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Sound the Alarm

Find new ways to retain alarm monitoring center employees

• By Jacquellin Faison
• Feb 01, 2008

If you pick up any local employment guide, you cannot avoid seeing the many call centers with ads that read, “Customer service representatives wanted—immediate hire.” Why are these call centers continuously struggling with hiring and turnover? As an alarm monitoring center, how do we hire the best employees to fit the specifics of our work environment? Two of the main objectives that the recruitment staff and management team must assess are their responsibilities in the selection and retainment processes.

The Best Fit
Before beginning the recruitment and selection process, an employer must highlight the fact that the needs for monitoring centers are far more different from those of call centers of sales or telemarketing industries. With this in mind, the first step in the selection process is to determine what specific characteristics make a successful monitoring representative.

Monitoring residential, business and medical accounts in a 24/7, high-volume call center, can make for a stressful work environment. There are constant fire, burglary and medical alarms needing immediate attention, not to mention the repetitive calls regarding basic account maintenance. Monitoring representatives must be able to work quickly under intense pressure and be detail-oriented and effective communicators. They also must be able to multitask, solve problems, exhibit patience and remain sensitive to customers’ needs.

One way to determine the best fit for your work environment is to create an employee success profile composed of the personality traits, skills and demographics of your top performers. This will serve as a model or guide to help you stay focused on the key components you are searching for in an employee. Determine the most important aspects of the applicant’s job history in relation to needs of the call center.

Employers want the total package, but they must decide what they cannot live without. Is tenure more important than on-the-job experience? What about skill sets and communication skills? Remember that certain skills can be learned and others … well, they either have them or they don’t.

Pre-employment Screens
Phone screens. All applicants should be phone-screened prior to the face-to-face interview. The questions should be consistent and job-specific in order to assess the candidate’s potential. Although applicants can feed out answers to impress the interviewer, many times they cannot hide their communication skills. Phone screens should cover all legal questions to weed out those applicants who do not meet minimum requirements.

During both the phone screen and face-to-face interview, be sure to ask behavioral questions that pinpoint a specific situation in their past job experience. For example, “Describe a situation where you had to address a difficult customer’s need; what was your role in resolving the problem, and what was the outcome?”

Assessment testing. Using assessment tools before the face-to-face interview is one of the most effective ways to save time and money during both the selection and retention process. Choosing the best testing materials, however, is where critical planning comes into play. Before creating this profile, it is important to have a job analysis conducted, preferably by a professional, outside source—a small cost that will ensure a return on investment in the future. It is best to meet with the vendors of these assessment tools to ensure that you are creating tests that will help you select the best employees, ensure the validity in relation to job-specific tasks and cover all bases for future legal disputes.

By using appropriate testing materials, you can determine the cognitive, behavioral and personality traits of your applicants and use the results as predictors for their projected job performance.

Realistic job previews. During the face-to-face interview, the applicant is receiving a realistic job preview (RJP) of the specific nature of the position and work environment. It is important to let them know what to expect when they step onto the monitoring center floor. Is the job stressful? Yes. Do you have to work weekends? Yes. Is there flexibility with the schedule? Not so much. You also must highlight the advantages of joining your monitoring staff, such as benefits, bonuses and a cohesive, team-oriented environment.

The bottom line is that applicants want and need to know the good, bad and ugly of the job. Before you make an offer, allow the applicant to sit with one of your top performers and observe for 10 to 20 minutes. This will solicit various questions from the applicant that are sometimes difficult to get from nervous interviewees. This RJP also will provide the interviewer with a chance to ask the million-dollar question, “Do you feel this work environment is right for you?”

Retaining the Best Employees
There are many components that go into retaining your best employees, including effective recruitment and selection, training and development, benefits and compensation. One of the easiest and possibly least expensive ways to retain monitoring representatives is by building employee morale. With the increased demand for quality customer service, employees need and desire to be appreciated for their hard work. Many of these inbound and outbound calls have the potential to save lives, and the responsibility of the monitoring representatives should never go unrecognized. To effectively motivate your employees, your motivational tactics must be employee-specific. Do not assume that employees will be motivated by the same things that motivate management.

Motivating Monitoring Representatives
Start with the new hire orientation. Try to refrain from diving into policies and procedures. Take a step back and educate new hires on some of the history of the company and the firm’s goals and directions. It does not have to be a boring history lesson: try making it into a fun quiz. New hires need to know management is pleased that they are now part of the company. Also, use this time to make introductions to some of the executive management, if possible. If not, introduce them to some of the line managers and supervisors so they can get to know some familiar faces.

Recognition. It is most effective when both verbal and written recognition is given to both outstanding performers and those who have shown significant improvement and dedication. Don’t wait until the annual evaluation. Immediacy is most important in terms of recognition. As soon as you notice your employees going that extra mile, take the next chance you have to let them know you appreciate their hard work. Don’t keep their efforts a secret. You should always make public the achievements of employees, especially to their peers. This will motivate the employee to repeat the action and motivate fellow employees to work harder. You can publicize appreciation by giving certificates and plaques, announcing your appreciation over an intercom, or posting achievements on a bulletin board or in a company newsletter. Also, be specific. Recognition can only be effective if you are praising your employees for the specific action in their job performance.

Team building. This is essential to the cohesiveness of your monitoring teams. You can plan activities for both during and after work hours. On the clock, brainstorm some team-building ideas with your employees as an activity. Create competitions among the employees so they can motivate each other. Plan some off-the-clock gatherings that will allow your employees to get to know each other outside of work. Allow your employees to be a part of the decision-making process, and be open to suggestions. Monitoring centers stay open on holidays and special occasions, so do not forget to plan events to celebrate with your employees.

Strategically planning to select and retain the best employees is the key to decreasing the turnover rates in alarm monitoring centers. Competition is high, and the demand for representatives is even higher. The recruitment staff and management must realign their goals and take responsibility for their contribution to these turnover issues. Although there are many people who contribute to the success of the alarm security industry, it is the monitoring representatives who provide the protection that consumers buy. When it comes to protecting lives, retaining your best monitoring representatives is essential to the success of any monitoring center.