When Is It Time to Outsource Your Contact Center Operations?

Outsourcing call center operations is an important decision that should be assessed based on business needs and customer experience objectives. Generally, businesses outsource contact centers for a few key reasons – cost savings, scalability, and focus on core functions.

The primary motivator for outsourcing contact center operations used to be saving money. However, changing customer expectations, outsourcing has become an integral part of successful contact center operations and provides additional benefits beyond cost savings.

Outsourcing a contact center can help reduce operational costs significantly, especially for small to medium-sized businesses. Outsourcing allows them to benefit from economies of scale by leveraging existing infrastructure and resources in other countries or regions which are typically cheaper than what could be achieved locally. In addition, outsourcing the customer service functions to specialized companies allows the business to focus its resources on core functions such as product development instead of managing separate customer support teams.

Customers should be met where they find you, is on social media, email, chat, text, or telephone. They expect correct answers quickly and so they are  empowered to find their own answers. Agents must evolve as the customer does, by staying up to date with training and adapting service efforts to the changing needs of their valuable customers.

The complexity of effective customer service operations should factor into the decision to outsource.When done strategically, outsourcing helps businesses increase their flexibility while also improving scalability So where do you start? Let’s explore a few  ways outsourcing can improve contact center operations:

1. Seasonal upswings – Iit is cost-prohibitive to ramp up for seasonal upswings in a brick-and-mortar call center. Outsourcing to a virtual call center empowers your organization to make the most of your season without incurring large costs.
2. Agent turnover  – The costs associated with high turnover is staggering. Not only do you have the gap created by not having a full staff, but you also incur costs associated with recruiting, training, and benefits.That kind of impact can cripple your operations. Often an outsourcing partner provides stability in this area, particularly if the environment is positive and attracts high-caliber talent.
3. Acquisitions, mergers, and buyouts – This may seem counterintuitive, but bringing in an unbiased, professional third party to handle customer service questions can diffuse customer concerns. Additionally, it can provide relief during tough transitions and cover gaps created by necessary lay-offs. This is an ideal circumstance for virtual call center agents as they can ramp up and down quickly.
4. New product or service roll-outs – if your team is already overwhelmed adding the increased volume generated from a new product or service could negatively impact the launch. Ensuring positive customer interactions is always important, but it is particularly critical when a launch occurs.
5. Keeping up with technology – Technology continues to rapidly change, improve and impact the way we do business. If attempts to keep up with technology negatively impacts customer service or cost significant dollars, it is time to consider an outsourcing partner. Hosted call center providers are in the business of keeping up with technology and will definitely save your organization money and time.
6. Outsourced contact centers allow businesses to harness specialized expertise in handling customer interactions with speed and accuracy while providing consistency across all channels of communication used (phone calls, emails, or chat). By outsourcing these functions customers can have access to more experienced agents who understand their individual needs better, helping build better relationships and trust with customers over time leading to faster resolution rates and & higher customer satisfaction rates.
7. Outsourcing customer service offers improved security as well as compliance standards thanks to stringent measures taken by these organizations designed to protect customer data and information shared during communication sessions. These measures are vital for businesses dealing with sensitive data of clients and ensure adherence to governmental regulations related to data privacy and protection as applicable in various jurisdictions

Regardless of the circumstances that cause you to consider outsourcing, it is important to find a partner that can meet all your needs. Whether that is improving technology, generating more sales during a launch, or improving customer service, weigh every factor in addition to cost so you are empowered to make the best decision for your contact center operations…and your customer!

Read all about outsourcing your call center with our Ultimate Guide to Outsourcing Customer Service.