Outsourcing customer support with the right approach can save a lot of time and financial resources, and open new business opportunities. Advantages and disadvantages of customer support outsourcing as well as possible destinations — our opinion.
Customer Care Outsourcing: “pros” and “cons”
- Access to a team with diverse skill sets and experience.
Outsourcing — completely “covers” the need for specialists.
- Simplification of work processes.
The customer can delegate tasks to focus more on mission-critical needs. A remote team can be involved even when companies have their agents, but the team needs to be strengthened.
- Profitability.
You don’t need to spend resources to conduct interviews, negotiate with potential employees, take care of their adaptation, pay high wages (during “downtime”), arrange workspaces for them, or take care of training or vacations. All this is taken over by the outsourced team.
- Flexibility.
If there are sudden changes, such as a crisis, the team can be quickly rebuilt.
When choosing an outsourced team, it is important to pay attention to the following nuances:
- Process management.
The customer is active in the project but does not control everything. Customers need to learn to delegate and listen to the outsourced team and trust their expertise. This “loss of control” can be mitigated with proper planning, communication, and the right performance metrics. It is necessary to continuously measure the results of your CS overseas team and ensure that everyone is working towards the same goal.
- Distance: time difference and cultural difference.
If the client company is located in another part of the world, the outsourced team needs to adapt its work to its time zone. When communicating with your remote team, you will feel and notice cultural differences. For example, in the Philippines, it is considered rude to say “No”. They consider it impolite and a matter of “saving face”.
Possible destinations for an outsourced team
- India
India is one of the largest English-speaking countries in the world. This makes it an attractive region, particularly for customers from the US and UK, and many other countries. At one time it was outsourcing that became one of the economic drivers for this country. In addition to the good English language skills of their agents, Indian contact centers can offer cheap rates for their services, good quality equipment, and 24/7 customer support.
- Philippines
For the same reasons as India, the Philippines is also an attractive region for outsourcing customer support. According to Tholons Releases 2018 Services Globalization Index, the country’s capital, Manila, is the second-best city in the world for outsourcing. A BPO in the Philippines specializes in customer service and external operations, mainly in the financial services and telecommunications sectors.
Since the country was part of the United States in the first half of the 20th century, English is still one of the official languages in the Philippines. It is spoken by more than 90 million Filipinos.
- Ukraine
In recent years, more and more Ukrainians work in outsourcing — formally being in the markets of other countries, but physically being in Ukraine. It is profitable for Western businesses to hire Ukrainian specialists because they have proven themselves as qualified and responsible workers. That is, you can find a lot of highly educated talents in Ukraine. They often have experience studying or working abroad and are fluent in at least one European language in addition to Ukrainian, Russian and English compared to other destinations. Therefore, Ukrainians easily adapt to the needs of foreign customers.
In addition, they can be paid less than Americans and Europeans. Unlike the USA or Europe, Ukrainian firms offer lower rates for services that do not compromise on quality. Also, companies with employees in Ukraine can save up to 60% compared to the costs of full-time staff.
Result
In an increasingly interconnected and globalized economy, it’s easier and more cost-effective than ever to outsource customer service. This helps at the same time to increase the competitiveness of your company in the native industry, as well as to get access to the necessary professional resources with a certain reduction of own costs to solve the tasks. If you have any questions or would like to receive advice, contact us!
