Call Center Outsourcing: Everything you need to know

The trend of call center outsourcing has gained popularity with the advancements of globalization and digitalization. Outsourcing the call center operations to a third-party company is called outsourcing. Your businesses can achieve many benefits by outsourcing customer service. There is also a reduction in operational and overhead costs.

A call center is no longer restricted to the confined walls of corporate headquarters. They are now spread across the continents, breaking down language and distance barriers. Therefore, the outsourcing company agents will provide a 24/7 quality service despite the different time zones.

Call Center Outsourcing is the ultimate cost-effective solution to transform your business into new heights. 

The blog uncovers topics like the working mechanism of outsourcing,  advantages, disadvantages, and best practices for managing the outsourced call center. Join us to understand everything about call center outsourcing. Let’s get started. 🚀

What is call center outsourcing?

Outsourcing the call center operations to a third-party company instead of handling them internally is called outsourcing. A business willing to focus its time and resources on product development, content creation, and sales instead of customer service development will outsource its call center. The third-party business will handle inbound and outbound calls. They also communicate with clients via various channels to respond to questions, offer support, and settle disputes. 

How does outsourcing work?

The business must focus on the business partnership and research about outsourcing companies equally to outsource its task effectively.  Outsourcing is more about managing a relationship with the partnership rather than a server-level agreements project with purchases. Maintaining and securing a trusted relationship is crucial to its outsourcing efforts, which are more complicated than establishing service levels and relationships. Moreover, the business must know the agreements’ end and ensure all the involved parties have fulfilled their responsibilities.

Call center outsourcing services

The outsourcing company will provide many services to address the diverse needs of your business. They will streamline your customer interactions. The call center outsourcing services include:

1. Inbound Customer Service

Inbounding customer service is one of the standard services provided by outsourcing providers. The contact center service channels, such as Phone, Email, and other social media, manage customer inquiries, address issues, and provide informative feedback. It also assists customers in taking and tracking orders with seamless transactions. This approach enhances customer experience. 

2. Outbound Service

The call centers will call potential customers for sales, generate leads, gather data, and promote your business’s products. Furthermore, they also assist in setting appointments with customers and leads for sales meetings or service appointments.

3. Multi-channel sales support

This service supports activities like pre-sales and post-sales by maintaining lead generation, appointment scheduling, and follow-up calls. It supports omnichannel communication to increase your customer base.

4. Multilingual support

To reach diverse customers in the international market, the outsourcing company will provide multilingual support for your business.

Benefits of outsourced call centers

The company outsources its call center service to enjoy many benefits from third-party providers. The benefits include reducing operational costs and improving efficiency and productivity.  The benefits of outsourced call centers are: 

1. Cost Savings

Third-party providers are the cost-effective solution for your business. It eliminates in-house overhead,  maintenance, and upgrading costs. You can only pay for the package you need for your business. 

2. Increased efficiency

The outsourcing company has effective methods and practices to improve your business efficiency. They are available around the clock to answer customer queries despite the different time zones. Furthermore, they trained in the customer service field to look at key performance indicators to determine customer satisfaction. They are equipped with cutting-edge technology, such as Chatbots and Artificial Intelligence, to improve the customer experience with the service. 

3. Scalability

Outsourcing companies can easily modify workforce levels during variations in call volume, ensuring that they can handle the busiest time effectively and scale back during slower times. It has greater scalability, enabling your business to adapt to changing market needs or technological advancements. 

4. Compliance and security

Competent outsourcing companies provide high levels of data security and compliance measures to safeguard customer data.

5. Global Reach

Expand your business internationally. The outsourcing company provides multilingual support to improve your global operations.

6. Quick implementation

In-house call center setup requires a lot of time and resources. Hence, call center outsourcing is an outstanding option for quick setup and enhanced customer service.

Drawbacks of call center outsourcing

There are many advantages of call center outsourcing. However, there may be potential challenges and difficulties that you need to consider while outsourcing your business. The drawbacks include:

1. Less control

You do not have direct control over your customer service. You must trust the outsourcing company to accurately reflect your brand. The problem is that not all outsourcing partners will provide the same quality of service. Choosing a random provider can potentially damage your brand’s reputation. Furthermore, the outsourcing agents are not available within your locations. Therefore, it hinders effective collaboration within the sales and marketing team. 

2. Communication and cultural barriers

The outsourcing company has multiple partnerships working across different locations. Outsourcing to foreign countries can introduce language barriers and cultural differences to the customer. Dissatisfaction among customers might increase due to difficulty understanding the language. 

3. Data security 

Sharing customer data with third-party providers can invite the potential security risk. The business must consider an outsourcing provider that has strong policies regarding customer data security measures to maintain a trust and relationship with the customer.

4. Quality variability 

Service quality may vary after outsourcing your call center service, which will degrade customer satisfaction and engagement. Therefore, choose the trustworthy outsourcing company that best suits your needs and business objectives.

5. Lack of feedback

Customer feedback on specific areas will provide insights to the business to improve its services. Call center outsourcing agents might provide data on queries addressed and resolved issues. But sometimes, they also cover the genuine demands of your clients and their specific problems that will hinder your efforts to grow your company. 

Best practices for managing an outsourced call center

Using best practices in call center outsourcing is essential to maximize the advantages and minimize the potential risk. The  best practices include:

• Choose the providers carefully: Conduct research and evaluate the potential outsourcing partners to ensure they meet your business requirements and goals.
• Maintain transparency: Organize transparent communication that involves frequent meetings, provide performance updates, and engage in open and honest discussions of problems and solutions.
• Quality assurance measures: Establish call center activity monitoring mechanisms to ensure quality service maintenance.
• Adopt a customer-centric approach: It is crucial to emphasize the importance of listening carefully, resolving problems, and providing outstanding customer service.
• Define SLAs in the contract: Define the objectives, goals, and long-term plan, including the Service Level Agreements if necessary, which promote mutual understanding between both parties and enhance efficiency and productivity.

Conclusion

Fulfilling the exceeding needs of the customer is challenging for every company. The company might need more staff, skills, and advanced technologies to improve the customer experience. Therefore, the company tends to outsource its call center service to a third-party company that streamlines communication and enhances customer service to meet their expectations. It is also crucial to consider trustworthy outsourcing providers like Global Response, five star call centers, and others to enjoy maximum benefits and secure your customer data privacy from potential threats. Despite its many advantages, the business must consider a few shortcomings before outsourcing your call center.

FAQs

How do you outsource a call center?

Outsourcing your call center requires several procedures to ensure seamless transfer and effective operation. The effective ways to outsource a call center include:

1. Define your goals
2. Consider the reputable service providers
3. Set up the monitoring team
4. Maintain communication

What is the need for call center outsourcing?

Call center outsourcing is needed when your business is rapidly growing, customer complaints are increasing, budgets are limited, and 24/7 support is required. Furthermore, a company that prefers to dedicate its time and resources to content production, sales, and product development rather than customer service development requires outsourcing. 

What are the basics of outsourcing?

The basis of outsourcing includes the following points:

1. Identifying needs
2. Selecting Service providers
3. Negotiating contracts and
4. Managing relationships

What is BPO in a call center?

Outsourcing a specific portion of your business operations, such as customer service, inbound calls, outbound calls, sales, or technical support service, to a third-party provider is called Business Process Operation (BPO) in a call center.