How to hire a customer relations associate

How to hire a customer relations associate, step by step

Here's a step-by-step customer relations associate hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a customer relations associate job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new customer relations associate
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your customer relations associate job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a customer relations associate for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a customer relations associate to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a customer relations associate that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of customer relations associate salaries for various roles:

   Type of Customer Relations Associate	Description	Hourly rate
   Customer Relations Associate	Customer service representatives interact with customers to handle complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.	$12-22
   Director, Customer Support Services	A director of customer support services leads the initiatives put into developing a company's customer support operations, aiming for efficiency and client satisfaction. Their job entails conducting extensive research to enhance positive customer relationships, setting goals and guidelines, establishing customer loyalty programs, and overseeing the recruitment and hiring procedures... Show more	$11-22
   Customer Account Manager	Customer Account Managers are employees who specialize in keeping good, professional relationships with the company's clients. They are assigned specific customers and key clients to manage... Show more	$13-34

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Customer Relations
   • Processing Orders
   • Problem Resolution
   • Data Entry
   • Credit Card Payments
   • Inbound Calls
   • Customer Complaints
   • Customer Orders
   • Outbound Calls
   • Customer Support
   • Customer Satisfaction
   • Customer Issues
   • Customer Service
   • Customer Interaction

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage software maintenance renewal partner and assist with upselling additional and higher functionality licenses to increase revenue.
   • Verify insurance eligibility and benefits of patients that are being provide oxygen home and travel units and durable medical equipment.
   • Call customers for BMW NA and provide surveys on service/new purchase experience.
   • Communicate with customers and FedEx to facilitate resolutions of any shipping or delivery issues.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your customer relations associate job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A customer relations associate can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, customer relations associates' average salary in mississippi is 47% less than in new york.
   • Seniority. Entry-level customer relations associates 45% less than senior-level customer relations associates.
   • Certifications. A customer relations associate with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a customer relations associate's salary.

   Average customer relations associate salary

   $35,656yearly

   $17.14 hourly rate

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   Entry-level customer relations associate salary

   $26,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 16, 2025

4. Writing a customer relations associate job description

   A customer relations associate job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. To help get you started, here's an example of a customer relations associate job description:

   Customer relations associate job description example

   • Management of customer credit requests for high profile customers; including review, investigation, and resolution.
   • Resolution, escalation, and transfer of customer related service level issues
   • Daily review of customer calendars to determine, coordinate, and perform action items in support of customer/item launches and discontinuations
   • Complete demand planning functions as part of weekend support functions
   • Order entry management to include and ensure on time data entry
   • Outbound appointment scheduling
   • Load planning and daily communication with 3rd party transportation groups
   • Perform required daily accuracy checks to maintain departmental confidence
   • Maintain customer logs for customer satisfaction metrics
   • Account management as needed to support senior staff member gaps in coverage
   • Work interdepartmentally on process improvements as it pertains to company objectives and goals
   • Build and maintain relationships with buyers and DC contacts to improve overall customer relationships

   Key Competencies:

   • Reliability
   • Customer Service
   • Cooperation / Teamwork
   • Logic Based Problem Solving
   • Quality of Work
   • Communication
   • Attention to Detail
   • Flexibility
   • Organization
   • Responsiveness to Customer Requests

   Required Skills:

   • Intermediate experience w/ Excel to include use of complex formulas (i.e. vlookup)
   • Workable knowledge of other MS Application and Microsoft Dynamics
   • Exceptional communication skills both verbal and written
   • Strong interpersonal communication and listening skills
   • Knowledge of pivot tables preferred
   • Basic knowledge of food manufacturing preferred

   Company DescriptionTaylor Fresh Foods, Inc. is dedicated to being North America's favorite maker of salads and healthy fresh foods. Our "Taylor Family" includes over 20,000 team members who are passionate about making high quality, great tasting products for North America.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   To find the right customer relations associate for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with customer relations associates they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit customer relations associates who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your customer relations associate job on Zippia to find and recruit customer relations associate candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting customer relations associates requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new customer relations associate

   Once you have selected a candidate for the customer relations associate position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   You should also follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that you've filled the position.

   To prepare for the new customer relations associate first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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