As the economy is still tight and profit margins are thin, many companies continue to outsource their call center work to stay in the black. Some companies are doing it right, but many more have found that the cost cutting has come at the expense of customer relationships. Americans simply don’t like speaking with foreign call center agents, and many companies fail to take this factor into consideration.
Many times, these outsourced employees allow companies to balance efficiency and effectiveness by bringing them access to state-of-the-art technology and the exceptionally skilled workforce they otherwise would not have been able to afford internally, according to 1to1Media’s Anna Papachristos.
But she notes that for many, outsourcing carries the negative implication that companies care less about their customer service offerings, when in fact, outsourcing requires more care and effort on the company's part to maintain and improve the level of service customers receive.
Communication is critical. Too many companies outsource their customer care and believe they’re able to wash their hands of it. This couldn’t be more false.
Cap Gemini’s Paul Caul told 1to1Media that outsourcing should be seen as a way to lift a financial burden, but it shouldn’t be an excuse not to continue to engage with customers. Instead, it should enable companies to focus their attention on building relationships with both customer-facing employees and customers. Clients must develop a dialogue with their outsourcing suppliers in order to ensure a seamless expansion of the workforce that does not disrupt the target level of customer service, according to Caul.