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I think recruiting software
deserves a little more attention to support and the help than
most software. Many recruiters using commercially developed
recruitment software are using it all day long. In fact, they
never leave it except for lunch, coffee breaks and naps. Other
software applications are come and go like drive by’s.
However, even if it is “drive by” software the customer can
still have a serious problem that demands fast customer
support. I am only trying to point out that continuous use
software should have a more in depth and responsive support
program. The continuous use customer naturally has more dire
problems when the continuous use software is failing vs.
“drive by” software.
Several things we consider when
looking at
recruiting software support are:
How quickly can the customer
reach someone?
How much knowledge does the
support person have of the recruiting software and of the
recruiting industry?
How much empathy does the
support person have for the recruiter’s problem?
How much confidence does the
recruiter have after the support call?
How much time has elapsed
between problem and resolution?
How many people did the
recruiter with the problem have to talk to before the
problem was resolved?
Is there a quality check
initiative in the customer support program?
I am not going to say too much
about the above when it applies to both “drive by’s” and
“continuous use software” but I will rant and rave about
industry knowledge, empathy and confidence.
How quickly can the
customer reach someone?
I think a good standard
response time is about 4 business hours for the recruiting
industry. If the problem is “The recruiting software is down
and I am going to lose my family, house and eldest child.”
than the response should be immediate. I also think it is a
good idea for the recruiting software vendor to “put his/her
money where his/her mouth is”. If response is not made within
4 business hours the customer should receive some kind of
monetary credit. I do not believe that a recruiter who depends
on the recruiting software for his/her livelihood can trust
the words without some sort of monetary penalty if the support
is not available in time.
Notice that I have not asked
you to consider whether or not you get a live person on the
phone. This comes up often at our firm. I believe there is a
problem with live coverage. Have you ever called your health
insurance carrier, phone company, federal government or Dell?
Chances are that you may get a live person after much patience
and you have pressed all the correct buttons as directed by
the prompts. The person you have reached is clueless. He/she
can’t help you but may direct you to someone who can. I would
much prefer to dial a number and leave a message regarding my
problem and have the confidence and comfort that someone will
call me back within 4 hours that can actually solve my
problem.
How much knowledge does the support
person have of the recruiting software and of the recruiting
industry?
This is a “biggie” for recruiting
software. I absolutely hate calling someone like Dell or
EarthLink and getting transferred to someone in India who
answers with a robot like voice and gives me scripted answers
to scripted questions. I feel that recruiting software
problems are more dynamic, complex and derive more from
humanity than pre-programmed responses.
I cannot
believe that any recruiting software vendor can be proud of,
or even claim to have, a support program if the support person
has not been thoroughly schooled in the profession of
recruiting. Unfortunately, I have to admit that our company
can do much better in this area. I am seriously considering
have all support people who have contact with recruiting
customers spend one month with one of our recruiting customers
as a trainee. I just cannot figure out how to absorb the time
and money to follow through with this.
How
much empathy does the support person have for the recruiter’s
problem?
This has happened to all of us. You
make the call to get help and you actually get your answer but
you are still troubled, confused and you wish you could have
talked to someone who had more empathy for your rather human
problem.
Recruiters are getting beat up all day by
clients, and applicants and other recruiters. When they make a
call for help they usually need a shoulder to cry on and
sometimes patience because they are angry, frustrated and even
scared. Empathy is an absolute must from any customer support
person.
How much confidence does the recruiter
have after the support call?
Like I said
above, supporting a person whose very livelihood depends on
the functioning of recruiting software is more than simply
answering questions. This person must have confidence in the
software. All software has bugs and does not always work the
way we wish. The support group has the challenge of helping
the recruiter be a better recruiter rather than fix the bug.
In fact, if the recruiter walks away happy and with more
confidence of our support and the bugs remain unfixed than the
support person has done their job.
How much
time has elapsed between problem and resolution?
Don’t know, but the customer must know that they are
not being ignored or treated from a pre-written script.
How many people did the recruiter with the
problem have to talk to before the problem was
resolved?
It is really nice to say “you will
always get a real person on the phone when you call”. Call me
weird but if I have to go through “phone button hell” and then
have a real person who “records the incident”, please shoot
me!
Is there a quality check initiative the
customer support program?
If the recruiting software vendor does
not have a continuous program to ask candid questions about
“how we are doing” and is willing to publish them then the
vendor does not have a good support program.
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