I have the pleasure of leading our customer success team here at Emmersion. As our department name implies, the customer success team has the responsibility of ensuring that our customers find success using our language testing system. In onboarding new customers, before we jump into training and implementation, we start by asking them about their business goals and objectives.
Having done this with dozens of contact centers and high-volume recruiting clients, we know the reasons for adopting an automated language assessment solution are almost always the same. The top two items mentioned nearly every time include:
- To have objective and consistent third-party tests with results free from human error
- To save time in the recruiting process
Saving time = [obviously] saving money
Much can be said about how Emmersion’s products impact these goals. You can learn more details about our solutions here. In short, our patented software has unique technology with validated methodology to ensure fast, accurate language scoring.
Helping customers save time in their recruiting process is where we can add a lot of value as a customer success team.
We have found that while simply replacing the current language testing method with our automated tests reduces recruiting time, adjusting the timing of when in the recruiting process you assess for language ability can significantly increase the time and money saved.
To demonstrate this with real customers, I have put together a simple simulation and some customer examples. While we could also look at cost savings (both direct and indirect), in these examples, we are going to ignore the cost component and focus instead solely on the amount of time it takes to hire.
Example 1: Customer status quo
The most common process we see our customers using to hire contact center agents looks something like this:
- Candidates apply.
- Recruiters review applications.
- Recruiters schedule a phone screening.
- Recruiters schedule and/or conduct a language interview.
- Recruiters interview qualified candidates.
- The hiring decision is made.
While this is definitely an oversimplification of a robust customer process, it highlights the key components relevant to this analysis. We often see that this process results in two important time considerations. The first is the time it takes for the entire process to be completed. The other is the total time recruiters spend conducting the process.
Let’s assume that in order to hire 10 agents, it will require 100 applicants. If we use some simple estimations of the time each activity takes, hiring 10 agents with a face-to-face interview takes about 6 days and 202 hours of recruiters’ time. The table below illustrates the calculations.
Contact center recruiting with human-rated language interview
| Recruiter’s Time Per Applicant (Minutes) | Duration (Days) | # of Applicants | Recruiter Time (Hours) | |
| Application | – | 1 | – | 0.0 |
| Wait | – | 1 | – | 0.0 |
| Application Review | 15 | – | 100 | 25.0 |
| Wait | – | 1 | – | 0.0 |
| Phone Screen & Evaluation | 60 | 1 | 90 | 90.0 |
| Language Interview & Evaluation | 60 | 1 | 70 | 70.0 |
| Interview | 30 | 1 | 25 | 12.5 |
| Decision | 10 | – | 25 | 4.2 |
| Total | 175 | 6 | 10 | 202 |
Example 2: Replace the human-rated test with an automated test
We often find that our customers will keep the same process they currently have, but substitute Emmersion’s language test for the current testing method. When we run this through our simple simulation and estimations, we find that the process is reduced from 6 days to 5 days, and recruiters save about 70 hours of total direct time conducting the process.
Contact center recruiting with an automated language test
| Recruiter’s Time Per Applicant (Minutes) | Duration (Days) | # of Applicants | Recruiter Time (Hours) | |
| Application | – | 1 | – | 0.0 |
| Wait | – | 1 | – | 0.0 |
| Application Review | 15 | – | 100 | 25.0 |
| Wait | – | 1 | – | 0.0 |
| Phone Screen & Evaluation | 60 | 1 | 90 | 90.0 |
| Language Test (Emmersion) | 0 | – | 70 | 0.0 |
| Interview | 30 | 1 | 25 | 12.5 |
| Decision | 10 | – | 25 | 4.2 |
| Total | 115 | 5 | 10 | 132 |
Example 3: Implement an automated test and change the process
We see the most value in what we provide when we can combine our automated tests with a change in the recruiting process. The earlier in the process that a candidate is screened for language ability, the more overall time can be saved.
In our simulation, implementing an automated test at the beginning of the hiring process resulted in reducing the process time from 6 days to 3 days and reduced direct recruiter time from 202 hours to just 63 hours.
Contact center recruiting with an automated test at time of application
| Recruiter’s Time Per Applicant | Cycle Duration (Days) | # of Applicants | Recruiter Time (Hours) | |
| Application | – | 1 | 100 | 0.0 |
| Language Test (Emmersion) | – | – | 100 | 0.0 |
| Application Review | 15 | – | 40 | 10.0 |
| Wait | – | 1 | – | 0.0 |
| Phone Screen & Evaluation | 60 | 1 | 36 | 36.0 |
| Interview | 30 | 1 | 25 | 12.5 |
| Decision | 10 | – | 25 | 4.2 |
| Total | 115 | 3 | 10 | 63 |
By using the automated language test upfront, applicants who do not meet the minimum language requirements are weeded out early. This reduces the total number of applications to review, phone screens to conduct, interviews to hold, and everything else down the line. This results in significant time savings for the recruiting team and a much faster time-to-hire.
There are a few other benefits to placing the language test at the beginning of the application process. For example, if implemented correctly, the test can be started with no human intervention. This means an applicant can apply, take the test immediately, and know whether they move on in the process in a matter of minutes. The assessment can be done any time—day or night. Our clients are also provided with data about the applicants and any valid industry benchmarks.
We have also started to see applicant retention is higher and churn is lower. We are still gathering data on this added benefit, but the outlook is good.
Stepping beyond reactive and into proactive
There are many potential flaws with the simple examples and simulations shared here. The examples are just that—examples. They are likely missing many nuanced components and additional steps specific to a given company, however, the point remains valid. Those companies who both move to an automated assessment and assess for language ability early in the recruiting process achieve the highest level of time and cost savings.
There are many potential flaws with the simple examples and simulations shared here. The examples are just that—examples. They are likely missing many nuanced components and additional steps specific to a given company, however, the point remains valid. Those companies who both move to an automated assessment and assess for language ability early in the recruiting process achieve the highest level of time and cost savings.
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