Hiring to fill front line or customer contact staff positions has always been difficult. Potential candidates must at least have a pleasant personality and possess good verbal communication skills. But shouldn’t they also possess teamwork and problem solving skills?

When assessing potential new hires, you now have another tool with which to evaluate candidates.  That tool: The Customer Service Vision. You want to use the Vision to gauge whether or not a candidate can embrace the Vision and what it means. 

Just as you created stories and role played during staff training, do the same during the interview process. The story does not need to be as detailed as the training material, just enough to ascertain the candidates mind set.  If the candidate works in a customer service position, have them relate some of their experiences. Be especially aware of their body language and choice of words while describing their experiences. 

Southwest Airlines developed a series of questions to determine the “fit” of a potential hire against their Vision, you can do the same.  Work with existing staff and your own experience with customer service (both good and bad) to develop a few key questions to help you establish a good “fit”.

Here is a tip, when you receive great or better service from someone’s staff, hand them a business card.  Tell them you are always looking for good people if they should ever choose to change their employment, Turn your everyday interactions into defacto job interviews.  You just might find your next super star employee.