Call centers come in all shapes and sizes, but for businesses looking to reduce costs, an overseas call center may fit the bill. Business News Daily writer, Sara Angeles, gives examples of what to look for when choosing an overseas call center. We’ve summarized the article below:
While some businesses have all the resources to run their own call center in-house or hand it off to a US-based call center provider, an offshore call center is generally a more cost-effective option.
Keep in mind, however, that organizations considering outsourcing their call center overseas will be faced with several obstacles that come with doing business in foreign countries. If a company is not prepared to deal with these challenges, offshoring may actually result in higher costs than anticipated.
Location
Location is incredibly important because it will affect many other aspects of your decision. Some countries can offer incredibly cheap rates because wages are low. However, poor government infrastructure often accompanies low wages, and that could affect your overseas call center’s quality of service in the long term. Other things to consider include the exchange rate, economy, culture and environmental issues (e.g., whether the country is prone to natural disasters).
Accent
Finding an overseas call center that employs people with accents that are easy for your customer to understand is incredibly important for two reasons: customer service and brand preservation. First, you want the transition from in-house to overseas call center service to be as seamless and undetectable to your customers as possible. You will also want an overseas call center with minimal or undetectable accents, which allows you to streamline your business without harming your established brand image. Ask vendors for voice samples, and speak with employees via a Skype video conference. Check to see if the agents are easy to understand and if you can detect any accents.
Specialization
Call centers vary greatly in specialization. For example, an overseas call center that specializes in providing technical support is typically not a great fit for an online shoe retailer. Call centers invest heavily in providing industry-specific training. Ask to see relevant case studies that demonstrate their proficiency in your industry and determine how they have positioned their call center to become industry experts. Go with an overseas call center that specializes in businesses just like yours.
Security
It is imperative that the overseas call center you choose is both physically secure and technologically secure. Utilizing an overseas call center should never jeopardize any of your proprietary data. To reduce the need to implement your redundancy and disaster plans, the center you use should have security guards on-duty 24/7, provide a safe workplace for employees and have the technical measures to protect your data. You should also ask if the overseas call center is willing to sign a nondisclosure agreement. Extensive security measures are incredibly important to your business and your peace of mind.
Their Portfolio of Clients
Before finalizing your decision, you should look at the roster of companies with which the overseas call center works. Doing so will help you identify if the overseas call center is a good fit for your business. If the overseas call center works with mostly large-scale corporate companies and you’re a newly funded startup, that particular option is likely not a good fit. Examining the overseas call center’s clients can help you get a better understanding of what its offerings are and what companies it best suits. Ask providers who their top clients are, if they work with any of your competitors and if you’ll be one of their largest or smallest clients.
Outsource Consultants are call center experts with over 25 years of outsourcing industry experience that have spent thousands of hours vetting and analyzing the strengths and specializations of the industry-leading outsource call center vendors. If you’re considering call center outsourcing, simply call 888-766-4482 or request a free call center cost proposal today and we’ll help you find the solution that best fits your exact requirements.
