Outsourcing services play a vital role in the rapidly changing global economy today despite the fact that it was a completely new and nearly unnoticed concept ten years ago.
According to the survey conducted by key research firm Gartner in August 2013, it has been revealed that the global outsourcing market is expected to expand by 5.4% annually in the coming four years, touching a total value of $288 billion (£175.1 billion) by 2017.
Regardless of the industry’s escalating growth rate, there are many corporate managers who are still cynical about its advantages. The main reason behind this hesitance to embrace the industry, specifically the customer support call center outsourcing, is the dearth of knowledge about the benefits it offers.
Through this post, let’s debunk some of the myths that have so far held many businesses back from leveraging outsourcing customer support.
Myth #1: We may have to compromise on service quality for cost savings.
There is no denying the fact that earlier businesses have a lot many apprehensions about outsourcing services to call centers. However, cost reduction in business operation became one of the driving factors for the organizations to think about it.
In recent years, call center service providers have ramped up the quality of their service to align itself with global quality standards in terms of equipment, service delivery metrics, and manpower. The industry has become a driving force of its own by making expert assistance readily available in their specialized field and adding more value to customers. Enterprises have realized with time that outsourcing customer support doesn’t mean relegation of customer service delivery—by doing so they are actually enhancing their service quality.
Myth #2: We will lose complete control over employees.
Maintaining a healthy customer relationship is critical for the success of any business, so it isn’t surprising to know that many managers reluctant about handing over these relationships to a third party. After all, who wants to play with their market reputation? No one wants to do that.
When you’re able to keep a close watch over the in-house customer service department, then it tends to be easier to feel more confident about the service quality. While in case of call center outsourcing it is seemingly apparent that you won’t be able to have that much control over the call agents. You don’t know how exactly they are performing their services.
It is a common question–how can you monitor what an outsourcing company is handling your customer’s queries, and how can you stay rest assured about the fact that they are well-aligned with your core business practices? Thought of losing direct control holds them back.
However, the good news is that with growing advancement in technology and usage of cutting-edge cross-platform business tools and techniques enable them to monitor results produced by call center services agents in real-time.
Myth #3: Language barrier can create a big hurdle
One of the most common misconceptions about outsourcing call center services to a service provider based in a different country is the language barrier. Their call agents won’t have the required language skills required to carry out conversations with customers. Unfortunately, they think that due to poor accents they may miss out on any lucrative sales leads.
However, the reality is that outsourcing hotspot countries like India, language abilities are a selling point rather than a stumbling block. The nation has been considered as a reservoir of qualified and trained manpower with proficiency in the English language. Gone are the days when the accent used to be the major factor. With the rising competition in the BPO industry, these service providers conduct proper training as per any organization’s business requirements.
Deciding whether to outsource call center services or not, like any other business investment requires a lot of effort before it starts giving desired returns. With proper evaluation, clear business goals, and alignment of quality standards, customer support outsourcing can become the biggest asset for any organization.
