Call Center Assessment for the Philippines BPO Industry

The Mercer Call Center Assessment is a pre-built hiring test designed to evaluate candidates across numerous key BPO roles, including call center agents, customer service representatives, and technical support representatives in the Philippines. The test combines multiple competencies, such as communication skills, customer handling, problem-solving, empathy, multitasking, etc., to measure real-world job readiness. Thisassessment is a part of aptitude test helps organizations streamline volume hiring while maintaining quality and fit.

Why is a Call Centre Assessment needed for Philippine businesses?   

A Call Center Assessment is essential for Philippine businesses due to the demands of the country's market. Employers need agents with strong English proficiency, a clear accent, cultural alignment with global clients, and the empathy to deliver exceptional customer experiences. It helps identify candidates who can thrive in high-stress, high-call-volume environments. Call center assessments also help reduce early attrition, improve hiring quality, and shorten training cycles, resulting in more productive and confident frontline teams.

Who should use this assessment?   

• BPOs (voice, chat, email, mixed): This test is a practical way to measure communication, multitasking, and empathy skills across multiple customer support channels. 
• Call centers (inbound/outbound): The Call Centre Assessment is helpful in identifying candidates capable of managing high call volumes, customer expectations, and consistent performance. 
• E-commerce support teams: The assessment is ideal for evaluating customer experience readiness through problem-solving, tone, and responsiveness. 
• Telco, fintech, travel and hospitality support: This test is designed to match service representatives with the communication and customer orientation standards of their industry. 
• Recruitment teams hiring CSR/TSR roles: This reliable assessment aids in managing volume hiring with automated ranking and performance insights. 
• Staffing agencies with high candidate volume: This assessment is an efficient filtering solution to shortlist large applicant pools using standardized assessments. 

What are the skills assessed in a call center assessment?

• Core communication skills: It covers English proficiency, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, and writing quality to evaluate clarity, accuracy, and tone in customer interactions. For voice-based roles, it also measures accent neutrality and pronunciation to ensure global intelligibility and alignment with client expectations. 
• Call center job skills: This focuses on customer service aptitude, problem-solving, critical thinking, and multitasking, which are key traits for handling diverse scenarios efficiently. Typing speed and accuracy may also be included to assess the ability to document calls or conduct real-time chat support without compromising service quality.  
• Behavioral and soft skills: This examines empathy, customer orientation, stress tolerance, work ethic, reliability, and conflict resolution. These attributes help identify candidates who can remain composed under pressure, maintain professionalism, and deliver consistent service even in challenging situations.

Why choose the Mercer Call Center Assessment?

Companies need to find the top candidates who possess all the qualities required to thrive in a call center environment. That is where Mercer’s innovative solution, SpeechX, comes into play. It automatically grades candidates against the required competencies, helping hiring managers shortlist the top candidates for the available position. 

It is suitable for assessing candidates for positions across all industries that entail frequent customer interactions, including inbound calls and direct interactions. Organizations can use Speech X along with Mercer’s Call Centre Assessment to shortlist applicants with the required competencies and skills for the job, helping develop a strong workforce.

Sample call center assessment question and answers

1. A customer who is upset that their order hasn't arrived by the scheduled date calls in. In this case, which of the following is the most appropriate first response? 

a) This is not our fault. This is the courier's fault. 

b) I understand this delay is frustrating. Let me quickly check your order status and see what I can do to help. 

c) Send an email with the details. Only then will we be able to assist you. 

Answer: b) 

2. A customer explains a complicated issue with their billing and seems unsure about the details. What should the call center agent do to ensure that they understand the problem correctly? 

a) Immediately offer a refund to avoid further discussion. 

b) Ask the customer to repeat the issue until it sounds clear. 

c) Briefly summarize what you heard and ask the customer to confirm if you got it right. 

Answer: c) 

3. You are on a call with a customer while also updating their account information in the system. What is the best way to manage this situation? 

a) Tell the customer you are busy and ask them to call back later. 

b) Inform the customer that you are updating their details, continue talking to them through what you are doing, and check information as you type. 

c) Ignore updating the system to finish the call as quickly as possible. 

Answer: b)