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Where do I start with call centre outsourcing?
I think my company should outsource its call center, but I have no idea where to start. What should I read? Who should I talk to? What steps should I take?
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13 Answers
Lance,
There are a lot of call center companies who would be willing to help you out. I'd check to ensure that they have the following in place before signing with anyone:
1) A CRM system (this is imperative - I'd say that working with a call center who doesn't have one is going to be a waste of your time).
2) The ability to integrate with your CRM application (or provide ETL files or a Web Service to automate the updating of your CRM records).
3) Check to see what their retention rate is - (a high turnover means retraining)
4) See if they have the ability to let you listen in silently on the calls (or record calls for QA purposes)
5) Ensure that they have the ability to hot transfer to one of your people if that's important.
There are a lot of people who have provided other good advice here. We are a call center that leverages technology and takes advantage of the low labor costs here in the Philippines. Check us out at www.SageCallCenter.com or call us at (866) 298-9341 if you need some additional advice.
Lance Meacham
Clark Sage Call Center
Outsourcing can be an overwhelming task to narrow down great vendors. I would be happy to speak to you about your needs and assist in the selection and how to go about selecting the appropriate vendor for your company.
amortenson@callsmarter.net
www.callsmarter.net
605-610-0750
If you need any assistance regarding outsourcing your call center, you can contact me.
mak.katchi@digitizingexperts.com
Lance,
I represent a global customer care, BPO and technical support company with over 2,000 agents providing support from our facilities in the US (Atlanta and Tampa) as well as two facilities in Romania (Brasov and Bucharest). If you have any upcoming outsourcing initiatives for 2010, I would love an opportunity to proposal a solution for your needs.
Sincerely,
Scott McKinley
Vice President - Strategic Accounts
Customer Support Solutions Division
Computer Generated Solutions, Inc.
Office: (813) 249-3281
Email: smckinley@cgsinc.com
Hi,
We at Coral Info Solutions help our off-shore clients to improvise on their sales , Customer service, up-selling, retention and collections at cost-effective rates through outsourcing . Our core team consists of members coming from various verticals related to Outsourcing and they are perfect in implementation of Outsourcing.
We are covering sectors like Banking, Entertainment, Wireless, IT, Publishing and many more.
Kindly share the market your company targets, we would be happy to present how Coral can be of help and work not just as a middleman but a STRONG SUPPORTIVE Off-shore team, that not only get you providers who will be taking care of your precious customers but also making sure the standards and the quality expected is maintained.
Thanks & Regards,
Asst. Director - Marketing,
Coral Info Solutions.
+91 961 929 9852
Email: coral.info.sol@gmail.com
Skype: karankhanna8
Lance,
While selecting an outsourcing partner industry experience, flexibility, scale and ability to meet your business objectives are important as most of these relationships are long term and can strategically enhance the value in your organization.
Aegis is a Dallas based global Customer Lifecycle Management organization supporting 32 fortune 500 cos from 40 domestic, nearshore and offshore delivery centers.
We provide customized industry specific solutions for our customers.
Our website is http://www.aegisglobal.com/
If you would require any assistance with a solution, do get in touch with me
Regards
Andre Silveira
andretheguru@yahoo.com
Northwinds Contact Solutions partners with Inspiritec Teleservices to provide the most unique outsourced call center solution on the market. Inspiritec is a Non Profit call center that hires agents that are people with disabilities. Unlike most contact centers, Inspiritec’s goal is to help provide jobs to disabled individuals and cover their costs; they have no specific profit margin they have to meet. The result is that their services are priced just slightly higher than “offshore” rates.
Because Inspiritec uses Northwinds Virtual Call Center platform, clients benefit from being able to login to the platform to view activity and can access “real time” detailed call reporting, live call monitor. It is an outsourced solution that feels like it is “in-house”.
Pricing: Depends on each client’s unique situation. Submit an RFP/RFQ to receive a pricing proposal customized to meet your needs.
Contact:
Darren Prine
Northwinds Contact Solutions
dprine@thenorthwinds.com
1-800-831-8130
Before making any major decisions in outsourcing any of your business processes, you will fist have to determine your main objectives in doing so. Do you want to save on your overhead costs and sacrifice the level of customer satisfaction you have, or are you bent on keeping the quality and just alleviating your internal staff of the workload that you currently have? For most cases, you will want to have the best of both worlds, quality at a more affordable cost. It is very rare nowadays to find such onshore, so most companies resort to offshoring their business processes, and most of the time, they come back onshore carrying more losses than profits. We at EXIGO Process Solutions, Inc. believe that quality should be maintained at its highest in order for the client and the service provider to have a long term business engagement. At a rate that is significantly lower than what onshore call centers demand, we provide a level of quality that is at par, if not higher that those of our competitors. However, anyone can make those claims and show otherwise in the long run. We provide our clients the chance to listen to our existing agents and also talk to some of our existing clients in order for them (and hopefully, you) to have some feel of what we can provide.
We would like to be able to have a chance to talk to you. Please do email me at pcalanog@exigoprocess.com or call us at 888-321-3821.
Paolo Carlo D. Calanog
General Manager
Office Line: 632 728 2018
US Toll Free: 888 321 3821
US Fax: 813 426 3954
PH Mobile: 63 908 885 7813
Email Address: pcalanog@exigoprocess.com
Website: http://exigoprocess.com
Hi Lance,
Determining whether or not outsourcing is the right solution is a difficult one let alone, choosing the right partner. Why do you think outsourcing is needed? Is it due to financial constraints, marketing initiatives, resource issues, etc.? I'm certainly interested to understanding your thought process, helping you to identify the pros and cons, and making a decision as it relates to this. In addition, I can provide you with an overview of what iServe has to offer. Our client portfolio for inbound call center support includes a number of leading internet and catalog companies and a handful of Fortune 100s. Please contact me at your earliest convenience.
Thanks,
Jeff Ostapa
iServe Direct Commerce Services
www.iservedcs.com
jostapa@iservedcs.com
1-866-895-4379
Scicom is a progressive and pioneering leader in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) with global expertise in customer contact management and all back office support functions. Scicom services clients in 70 countries and 40 Languages from 14 strategically located facilities throughout the globe. In 2006, we established corporate headquarters for the America's in Tampa, Florida with a diverse, multi-lingual workforce that supports English, Spanish, and French for the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. Please call our VP of Operations-Lauren Lindsey directly at 813-880-5722 or Lauren.lindsey@scicomusa.com for more information.
Regards,
Anna Peters
HR Manager
Lance, specific to your questions, here are some thoughts:
1)Where to start: not to sound cliche, but just as any purchasing decision like buying a car, identify all of your criteria that's important to you and your company. Andre gave some good highlights. Identify your industry, is this business to consumer, business to business, inbound, outbound, phone, email, chat, etc...is it care, sales, support, etc...how large is your program, how much does it change, how much training, etc... Map it all out and what's most important. Then you are ready to start looking.
2)What should you read - great question and there is no single resource...as there is no one solution. Based on your industry, there may be resources and associations such as SOCAP, ACCE/ICMI, IQPC, SSPA, etc... Look to those based on your industry. There's the Black Book of Outsourcing...and various other books...and there's web sites and opinions galore. There is no absence of options. As you read and review, refer back to what you and your organization is seeking to accomplish and how it fits within your business strategy.
3)Who should you talk to: Talk to peers in your industry to see what they do. Ask them why they keep it in house. Ask them why they outsource. But also know their business is not your business...so internalize it to fit your situation. Talk to industry experts that have years of work for outsourcing firms. Know you will get many opinions and solutions, but again...if you have formed what your business needs are, you should be able to find one that matches. Select a few you feel comfortable with, visit their sites, and meet their people. Talk to references. Is there one right solution...No...there are many. Find one that feels right for you.
Best, Jeff 801.949.7585 jguymon@rdimarketing.com
hello, my company handles call center services for many companies if you need a call center please feel free to let me know or if you have any questions i may be able to help
Hi Lance,
Although a tad in late in responding, I think best way to start is drafting what are the key things you want to achieve by outsourcing and then make a checklist for qualifying you vendors. There are thousands of them present in the market i belong to one of them.
If you want more suggestions feel free to get in touch with me at ashraf.imran@fusionbposervices.com
Cheers,
Ashraf
Direct Line: 732-584-2389
Desk Ph: 866-581-0038 extn.: 2003
www.fusionbposervices.com
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