By allowing each management level input into the next you reduce the risk of personality/style/practice conflict inherant in creating a new team with no platform.
By placing ownership of the initial staffing and resource levels with the people who will be required to manage the operation you create a set-up that the management supports as meeting their operational requirements.

The key to it must be to higher the right Call Centre manager. In addition to recruitment experts you should consider a genuine, proven CC Operations expert who can advise you on all aspects of the operational set up.

Hope this is useful. Good luck.

Many thanks to you 3 for your informative feedback. Dylan, i like your structured approach, but my initial problem is that of selecting a recruitment partner to source these specialised individuals, in an industry rife with hype merchants and profiteers - who deliver little else but sub-standard staff and a large bill!

That said, I would appreciate contact details from anyone who you believe will be able to help with this requirement. Please feel free to mail me direct (see profile), or post a reply here. . .


Nick