Many businesses in the world are constantly looking for ways to reduce their expenses, and one unique approach that has gained popularity in recent years is outsourcing call centres.
The idea is that by outsourcing, organisations can minimise costs and focus on core business operations. However, this decision is not without controversy, with some experts advocating for its benefits while others question its long-term effects on customer service.
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has emerged as a popular solution for various needs such as tech support, call centre services, and accounting in today’s environment. And organisations are increasingly relying on dedicated third-party companies to outsource their call centre, entire departments, projects, and tasks to ensure high-quality results.
Call centre outsourcing is the business strategy of employing a third-party agency to manage your company’s customer service.
Call centre outsourcing involves hiring an external organisation to handle and staff a company’s call centre from a separate location. So it is when a business entrusts an external service provider or outsourcing partner to run their call centre from a different location.
Do you need a full grasp of how call centre outsourcing works? Is your business considering outsourcing a call centre? We have prepared this comprehensive article to help you understand how call centre outsourcing works, the types and its benefits. It also covers essential tips for managing call centre outsourcing services.
What Is Call Centre Outsourcing?
Today, Call Centre is one of the most commonly outsourced business functions. Call centre outsourcing refers to the practice of hiring an external service provider to manage and staff a company’s call centre from a separate location.
The external organisation is responsible for recruiting, training, and supervising its employees to handle all customer inquiries, support requests, and other telephone communication on behalf of the business.
Unlike contact centres that are more focused on providing a holistic customer experience across multiple channels, Call centres, on the other hand, are primarily focused on handling handle voice-based interactions, such as incoming and outgoing phone calls.
Call centres have become a critical part of modern businesses, allowing customers to communicate their concerns and queries to the company.
By outsourcing call centre services, organisations leverage economies of scale, making it possible to maintain a large team of representatives at a reasonable cost and allow your business to scale up or down depending on their needs while providing flexibility in your operations.
As a business leader or Head of a Sales department, if you want to ensure that your customers receive prompt and professional service, you need to employ skilled representatives trained to handle various customer queries.
The reason is that call centre outsourcing companies are specialised service providers. They invest so much in the latest tools and technologies to efficiently provide their services and guarantee customer satisfaction. So rather than hiring in-house employees, choosing call centre outsourcing companies like Workforce Connect can yield more productive results.
Hence, call centre outsourcing is an excellent solution for businesses looking to manage their customer support needs efficiently.
2 Types of Call Centre Services You Can Outsource
There are two primary Call Centre services you can outsource and they are:
- Outbound outsourcing services
- Inbound outsourcing services
When it comes to Call Centre outsourcing, businesses can outsource both their outbound and inbound call centre services. Your organisation can employ one or both services depending on your unique needs and objectives.
Outbound Call Centre Services
Outbound call centre services typically involve reaching customers for various reasons, such as sales, marketing, or surveys. Outsourcing these services allows businesses to expand their leads and attract a wider customer base. Commonly used outbound services include cold calling, follow-up calls, surveys, reviews, market research, scheduling appointments, and updating contact list information. With the help of these services, your businesses can generate leads, gather valuable insights into their target audience, and establish a more substantial presence in their respective markets.
Inbound Call Centre Services
Inbound call centre services involve dedicated agents handle incoming calls from customers seeking support or assistance. In contrast to outbound call centre services, inbound services are more support-oriented. The primary focus of inbound services is to provide high-quality technical support, customer service, and quality assurance while handling all inquiries from prospects and customers.
The services that inbound call centres provide include onboarding new customers, answering customer queries, resolving customer complaints, issues, and disputes, processing payment, ordering upgrades and renewals, and scheduling appointments.
By outsourcing either or both types of services, your business can benefit from increased efficiency, improved customer service, and cost-effectiveness.
A recent study reveals that several industries, including IT and telecom, retail, healthcare and BFSI (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance), frequently outsource their call centre solutions to third-party entities.
These firms outsource both inbound and outbound customer support services to external organisations, allowing them to focus on their core areas and improve efficiency.
5 Tips for Managing Call Centre Outsourcing Services
Outsourced call centre services can help your company when approached correctly. To get the most out of this business arrangement, here are some essential tips:
1. Define Clear Expectations
Establishing clear expectations with your outsourcing partner is critical. Ensure you communicate your business needs, goals, and objectives effectively so your outsourcing partner understands your priorities and aligns them with your expectations.
2. Monitor Performance
If your services are being offered off-premises, it’s crucial to ensure that the quality of service is maintained and that a consistent approach to sales or customer support is applied across all agents. To achieve this, you’ll need to implement a robust system or mechanism to monitor and manage agent performance and ensure adherence to established standards and guidelines.
Also, Set up metrics that align with your business objectives and track them closely. This includes customer satisfaction, average handle time, first-call resolution rate, and agent productivity. By monitoring these metrics, you can identify trends and areas that need improvement.
3. Maintain Consistent Communication
Maintain regular communication with your outsourcing partner. Set up regular meetings and check-ins to discuss performance metrics, ongoing issues, and improvements you can make. It will help you track how well they’re meeting your expectations.
4. Arrange Frequent Training
Regular training is crucial for updating your call centre team on the latest business procedures and product features. This helps them to serve your customers effectively by providing the most relevant information. In addition, the trainer must maintain good communication with company representatives to ensure alignment with company policies.
5. Be Flexible
Flexibility is crucial when managing an outsourcing partner, as unforeseen external circumstances can disrupt the most well-planned strategies. Maintaining open communication and trust with your call centre outsourcing partner is essential, enabling them to provide exceptional service that exceeds expectations, even in challenging situations.
What We Can Do for You
Businesses that leverage the benefits of call centre outsourcing are better positioned to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace.
As you decide to transition or outsource your call centre service, you need to select a reliable third-party service provider that harnesses the best communication tools for them.
Regardless of the size or the type of your organisation, Workforce Connect call centre service is ready to meet your needs and is committed to providing superior quality tools.
Ready to get started? Schedule a consultation today to learn more about how Workforce Connect can help you ensure optimum customer satisfaction and drive significant revenue.
Nneka Eneli
Director, Workforce Outsourcing
