A large call center came to us with turnover over seventy percent. Most people quit inside ninety days, which meant they were leaving before they had finished onboarding for the more complex accounts. The company rarely saw a return on anyone they hired.
They had already diagnosed the problem. They were hiring bad people. They wanted help hiring better ones.
We did not accept the diagnosis. We went looking for the root cause.
What was actually happening
This call center handled customer service for several major companies, and those accounts could not have been more different. Some clients needed people who could work through technical, complicated problems with patience and precision. Others needed warm, engaging people who built relationships on every call.
Two completely different kinds of work. Two completely different kinds of person.
And every single applicant was interviewed exactly the same way.
It went deeper. The interviewers were highly extroverted, and without realizing it, they rewarded candidates who interviewed the way they did. High energy. Quick rapport. Easy conversation. That is a reasonable way to hire for the relationship accounts. It is a terrible way to hire someone whose real job is solving complex technical problems for hours at a time.
Then came onboarding. Same classroom for everyone. Same high energy, cheerleader style training, regardless of the role.
What we changed
We started from the roles, not the resumes. A behavioral model for each type of position. Separate interview guides. Training delivery matched to how each person learns.
What happened
Turnover dropped immediately. People were happier, and they stayed. Client satisfaction scores rose sharply. Their clients noticed and started sending referrals.
Nothing about the labor market changed. Nothing about the applicant pool changed. We stopped running people through an experience that was never designed for them.
They were not hiring bad people. They were leading everyone through a poorly planned experience and reading the results as a character flaw.
Blame is easy. Leadership is not.
Mike McCloskey
Founder and CEO of HumanLytics Team. Helping leaders turn people data into a people plan.
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