Using video interviews to recruit contact Centre roles can be a great way to save money and speed up your recruitment process.

However, you’ll need to structure your video interview correctly and ask candidates the right questions to guarantee success.

You should only ask 5 or 6 questions, anymore and you risk candidates being put off. Candidates should be able to complete your video interview in around 10 minutes. Don’t forget to tell them this when you invite them.

If you want to gather other information, for instance a candidate’s availability to work evenings or weekends, use other types of questions, yes/no, multiple choice etc.

Top Tip Include a video introduction showing what your working environment is like and record current employees asking the questions. This makes your interview more personal and less clinical.

Below are my top ten video interviewing questions for contact Centre Roles, choose the ones that work best for your role.

1) Tell us what appeals to you most about working in a contact centre and this role in particular?

It’s important a candidate understands what the role involves and wants to work in a contact centre environment. If they are simply looking for a job, more than likely they will quickly become disgruntled and leave.

The ideal answer will depend on your type of contact centre; inbound or outbound, sales, customer or technical support. However, typically you’re looking for candidates who understand what’s involved, say they like interacting with people, enjoy working as part of a team, like to be busy and enjoy a challenge.

2) Explain how you would deal with a customer who becomes abusive or aggressive?

It’s a fact of life, working in a contact centre you are going to have to deal with angry customers from time to time. With this question you can evaluate how well a candidate is prepared for dealing with abusive customers.

Ideally, candidates will mention they would stay calm and not take it personally. They would listen carefully to understand why the customer’s annoyed, be empathetic and offer a solution or way to resolve the situation.

3) What qualities do you have that you think will make you a successful ( job title ) e.g. customer service advisor?

The right answer will vary slightly depending on the role, however in general most successful contact centre workers have patience, creativity, good communications skills and resilience.

4) What does exceptional customer service mean to you in ( your industry )?

Here you’re looking for candidates that understand what good customer service looks like in your industry. They should be saying more than “going the extra mile”.

In a good answer a candidate will provide specific examples of what they have done to deliver great customer service. If a candidate is passionate about customer service, it should quickly become apparent.

Related: Top Ten Video Interview Questions For Sales Jobs

5) Explain the steps you would take to deal with an unsatisfied customer

Candidates should have a clear understanding of what they can do to try and solve a customer’s problem. They should also know at what stage they should escalate the call to a supervisor or manager.

6) What do you do if you’re going through a bad spell?

Working in a contact centre can be tough at times. Here you’re looking to see how a candidate copes when things aren’t going their way. Ideally they will be able to keep things in perspective, remain positive and bounce back quickly.

7) How would your friends and family describe you?

Here you’re looking for words like ‘helpful’, ‘friendly’ and ‘outgoing’.

8) How would you deal with an unreasonable customer demand?

There will be times when customers make unreasonable demands. Being able to handle these in a polite but firm way that does not up set the customer is vital.

In a good response a candidate will mention being polite and well mannered, but being firm in adhering to the company’s policies. They would explain the reason why they cannot meet the customer’s demand, and where possible, offer an alternative solution.

9) What would your ideal job be like?

This is subtly different to “what is your dream job”. Here you are trying to find out what aspects of the job they most enjoy. For instance, it might be having freedom to be creative, it may be working as part of a team, or being in charge of a team.

Based on their answer, you can assess whether or not the role is going to meet their expectations. If they are looking to manage a team, does the role offer the opportunity for promotion?

10) Give us an example of a time where you’ve had to solve a customers problem by thinking quickly on your feet.

Being adaptable and flexible is important when dealing with customers. You’re looking for candidates that can tell you about a time where they’ve had to quickly and efficiently deal with an unexpected situation.

Consider the impact of the solution they describe both in terms of the customer and the company.

Here’s each of the questions in a SlideShare:

What are your favourite interview questions for contact centre roles? Let us know in the box below, and click share to spread the word.