In today’s interconnected world, businesses face many challenges that can disrupt call center operations and make it difficult to run smoothly. To mitigate these risks, proactive organizations are adopting a smart solution called geo-redundancy.
This practice spreads important tasks in distant regions across the globe, creating a backup plan in case of unexpected situations such as natural disasters, political instability, economic downturns, or other disruptions.
Diversifying call center locations not only protects businesses from potential problems but also offers several other benefits. Geo-redundancy can enhance customer support, reduce costs, and support business expansion into new markets.
A Solid Plan for Risk Mitigation
The key benefit of geo-redundancy is its ability to provide a safety net in times of crisis. When a disaster, unrest, or crisis plays havoc with call center operations, companies can keep essential customer support functions running from unaffected regions.
It can be easy to feel like your customer support is safely covered when a region is historically stable, but disruptions can sneak up on you.
Even something as simple as high attrition can make putting all of your eggs in one basket an unwise decision. Rather, by outsourcing to multiple locations in different regions, companies have access to a larger pool of potential employees to draw from when looking to fill open positions.
Access to Agents with Unique Skills
Outsourcing customer support to various places helps companies gain an advantage by accessing a larger pool of skilled and knowledgeable talent. Companies can access a wider range of agents, each with expertise in different parts of the customer experience journey.
A company may hire individuals from various regions to manage their live chat and phone support. They base this decision on their skills and cultural background. By outsourcing to multiple regions, companies can access these specialized skills while outsourcing more general inquiries to lower-cost options.
Champion-Challenger Changes the Game
One hidden benefit of outsourcing to different locations is the healthy competition it encourages between BPO providers.
Comparing partners allows you to identify areas where one is outperforming the others. You can use this information to inspire others to enhance their performance. Even within the same partner, geo-redundancy utilizing their different call center locations promotes a champion-challenger environment that fosters healthy competition. As a result, your partners are motivated to provide the best possible customer service experience, which ultimately benefits your CX.
A Stepping Stone to Global Success
Geo-redundancy in outsourcing can help companies expand their presence in different markets, especially those seeking to establish a global footprint.
Many outsourcing destinations employ skilled, bilingual agents. This is useful for companies entering new markets, as it lets them offer customer service in the local language they wish to start doing business in.
Netflix exemplifies how geo-redundancy can drive growth, with the majority of its 8.3 million new subscribers in 2021 with many hailing from outside North America. The streaming service achieved this by establishing operations in linguistically diverse European regions and hiring a remote, bilingual workforce. This strategic move went beyond language proficiency; it was about fostering cultural connections, and ensuring that customer interactions were locally relevant and personal.
For any company aiming to broaden its market reach, following Netflix’s lead by partnering with skilled BPO providers can be a savvy move. Such partnerships can eliminate the complexities of recruiting, training, and managing a multilingual team, while still ensuring that customer engagement is both linguistically and culturally attuned to each new market.
Choose a Region and Diversifying
Different geographical regions offer distinct advantages for geo-redundancy considerations. For example, nearshore locations such as Mexico, Belize, and Panama have a burgeoning tech sector with significant investments in education and training. In Asia, exemplified by the Philippines, there is an extensive talent pool and highly competitive labor costs.
While Africa is a relatively new player in the outsourcing landscape, it is quickly gaining traction. Countries such as South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt offer a large number of skilled and experienced workers at attractive labor costs. Additionally, many African countries prioritize education and training, creating a growing pipeline of qualified agents.
Using geo-redundancy and the strengths of each region is crucial for businesses to protect their operations and succeed in a changing global environment. Whether your company is planning to expand or simply trying to mitigate risk, partnering with several BPO providers around the globe can give you a leg up on your competition.
To explore how geo-redundancy can specifically benefit your organization, contact our expert BPO advisors for a no-charge consultation.
