Nowadays, billions of users transact across global platforms everyday. For businesses, this means that investing in high-quality customer support is no longer just optional—and doing so is essential for safeguarding revenue. In a business context, support agents play a critical role in maintaining professional standards and ensuring organizational success. According to research from HubSpot, 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies that offer excellent customer service.
This underlines a simple truth: beyond innovative products or sleek interfaces, long-term success hinges on how effectively companies support their users when things go wrong. That’s where a reliable, well-trained customer support agent comes into play—delivering not just answers, but empathy, speed, and consistency that builds trust and protects customer loyalty.
Let’s explore the five proven strategies for recruiting great support agents, the people on the front lines who help shape every customer’s perception of your brand.
The importance of exceptional customer support
Exceptional customer support is one of the most powerful drivers of customer satisfaction, retention, and brand advocacy. According to a 2023 Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report, 60% of customers have purchased something from one brand over another based on the service they expect to receive.
When customers encounter technical bugs, login failures, or service interruptions, such common problems will only escalate customer frustrations quickly. Skilled customer support agents who respond promptly and with empathy can turn a negative experience into a brand-building opportunity. Focus on delivering exceptional customer support ensures that every interaction is handled with expertise and care.
Yet, many businesses still fall short. A 2022 survey by SuperOffice found that 62% of companies failed to respond to customer service emails, despite having an inbox listed publicly. Many others lacked even a basic support contact channel, leading to abandoned users and eroded trust.
Companies that invest in robust support systems and consistently hire great support agents position themselves to win long-term loyalty. A well-known example is Zappos, which built a billion-dollar brand not just on shoes, but on legendary customer service. Their agents are empowered to go above and beyond because they understand that every customer interaction is a chance to create lasting loyalty.
How to hire great customer support agents
Finding the right support agent is all about finding someone who can represent your brand’s voice, values, and customer commitment.
Creating a well-structured recruitment plan that outlines strategies for reviewing resumes, scheduling interviews, and identifying essential skills is crucial to attract top-tier talent. Effective planning is essential, as it helps guide your team through the different stages of the hiring process—from initial screening to final selection. Throughout the course of the hiring process, offering a job is just one part of a logical sequence that leads to successful onboarding.
Here are five proven strategies to attract top-tier talent that truly elevates your support team:
1. Advertise on industry-specific job boards
Rather than relying solely on large, generic platforms, companies can attract more qualified applicants by posting openings on niche job boards tailored to their sector—whether it’s tech, SaaS, retail or entertainment. These boards often feature a wide range of jobs for support agents, highlighting the required skills, qualifications, variety of roles, and opportunities available in the SaaS industry. These targeted platforms streamline the hiring process by delivering candidates who already have context around your industry and customer expectations.
The benefits of this strategy include lower hiring costs, gaining access to more relevant talent pools, and stronger candidate alignment from the outset.
2. Leverage social media for recruitment
Social media has become one of the top tools for sourcing both job seekers and top talent. Platforms like Linkedin, Facebook, and even Twitter offer direct access to professionals open to new opportunities. Sharing job openings in relevant professional groups and communities can dramatically extend your reach, especially when paired with engaging content that highlights your company’s culture.
Recruiting on these platforms allows you to spot and connect with people who might not be searching job boards. Maintaining candidate interest through regular communication and updates on social media is also essential for keeping candidates engaged and motivated throughout the recruitment process.
3. Create an employee referral program
Your current team likely knows people with the right mindset and communication skills for customer support roles. Involving other team members in the referral process can enhance collaboration and help identify strong candidates from a wider network and global talent pool. Launching a referral program—complete with clear incentives—encourages your employees to refer their peers for job openings.
A healthy workplace culture also plays a critical role here: when employees feel valued and supported, they’re more inclined to refer people they believe in. These referrals often result in better cultural fit, higher performance and, and longer tenure, exactly what you want in a great support agent.
4. Engage with relevant communities
Conferences, online forums, webinars, and virtual summits are full of potential hires who already care about your industry and customer experience. Companies can build brand awareness and connect with people through collaboration in these spaces, engaging with those who share their values.
Joining and contributing to these communities also strengthens your employer brand. When the time comes to recruit, your presence and reputation will help you stand out. Candidates will be more eager to join your team, seeing it as an opportunity to become part of a vibrant and engaged community. This makes it easier to attract support agents who already resonate with your mission.
5. Try out-of-the-box recruitment strategies
Sometimes the best candidates aren’t looking at job boards or scrolling Linkedin. Hosting local meetups, remote coffee chats, or virtual info sessions can help you connect with prospects in a more personal, low-pressure setting.
While these grassroots efforts may attract fewer applicants, those who do engage tend to be highly motivated, curious, and aligned in your hiring approach reinforces your brand’s commitment to people-first values.
Additionally, once new hires are brought on board, breaking down onboarding tasks into clear, manageable steps helps ensure a smooth transition for new support agents.
When to consider an outsourcing partner
If your company is growing quickly, dealing with high support ticket volumes, or struggling to source skilled talent internally, it may be time to consider partnering with a customer support outsourcing provider. Outsourcing isn’t about cutting corners, however, it’s about scaling smartly and maintaining service quality without overburdening your internal team.
It is crucial to assess the capabilities of an outsourcing partner to ensure they meet your specific needs. Also, you must consider their capabilities. A strong outsourcing partner can:
- Provide highly trained, customer-focused support agents who are equipped to handle everything from basic inquiries to complex technical issues.
- Manage overflow to deliver full-scale support coverage, especially during seasonal spikes or unexpected surges in demand.
- Seamlessly represent your brand, adopting your voice, tone, and customer service values to create a consistent experience.
This model is especially valuable for businesses that want to elevate their customer experience while retaining operations flexibility and keeping costs in check. The right partner becomes an extension of your team, ensuring that every support agent interaction reinforces trust loyalty, and satisfaction.
It’s time to scale smarter by hiring right to support better
Hiring outstanding support agents requires more than just placing job ads and hoping for the best. It takes strategy, intention, and a deep understanding of what today’s customers expect from every interaction.
Preparing for future growth and challenges is crucial, and hiring the right support agents is a key part of this process. A structured onboarding process is essential to ensure new support agents feel welcomed, supported, and confident as they transition into their new role. Ongoing improvement and development initiatives, such as regular training and feedback cycles, are vital to help support agents grow and adapt to changing customer needs.
Overall, you can achieve this by:
- Using industry-specific job boards to attract experiences and relevant talent.
- Leveraging social media to reach both active job seekers and passive candidates.
- Launching an employee referral program to tap into your team’s trusted networks.
- Engaging with relevant communities where potential candidates already thrive.
- Exploring creative recruitment strategies that build personal connections early.
Each of these approaches can help you build a stronger, more responsive support team that drives satisfaction and retention.
However, if you’re scaling quickly or need help delivering the strategies discussed above for consistent, high-quality support, it may be time to explore outsourcing. At LTVplus, we specialise in providing top-tier support agents who align with your band, values, and voice, ensuring your customers feel supported at every touchpoint.
Contact us today and start building your team of great customer support agents.
