Access to talent is the most critical benefit of the virtual agent model. In a traditional brick and mortar labor market, superior talent for contact center jobs is capped based on population size, competitive influences, and distance. You might be at a 3 to 1 candidate to hire ratio or maybe 4 to1 or 5 to1. This limits your ability to select potential top performers. Virtual models allow you to eliminate labor market size constraints that face a traditional hub and spoke labor pool. For example, many virtual models will generate 10 or more candidates per hire. While this candidate volume is helpful for recruiting purposes, it can create potential recruiting challenges.
For hub and spoke, candidate volume is not as large a concern because it will mirror your brick and mortar volume. However, moving to a virtual model requires you to carefully plan the recruitment process and workflow. You should experience an increase in candidate volume with a virtual model which means you need to consider hiring automation. If you stick with a recruiter led interviewing process, your costs will skyrocket, the candidate experience will be poor, and the candidate and recruiter effort will be significant. Whether it is using assessment tests or some other type of filtering, you should plan to automate the front-end of the hiring process. The figure below highlights a traditional recruiter led model with a technology, data-driven model. While this is an illustration of real world models, notice that the automated approach, backed by data-driven hiring models, reduces the number of interviews from 100 to 56 which saves the recruiting team significant time. Moreover, the 56 candidates at this point have passed two assessments calibrated for performance in this organization.
Figure: Hiring Process Models and Management – Technology Saves Time and Cost
In the example above, the technology and data-driven model has 44 fewer candidate interviews. Using 90 minutes for preparation, interview time, and follow-up notation at $26/hour/recruiter means that for every 100 candidates using a technology/data-driven model your organization saves $102,900. Adding interviewing technology can create even more savings.
