Are you ready to go out there, look for talents, and start the Customer Experience recruitment process? Although hiring new CX professionals can seem easy, things are not always straightforward. There are a lot of things to balance and explore to find the best person for the job.
The Customer Experience recruitment process is not easy for candidates either. In fact, they might find it quite challenging to meet all employer’s needs ahead, especially when just starting the CX career. To help both sides demystify the entire process and get the best out of it, we composed this comprehensive guide. In the sections below, you’ll find everything from the most successful recruitment methods to skills required in the profession.
Taking a CX career path
During uncertain times like these, it seems Customer Experience has gained more popularity than ever. The pandemic has caused a major shift in people’s behaviours, and all industries are feeling its effect. Therefore, a lot of employers and employees are investing in CX to improve experiences for people and support them in challenging circumstances.
Even without a global health crisis, strong relationships with customers and their overall satisfaction lie at the centre of every job and business. We just need to focus on the right CX approaches and give skilled specialists the chance to enrich corporate culture. That’s why a highly experienced CX professional is always in demand and will be so even more in the future.
Two sides of Customer Experience recruitment
Most recruitment processes involve a job post, an application, and a screening method. However, the entire journey involves so much more for both employers and applicants.
On one hand, businesses need to browse through many incoming applications and recognize the right talents. On the other, applicants have to get familiar with each company and identify the perfect opportunities.
For this reason, we composed the following two sections for both sides. We want to help employers run a smooth and effortless Customer Experience recruitment process as well as aid professionals in getting the job.
How do businesses acquire CX talents?
The first thing companies have to comprehend is that recruiting practices are an extension of their employer’s brand. If the candidates have a positive experience, companies have a high chance to attract the best CX professionals out there.
In other words, customer experience recruitment works just the same as any other customer journey. To be seamless, it has to meet candidates’ expectations at every touchpoint within the process. Applicants also impact a brand’s reputation as they tend to spread the word about the company regardless of whether they get the job or not.
Moreover, the first impressions can be crucial for further employee performance and satisfaction. According to a Candidate experience report by Talentegy, 54.1% of job seekers who had a poor candidate experience stated it would have a negative influence on their decision to purchase a company’s products or services or on their brand perception. With this in mind, businesses should take care of the recruitment process from start to end. Here are a couple of tips for successful management:
Understand your company’s needs
First thing first, it’s essential to understand the culture of your company and recognize the needs behind it. Not every CX professional offers the same services, and you want to find the one that perfectly meets your requirements. Therefore, take the time to explore the ambitions and goals of your brand so you can find the right person to support them.
Simplify and personalize the hiring process
Now, it’s time to think about the recruitment format. The entire process should be straightforward, from the application form to the final interview. This helps people find and apply for the job, increasing the chances of a positive first impression. As mentioned above, the recruitment process looks much like the customer journey, and the applicant’s satisfaction is crucial.
We should also highlight the importance of designing a personalized Customer Experience recruitment process. Recruitment HR teams are the first point of contact for people applying for the job. They should ensure a person enters a human process of application, from submitting a CV to attending the post interviews.
This can be a turning point for bad or good candidate experience and influence both the recruitment process and job performance. For example, you can make recruitment more personalized by adding sincere and valuable feedback to your candidate-rejection emails. Although losing the job opportunity, candidates will feel respected and valued.
Another way to show appreciation to candidates is to create a space for feedback on your hiring process. This act will demonstrate your customer-centric culture and dedication to the core CX principle of receiving honest feedback.
Look for the right skill set
Looking through the pool of talents and choosing a particular candidate for the job is always a challenging task. One has to be completely certain a person is a right fit for the role. This can be achieved only through the recognition of a required skill set.
A recruitment team should ask itself what CX assistance the company needs. Not every professional provides the same type of services. It is essential to evaluate the required skills and services for the role and then search for them in applicants.
We asked Chloe Woolger, commercial director – CX at Kantar UK, for an opinion on hiring a perfect CX professional for the role:
‘So many things fall under the remit of a CX professional, from understanding how a customer’s online journey matches the in-store experience, to informing a business’ marketing and communication strategy so it hits the right note for target audiences. It’s a vast role. Businesses need to look for someone who can manage many moving parts and cut through what are sometimes competing demands. It’s about understanding where the focus should be to deliver the best return on investment.’
Develop a proper mindset
What is the mindset your HR team has to develop to design a successful customer experience recruitment process?
- Understand the company’s values and communicate them with the candidates
- Be aware of the current CX team culture and recognize the best value fit
- Be knowledgeable about the desired CX role, job day to day description, and workload
- Remain transparent about the hiring process, salary, and company’s expectations
- Stay curious about candidates’ potentials beyond a job description
- Investigate and offer appropriate career development plans early on
Career tips for CX professionals
If you’re here to look for professional tips on building a CX career and applying for a job, we are happy to support you with some recommendations. Applying for a job can sometimes be quite a stressful experience. You might even fail to present all your skills and achievements due to stage fright, especially if you’re new to the profession. To avoid this from happening and ensure a successful CX career advancement and job application, follow these tips:
Recognize and explore brand’s needs
To make sure a job is perfect for you and vice versa, do your research. Learn more about the company and identify its CX needs. This way, you can be sure your skills will aid the company and its customers, and that the role will fit in your desired career path.
Get to the front line
Whether your role includes getting in direct contact with customers or not, always insist on making that connection. Communication with customers is essential regardless of the job position. It will give you a better sense of internal and external processes and direct you towards the best CX practices needed for success and growth.
Develop and invest in your skills
Thriving in job interviews is also about showcasing how your skillset can benefit a brand. When applying for a CX role, applicants should highlight their customer-centric character and skills such as empathy, understanding, patience, and emotional intelligence. Employers also look for strong communication, leadership, and project management skills when looking for CX professionals.
Gaining a CX certificate might boost your confidence and help you find the desired role sooner. However, having proof of your CX skills doesn’t have to be the most important factor for recruiters to select you. Having the right attitude, values, and personality is equally important. Don’t forget that CX is a team sport, and your collaboration skills will be a top priority.
We asked Chloe Woolger for another comment on the most important CX skills. This is how she explained it:
‘The pressure from senior business leaders to prove true ROI from CX investment is greater than ever. For people hoping to secure a role, they need to show how they can quickly make an impact on improving customers’ day-to-day experiences. But those quick wins must be made within the context of a longer-term vision that guides everything that CX teams do. Business leaders want to see strategic thinking from their CX leads.’
CX job titles and definitions
To help you identify Customer Experience careers you might want to seek, we marked some of the top searched CX roles.
Director of Customer Experience
Director of Customer Experience is a leadership role that includes supervising the strategy, planning, and execution of the company’s CX goals. It is a job of a CX director to work with other departments leaders to ensure all teams are providing adequate solutions over all channels.
Head of Customer Experience
Another leadership role is Head of Customer Experience. At this job, CX professionals are responsible for a range of activities that ensure customer satisfaction across all engagement points. To achieve this goal, the Head of Customer Experience collaborates with other departments such as marketing, web development, and more.
Customer Experience Manager
These professionals organize, plan, and oversee CX teams and departments to ensure customer satisfaction and stable relationships. CX managers also guide and direct the activities of other team members toward achieving company goals.
Customer Experience Analyst
CX Analysts are responsible for collecting and interpreting data on customer satisfaction with a brand. They conduct surveys, interviews, and other forms of feedback and later interpret the data and report to the management team.
How to find Customer Experience jobs?
Most companies share open job spots on their social media channels or websites. If you’re interested in getting a position within a particular organisation, you can also contact the support centre for more information. However, the easiest way to find open positions within different companies is by checking out a CX job base. The CXM one is equipped with the most recent job openings in the CX industry across the globe.
Follow this link and find your future career path!