Every public-facing business needs a customer service support team, and every customer service support team needs a Customer Service Supervisor.
The role of a Customer Service Supervisor is to oversee a team of Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) who are tasked with the job of interfacing with the public, answering their questions, supplying detailed product information, handling complaints, and processing orders.
The duties of a Customer Service Supervisor may vary from that of a Customer Service Manager, who generally oversees a smaller team of Customer Service Supervisors, but the responsibility is still great, and many of the tasks are the same.
For instance, while a Customer Service Manager may draft policies and procedures and make staffing decisions, it is the responsibility of the Customer Service Supervisor to implement those policies and procedures and to execute those staffing decisions.
The hiring process raises lots of questions. Can I make internal shifts to avoid hiring externally? How much does a background check cost? The following guide to the five things to arrange before moving forward with your next Customer Service Supervisor candidate will answer all those questions and more:
1. Know Your Team’s Needs
How big is your team? What are the retention rates among your team members? How much responsibility have the senior members absorbed without formal promotions/title changes?
Knowing the nitty-gritty of your customer service team’s makeup is the key to understanding what you need in a Customer Service Supervisor, if you need one at all.
You may look at the three senior members of your sales team and realize that a 25% pay increase and title change obviates the need to create a new Customer Service Supervisor role to be filled externally.
2. Define the Role You’re Hiring For
If you can’t articulate what the person you’re hiring is expected to do, you aren’t ready to write a job posting. You need to be able to clearly delineate what the responsibilities of the Customer Service Supervisor will be in relation to their team and to management.
Is a large share of responsibility going toward recruiting and training new CSRs? You might look out for HR experience.
3. Set Up the Proper Tax Withholding Documents
It’s important for businesses to stay on the right side of the IRS. There are three distinct tax withholding forms you need to prepare before you even hire a new employee:
- Federal Income Tax: This is covered by a W-4, which is also known as an Employee’s Withholding Certificate. This form gives your employee the option to decide how much income tax you’ll withhold from their pay.
- Federal Wage and Tax Statement: This is the more familiar form, the W-2. W-2s are a record of the employee’s earnings and withheld taxes throughout the year. They must be sent by January 31st and forwarded to the SSA by the end of February.
- State Taxes: Many states have their own special withholding form that you’ll need to fill out and submit.
4. Arrange a Background Check
Background checks are a must for any mid to large size company. With so many applications always pouring in, getting comprehensive background checks weeds out the largest number of automatic no’s the quickest. Make sure to prioritize prior employment checks, felony and criminal history checks, and drug and alcohol screening history.
5. Prepare for an Interview
It’s a mistake for employers to think that potential employees are the only ones who need to prepare for interviews. This is about the future of your business as much as it is the future of their lives. Decide whether you want to run group or 1-1 interview, phone or in-person interviews, and how interactive you want them to be.
