I am a customer focus consultant in Canada but do a fair bit of work also in the US. I always point out to my clients that the creation of a customer focused culture begins with ensuring that ALL new hires have a strong customer service aptitude. I suggest that they don't even consider interviewing a person who has not first passed a hurdle in the form of a pre-interview test that demonstrates a set level of CS aptitude.
I have two questions:
1)Do you know of any good web based tests for this purpose?
2) In the US is this considered risky practice from a legal perspective?
Eric Fraterman
Pre-employment testing for customer service orientation
So far as I know this is fairly common in the US. I don't think it would be considered much more risky to hire someone without the essential skills or aptitude you're looking for. I know that my company screens all applicants for aptitude towards the job they are hiring for and my previous employers have, as well.
I'm not aware of any specific web-based tools.
Pre-employment testing for customer service orientation
I'm not aware of any tools, that it's an interesting idea. We're pretty small, but always conduct a first-round interview with a non-technical interviewer. She determines if the person would fit in our culture, and if they're obviously lacking technical skills to her. Then the round 2 interview is with people who can assess technical skills.
I like the idea of an online test first. If you find something, please post it. :)