Kiwi customer service skills attract international interest

Kiwi customer service skills attract international interest

Overseas organisations are targeting New Zealand to establish their contact centres, fuelling high demand for local customer service professionals, says recruiting experts Hays.

“We are seeing an increase in the number of overseas contact centres setting up here in New Zealand,” says Jason Walker, Managing Director of Hays in New Zealand.

“As a result, large bulk recruitment drives are either underway or are being planned for customer service candidates with a solid work history and industry-specific experience. But despite high demand, there is a shortage of suitable candidates.

“Team Leaders and Contact Centre Managers with relevant industry experience are also highly sought after and can command higher salaries.

“Bulk recruitment drives will further deplete the pool of skilled and experienced labour in New Zealand. This will in turn force employers to look outside their preferred skill set and recruit candidates who can be trained into the role.”

According to the recruiter, customer service candidates and suitable managers are not the only skills in demand in the contact centres jobs market.

“We also continue to see demand from employers for Account Managers as companies take a more competitive approach to retaining their customers,” says Jason.

“Telesales candidates with a proven sales track record are another skill that is highly sought after. These candidates are sought in response to increased customer choice resulting from a growing number of products. The market has become incredibly competitive for these candidates, and good Telesales professionals are in very high demand.

“We are also seeing a focus on experienced Collections Officers as companies attempt to recover costs in a timely manner.”

In response to the growing number of bulk recruitment drives in New Zealand, Hays has launched a new division, Hays Talent Solutions.

“Our Hays Talent Solutions team is focused solely on offering outsourced recruitment solutions to employers,” says Jason. “The team provides end-to-end recruitment process outsourcing, managed service provision and vendor management systems to employers. It’s a competitive advantage in talent acquisition and customer experience.”

Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.

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