Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Call Center Outsourcing: Finding the Right Outsourcing Company

Have you ever tried calling a help desk? If you did, you may think that the help desk is located within the company’s building. However, because of the availability of high-speed internet access, chances are, you are probably calling a call center building located half way around the world.

A call center is a kind of outsourcing company that companies in the United States are hiring in order to save a lot of money. It is a fact that setting up an in-house call center can prove to be costly. However, you will need to set up a call center in order for your clients to reach your company regarding their inquiries and complaints. If you don’t have a call center, your company will find it hard to communicate with your clients.

Therefore, outsourcing a call center is the answer to your problems. Because of the advancement in the internet, it is now possible for companies to hire call center companies or outsourcing companies outside the country. Companies do this in order to communicate with their clients more efficiently.

Outsourced call centers are cheaper in developing countries because the labor is relatively cheap compared to developed countries. There are also plentyl skilled workers in developing countries with limited jobs. So, call centers are one of the best choices for professionals in other countries. This particular job is preferred by a lot of people in other countries because of the high amount of salary which is above their minimum wage.

However, before you hire an outsourced call center for your company, you should first consider the fact that not all call centers are equal in terms of quality and the amount of money they charge. Here are some of the things you should look for in order to get your money’s worth:

- Amount of calls answered – A good call center should be able to handle large amounts of calls in a single day. Ask the call center on how many average calls they can handle in a single day.

- Average call waiting time – Find out about the average waiting time before a client can be connected to a call center agent. The shorter time they wait the better.

- Average call time – It is also important to find out about the average time a call center agent spends in a single caller. It is important to keep the calls as short as possible in order to entertain more clients.

- Professionalism of call center agents – Try calling the call center and find out if the call center agents they hire is competent enough when handling calls. Call centers are subjected to frustrated callers and agents are prone to be emotionally and physically stressed out. You should find out how call center agents handle the calls and if the information they give you is sufficient and effective. Language skills should also be considered in a call center agent. If they are unable to speak straight, then that call center is considered as incompetent.

These are the things that you should find out about a particular call center. Once you hired an outsourced call center, you should frequently make calls in order to find out if they are indeed doing their job. Outsourced call centers is a great way to save money. If you need a call center for inbound and outbound calls, outsourcing it is a great solution in order to save a lot of money.

1 comment:

Berry Goldwater said...

I agree with your blog on outsourcing. I was a little leery when someone recommended I take the customer service of my e commerce website offshore. I assumed that the level of service offered would not be on par with my American based staff. But I decided to check it out because the agents abroad were half the cost.

After much research and reference checking I decided to go with a company based in India called Phykon Solutions. I used their services for inbound calls as well as email. Now I do admit that the agents do have a slight accent but there English language skills are that of a native speaker. I have been with them for about a year now and I don't know what makes me happier the fact that the service is great or that the cost is dramatically lowered. It is a win/win for me.