Call center outsourcing once earned a poor reputation as the movement of jobs to offshore destinations. While offshore outsourcing is still a strategic focus for a number of organizations, call center outsourcing does not always mean you have to move your operations offshore. Instead, you can partner with a call center outsourcing provider who will manage your customer service initiatives for you, allowing the rest of your organization to focus on your core business initiatives. There are both pros and cons to such a move and you should explore both sides to determine if call center outsourcing is truly right for your business.

What is Call Center Outsourcing?

In the very basic sense, call center outsourcing involves partnering with a call center provider who will manage your campaigns for you. This provider will provide a specific number of call center agents who are trained according to your company, your products and services, and your campaign. These agents act as representatives of your company, providing a seamless experience for customers. Your call center outsourcing provider may be located on the other side of the country, yet your main customer support number connects their agents to your customers, providing a completely integrated interaction for the agent and the customer.

What are the Benefits to Call Center Outsourcing?

There are actually a number of benefits to call center outsourcing, particularly the ability to avoid the establishment and maintenance of your own call center. Not all companies have the expertise, infrastructure or time to support their own in-house call center operations. Call center outsourcing provides a viable alternative, offering key customer service campaigns that are charged on a per use basis. Companies also benefit from the ability to leverage call center outsourcing solutions that offer bilingual agents, around-the-clock customer support, and agents with specific skills that would otherwise be cost prohibitive if secured in-house.

What are the Cons to Call Center Outsourcing?

When you contract a call center outsourcing provider, you are guaranteed that your brand and company image will be preserved according to your guidelines. Even with this guarantee in place, you still take a risk that the provider will operate outside of your expected guidelines. You also give up a certain level of control over the campaign, the agents and the overall approach to customer service when you turn it over to a call center outsourcing provider. Even with clearly established guidelines, a campaign can still execute with results very different from your expectations. If you partner with a company using offshore locations for their call center outsourcing service, you run the risk of a poor customer experience or poor market perception if your customer base is not receptive to such a move.

Call Center Outsourcing – in the Middle?

Companies have been known to outsource certain elements of their customer service initiatives or specific campaigns to call center outsourcing providers. This approach to call center outsourcing is a great way to slowly migrate to this strategy without giving up too much control right away. If this isn’t an option for you, learn from those who have made the move in the past and be flexible enough to make changes if your first launch is not as successful as you hoped. The good news is that call center outsourcing can be an effective strategy in the right environments. Examine your culture and what you hope to accomplish in your customer service initiatives. You can then determine whether or not call center outsourcing will be a good fit to drive the results you want.