No matter who your customer is, it’s more likely than not that they’re using social media.
Whether it be Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or something else, it seems like everyone today is taking advantage of different ways they can interact with friends and family. But social media doesn’t stop there. More time is dedicated to directly interacting with businesses and organizations now than ever before. It’s your job to make sure that your business is communicating with these social customers as they engage with you - and that means leveraging your talent acquisition strategies to bring in the best candidates possible for social media customer support roles.
Learn the 15 must-ask questions before implementing a pre-hire assessment solution.
According to a recent study in the Harvard Business Review, almost four hours a day is dedicated to social media use by people under the age of 35, and in the past two years the amount of messages on Twitter that have been directed at brands has grown 2.5x.
When considering candidates for your contact center, being mindful of how to meet the needs of these "social customers" is crucial.
The skills needed to engage with customers this way might be similar to other support channels, like voice, but require the candidate to leverage them in different ways. When hiring for social media, consider the following:
Ability to Learn and Apply Information:
Support via social media requires fast responses. In fact, 72% of people who interact with a company on social media expect a response within an hour. Hiring employees that can quickly read, learn, and then apply information is critical to successful job performance. Make sure to evaluate a job candidate’s ability to learn and apply information during your pre-hire process.
Right Behaviors:
Obviously, social media interactions are different than phone or in-person interactions. This means that candidates that like the interpersonal aspects of phone support may find the impersonal nature of social media difficult. Spend time understanding the behaviors associated with social media support. By understanding these requirements, you will be in a better spot to evaluate job candidates for social media roles.
Well Written:
Writing skills for social media are an absolute must. Being able to write clearly, concisely, and directly isn’t just a nice bonus a candidate can bring with them, it’s an essential. You’ll need clear communicators because your brand shouldn’t develop a reputation for having fragmented, broken communication skills. You’ll need concise writers because not only does this form of interaction expect quick answers, some social media platforms put a strict limit on the amount you can say (such as Twitters 140 characters). Make sure to evaluate candidates for written communication skills.
Learn How to Grow Brand Equity via the Candidate Experience
The importance of social media customer support cannot be overstated enough, and as social media interaction continues to grow you’ll need to plan your hiring strategies around it. Take advantage of hiring assessments by testing against some of the skills and personality traits needed to succeed in a social media position, and use job simulations to see how candidates will handle these responsibilities.
Contact us today to learn more. And if you're on the fence about implementing a pre-hire assessment process, download this e-book below that gives you 15 questions you should ask yourself to decide if using a hiring assessment process is right for your organization:
Topics: Better Interviewing