4 Tips on Finding the Right Contact Center Outsourcing Provider

Outsourcing the customer service

segment of your business can help you

cut down your operational costs.

However, it is also important to ensure

that outsourcing your contact center

services doesn’t impact customer

experience, and in turn, the prospects of

your brand. Therefore, it is important

that you diligently research all the

aspects of an outsourced contact center

solutions provider before arriving at a

decision. Mentioned below are a few

tips that will help you choose the best outsourced contact center provider.

Have a open discussion about the KPIs

When looking for an outsourced customer care service provider, having an

honest, frank discussion about the key performance indicators (KPIs) is of utmost

importance. You need to set the right expectations with the outsourced service

provider on all measurable KPIs including, average handle time (AHT), first call

resolution (FCR), speed to answer, etc. You need to share your own KPIs with

the service providers and ask them about what they will bring to the table.

Cultural compatibility

When it comes to choosing a service provider, you should also take into account

the issue of cultural compatibility. While call centers in India, Malaysia, and the

Philippines offer less expensive customer service solutions to US companies, the

differences in culture sometimes become a cause of concern for the customers.

Countries, such as Canada, which share geographical and cultural similarity with

the US, offer a viable option to businesses. Surveys conducted over the years

(Read, 2003) have found that US companies prefer outsourcing their customer

services to Canada than India and UK/Ireland due to higher quality of services. If

you are also looking to achieve a balance between quality of services and cost-

savings, outsourced contact services in Canada can be the right option for you.

Operation services

When scouting for the right outsourcing

partner for your customer service needs,

it is important to understand the

expertise of the service provider. In

addition to discussing the KPIs and other

operational tasks, it is important to gauge

whether the service provider will be able

to handle key organizational tasks. You

need to get concrete information about

how the human resource team is going to

scout for the best talent for the

organization. Keeping up employees’

morale, attrition rates, company loyalty — all of these need to be discussed with

the service provider.

Industry Feedback

There are a number of rating agencies that analyze the performance of the

contact centers and reward those that have performed exceedingly well. Choosing

a contact center with a stellar reputation and robust track record can help you

provide the quality of experience your customers associate with your brand.

These were a few tips that will help you make the right decision when choosing

the right call center service provider for your business. Although the tips

mentioned here are not exhaustive, they broadly give you the information about

the aspects you should be looking for in a long-term outsourcing partner.