1. Human Resource Management International Digest
Dell’s technical-support staff have the power to do more: Recruitment and training ensure quality
customer service
Teena Bagga Geetanjali Khanna
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Teena Bagga Geetanjali Khanna , (2014),"Dell’s technical-support staff have the power to do more", Human Resource
Management International Digest, Vol. 22 Iss 6 pp. 7 - 9
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/HRMID-08-2014-0112
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3. Patient: Technical-support calls tend to be quite long. They sometimes involve
customers who are ill at ease with computer concepts and jargon. For these
reasons, technical-support staff need to be patient.
Adaptable: Each customer call is different. A good customer-service representative
is able to adapt to changes in customer situations and behavior during the call.
Customers can sometimes switch topics or introduce new information without
warning. Customer-service associates need to be able to adapt to these changes.
Good listener: A good customer-service associate should listen carefully to the
client to get the best possible picture of his or her needs.
The company summarizes these competencies as:
Engage: Always act with the customer in mind. Listen, take ownership, be a role model,
grow and learn. Provide direction, development and inspiration for others.
Execute: Think globally, value diversity, collaborate and consider the impact. Be
courageous, contribute, provide/solicit input and take action. Focus on what matters
most, streamline workflows and strive to be effective.
Excel: Drive strategy. Know the business. Look ahead and plan for the future. Be
creative, take smart risks and continuously improve.
Sources of candidates
Dell relies heavily on the following for hiring customer-support staff:
vendor partners;
campus hiring;
walk-ins;
employee referrals; and
LinkedIn and other job portals, although only for senior positions.
The company tends to prefer graduates in business administration, commerce, computer
applications or technology. These people tend to be better prepared for Dell’s own
technical training than more generalist arts or science graduates. They also tend to stay
with the company longer. The firm tends to avoid recruiting postgraduate students for
technical-support roles, as they generally do not settle well into a career of offering advice
to the public over the telephone.
The company favors people with at least three years of technical experience and a year of
experience in customer care, who are good team-workers and who can adapt easily to
round-the-clock shift patterns.
Competency-based philosophy
Dell believes that a candidate’s recent experience is the best indicator of future success.
The company designs its interviews as a conversation, focusing on the candidate’s
experience and how it relates to the vacancy.
The firm tends to avoid recruiting postgraduate students for
technical-support roles, as they generally do not settle well
into a career of offering advice to the public over the
telephone.
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4. The company’s competency-based interview questions are designed to elicit details about
the work the candidate has done, the way he or she has completed that work and the
environment in which he or she worked.
Step 1 involves telephone screening conducted by a recruiter, who attempts to gather
basic information such as work history and salary requirements.
The second step is a technical/functional interview with a subject-matter expert, to
determine the applicant’s technical/functional expertise.
This is followed by an on-site/team interview with leaders and peers in a panel-interview
setting. At this stage, Dell asks competency-based questions to measure the candidate’s
overall fit with the team and company.
The final interview is conducted by the hiring manager or director. This also includes
competency-based interview questions and ensures that all candidate questions are
answered.
The company says that candidates can expect a realistic preview of the job and the
interview process; to ask any question and have it be answered with transparency and
candor; to be fairly considered for opportunities where qualifications meet requirements;
post-interview communication on the next steps within seven days; the best possible job
offer the first time; to be treated as a valued customer of Dell products and solutions; and
integrity and respect.
New employees get 12 weeks of training
Newly recruited employees received 12 weeks of training before being allowed to field
customer calls. The training covers:
National cultures: with particular emphasis on US culture;
Voice and accent: to ensure that trainees can be heard and understood by a wide
range of clients from across the world; and
Technical matters: paying particular attention to the diagnostic tools that Dell has
developed to help technical-support associates to troubleshoot customer problems.
Most time, during the 12-week training, is devoted to this.
The company focuses thereafter on informal development, including regular 360-degree
feedback, individual development plans, mentoring/networking and stretch assignments. It
fills around 40 per cent of vacancies internally.
Corresponding author
Teena Bagga can be contacted at: tbagga@amity.edu
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The company designs its interviews as a conversation,
focusing on the candidates experience and how it relates to
the vacancy.
Keywords:
Training,
Recruitment,
Computer industry,
Customer support,
Dell
VOL. 22 NO. 6 2014 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DIGEST PAGE 9
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