Call Center Outsourcing

Call center outsourcing was arguably the most lucrative for overseas companies looking to get a foothold in the outsourcing industry several years ago. India, who leads the world in IT outsourcing with a 51% market share is also a player in call center outsourcing.

The U.S. spends billions annually on outsourcing services. Many companies do so to save money by cutting the costs of employing American workers. But, outsourcing has it downside. Several major American companies have made the decision to run their call centers onshore. The loss of customers due to their experience with foreign based outsourced companies proved too costly in the end.

Even still, those that choose to outsource overseas can have very a positive experience by simply managing their outsource provider to make sure they are providing the kind of service a company expects.

Common Call Center Services Routinely Outsourced

Inbound Services Can Include:

  • Customer Support Service
  • Technical Support Service
  • Order Taking Services
  • Inquiry Handling Services
  • Toll Free Services

Outbound Services Can Include:

  • Appointment Scheduling/Setting
  • Lead Generating
  • Market Research
  • Debt Collection
  • Product Information Request
  • Tele marketing Services

Web Services Can Include:

  • Chat Support Services
  • Email Support
  • Order Taking

Call Center Outsourcing Is Considered Business Process Outsourcing

Although BPO growth continues to grow, it is doing so at a slower rate. Due to the U.S. spending less on this kind of outsourcing.

Statistics

  • The United States and Europe are the biggest buyers of outsourcing services. The combined total is approximately 91 percent.
  • 61percent of all outsourcing types are purchased by the United States.
  • India is the number one choice for outsourcing worldwide.

Facts

  • According to the research analyst company Gartner, companies that opted to oursource their customer service and tech support saved 25 – 30 percent in costs.
  • The Philippines are becoming the new source for call center outsourcing
  • Gartner also found that 80% of companies that choose to outsource call centers based only on cost cutting will fail.

Current Trends

The need for call center outsourcing is decreasing due to the use of computer software taking the place of human interaction. Until computers can completely replace human beings call centers will continue to thrive.

There is a current trend among U.S. companies to do more onshore outsourcing. This is good news for both the economy and for U.S. based call center companies who have to compete for business against offshore companies.

The Pros

  • Very cost effective. For example, if one call center agent earns a salary of $25,000 per year. If a company need to employ 50 agents, that’s $1,250,000 in salaries alone. With an average savings of at least 25 percent or in this case $312,500 is substantial.
  • Experienced outsourcing companies in call center services have the technology and expertise to track issues and make improvements quickly.
  • The added flexibility to add more agents quickly. This can be useful during high call volumes during the American holiday shopping season.

The Cons

  • The heavy accents and difficulty Americans have understanding foreign based agents leads to major decreased customer satisfaction.
  • No control over operations. Response time are typically slower.
  • Security concerns .Some call center providers have sold private customer data information to other companies

Offshore vs Onshore

American companies looking for call center outsourcing use both offshore and onshore companies. The Philippines are becoming a favorite in offshore outsourcing over India. The reasons have to do with the fact that English is spoken by about 90% of the country. Unlike India, for example, Filipinos speak and understand Americanized English, and “slang.” This is a huge advantage, and is good for the overall customer experience.

Obviously onshore companies do not share the problem of difficult to understand accents. The costs for onshore call centers are higher than offshore companies, but still offer savings when compared to hiring a large number of salaried employees to manage a call center.

Conclusion

The outsourcing industry in regards to call centers is constantly changing. Some companies outsource offshore, others onshore and still others like “homeshoring” provider Arise employ call centers agents to work from home.

American companies are slowing moving toward more call centers based in the U.S. The Obama Administration introduced Tax incentives and have stepped efforts to close the loopholes that make outsourcing overseas an easy option for U.S. based companies.

As technology changes, the need for call center outsourcing in its present form will most likely change as well.