Working Solutions Again Named BPO Finalist by Customer Contact Week
Plano, Texas – For the third year in a row, Working Solutions is being recognized by Customer Contact Week (CCW) as finalist for its annual business process outsourcing (BPO) award.
The company earned BPO of the Year in 2025. It retains the title until CCW announces a new winner in June at its Las Vegas conference, the customer-service industry’s biggest event.
This year’s recognition comes as Working Solutions celebrates 30 years as a leading provider of virtual contact center outsourcing.
It arrives between the headlong push of organizations to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) for streamlining customer experiences (CX) and the ever-present desire of consumers for individualized care by human agents.
“Therein lies the rub,” noted Kim Houlne, the company’s chief executive and founder. She started as a one-person shop as the internet came of age for business in the mid-90s and remains hands-on today.
Striking a Balance – AI and Human Expertise
“The practical solution for modern service combines AI’s speed and productivity with the critical thinking and empathy of live agents,” Houlne said. “It’s a balance. Automated and accelerated, and yet, still thoughtful and caring.”
These days, ensuring the best service occurs against a troubling backdrop of economic uncertainty and external headwinds.
Said Houlne: “Sometimes, customer service gets caught in the crosshairs and is cut to save money. That’s a costly mistake, with resonating consequences.
“Just remember how CX suffered during the pandemic and negligent brands paid the price in spades. Dissatisfied customers quit believing and buying. Reputations suffered and revenue dropped. Companies that cared, however, gained ground. It’s no different today.”
Fact is: Ensuring quality service is the one thing organizations can control amid all of the angst.
Anticipating Proposed Onshore Legislation
Add to those woes political pressure in the form of proposed federal legislation pressuring American companies to onshore customer service or face stiff penalties.
“That could be a real conundrum for providers operating outside the country,” observed Houlne, whose company’s solutions are US-based.
She understands the appeal of lower-cost service that offshore offers. In contrast, Houlne also cites consumer desire for what she calls “hometown” care. That can be hard to pull off physically from thousands of miles away, and culturally, being worlds apart.
“Right now, it might be a quality-vs.-quantity business decision to offshore,” she said. “Value received vs. volume moved, especially for routine service.
“That said, if onshore becomes the law of the land, the dynamics and dollars of doing business inside and outside of the United States will change.”
And that could be a good thing. With the proper mix of AI and human expertise, companies can optimize CX operations, improve service quality and lower costs here in the US.
“It just takes partnering with the right provider to recalibrate things and reap the rewards,” Houlne said.
Providing Customer Service That Scales
To accommodate different needs today and tomorrow, Working Solutions offers four tiers of customer service. Aligned with client bandwidths and budgets, they scale as business fluctuates and situations change.
Traditional business process outsourcing serves long-term programs, where Working Solutions agents complement internal teams or work with other providers. For instance, despite a challenging hiring goal, Working Solutions surpassed a client’s recruitment targets by 10%, which meant the company became a go-to outsourcer to fulfill pressing workforce needs.
Quick-turn service provides rapid-response customer care for emergencies or surges, like the pandemic and major storms. Such was the case during the 2026 Winter Storm Fern, where agents handled about 8,500 customer calls over four days of severe weather.
Transitional CX starts with Working Solutions and then moves in-house after clients adopt its best-practice processes for recruiting, workforce training and operations. For a pet-tech client, customer satisfaction rose to 90% within 90 days—and remained high when internal teams took over.
Consultative projects are for short-term engagements to strengthen a particular client business function, such as improving agent education and development. For a travel client, Working Solutions introduced fast-flex processes to resolve 250,000+ open support tickets in short order, which the client used afterward.
“Quality service has to be practical to address today’s realities,” Houlne said. “Integrated into clients’ current operations, and priced right to deliver a solid return on investment.
“After 30 years of serving clients, we know how to provide great care and elevate performance. Customer Contact Week recognizes that fact, time and again.”
About Working Solutions
Working Solutions blends artificial intelligence (AI) and human expertise for prompt, practical customer service and sales. Its virtual workforce delivers business process outsourcing (BPO) across diverse industries. The company supports healthcare providers, as well as health-and- wellness businesses. Senior care is a service specialty, from arranging daily transportation to coordinating long-term assisted living. Consumer-focused solutions span financial services, energy/utilities and retail. The company also offers personalized customer experiences (CX) in the hospitality industry, with an emphasis today on luxury and senior travel. Many of its contact center agents are customers of the clients they serve, providing firsthand insights. Learn more at workingsolutions.com.
