Acer uses SpecIT™ for Help Desk staff


Acer boosts recruitment & retention with SpecIT™

May 2007  Print

It’s no secret that companies have found it increasingly difficult to find good staff for their help desk. A simple search on SEEK reveals that there are approx. 700 help desk jobs currently available! Additionally, the well publicised decrease in University and TAFE Information Technology and Computer Science enrolments means that the number of people moving into the IT industry will continue to decrease.

SpecIT™ is an innovative program that addresses the recruitment and retention problems faced by many IT Departments today. With SpecIT™, companies specify the number and type of skilled staff they need to fill particular roles and DDLS will source, train and place candidates to meet the specifications.

A case Study conducted by DDLS in partnership with Acer looks at these very issues.

The Acer-owned Highpoint call centre’s challenge was to recruit and retain high quality trained staff. The call centre provides technical help to Acer customers, helping them set up their new PC, or with technical advice on products and services. The call centre experienced a very high turnover of new recruits with up to 50 percent leaving within the first 2 months. Often recruits were not fully prepared for the demands of the position or sufficiently trained and experienced to deal with the technical information required by the customers. Highpoint constantly advertised positions for the call centre through various channels but with little success due to the candidate-short market. The cost associated with team leaders interviewing and training successful applicants equated to at least 9 business days per month, or approximately $50,000 per year.

DDLS worked closely with Acer to assess the skills required by the call centre employees and developed a program to recruit, train and deliver job-ready recruits. To attract recruits DDLS conducted information seminars for training with a view to employment in the Acer call centre. DDLS then managed the screening process that included an interview, technical test and assessments for lateral thinking, customer service and communication skills. Acer selected recruits based on the results of the screening process.

Once the training was complete, recruits were offered a 12-month contract at the Highpoint call centre after which they could apply for positions within Acer and embark on a career path with the company.

According to Richard Cutting, National Call Centre Manager Highpoint, the program was a win-win for recruits and for the Acer business. It guaranteed a constant stream of high-quality staff for the call centre while providing recruits with the opportunity for a long term and rewarding career in IT with a leading brand.

If you have enquiries with recruiting and retaining IT staff on your Help Desk, contact your Account Manager or the DDLS Customer Care Centre on 13 12 01.