Tools & Tips: Call Center Outsourcing
What are the critical success factors behind successful Call Center Outsourcing?
- Treat customer relationship management (CRM) as a key component
of the overall company strategy, one part of the puzzle that comprises the broader
vision and future goals.
- Even if the operational component of the CRM is not a "core"
competency and can be most efficiently outsourced, the total customer experience
clearly remains "core." The call center design, goals and measures of success must
drive directly from the total customer experience.
- In choosing a call center outsourcing partner or vendor, ensure your investigation is
"hands-on."
- Talk directly to existing customers
- Take the time to fly out and personally tour and inspect existing, up-and-running call centers
- Get educated on the subtleties of performance measurement before you sign the vendor contract
- Give careful thought to the kind of customer experience you
expect for your callers, and ensure that the performance measures reflect them.
For example, if English language colloquial conversational skills is an important
success factor for you, don't be content with measuring "time on hold," and "time to resolve
problem" and focus more on measurements of customer experience
- Some performance measures are more equal than others. Staff
turnover is a huge indicator of success, for example, implying far more than
higher costs of training and management. Unhappy customer representatives usually
mean unhappy customers. Talk to non-competitive industry peers who have successful call center
contracts, and see how they structured those relationships.
- Build into new contracts the opportunity for a mid-course correction of new measures performance.
- For example, Afni Inc., the sponsor of this Microsite, offers a full
suite of debt collection outsourcing services and functions
- Tips for Maximizing the Value of your Call Center
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Article I: Designing the Call Center Experience for True Customer Satisfaction
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Article II: Maximizing Call Center Value: A Deeper Look into Call Center Metrics
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Call Center Outsourcing Articles & Info
Case Studies in Call Center Outsourcing
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