Benefits of outsourcing

Over the last ten years, call centre outsourcing has become so common and so well supported, that the benefits of it are now very often not spelt out.

Are the benefits for organisations obvious? Can the present practice by so many companies of sticking with outsourcing, be supported indefinitely?

The outsourced call centre industry within Australia is still growing rapidly as organisations are becoming more adept in offering a wider range of call centre services. There are now many examples of Government organisations that have outsourced their call centre operations.

Many companies, after observing the success of the early outsourcing adopters, have been encouraged to follow. Global multi nationals are increasingly transferring parts of their business systems to offshore locations since costs are lower. Dramatic results have been observed especially in IT outsourcing where cost reductions of 50% have been achieved in some cases.

Lower labour costs, a plentiful and highly skilled work force, and increasing offshore capabilities by service providers in countries like India, are the reasons behind this success.

It is fairly obvious, that outsourcing is ideal for relatively simple customer contacts. If an organisation has no call centre expertise, the benefits offered by an outsourced bureau can be considerable. Some of the major benefits include no capital costs or expensive investments in sophisticated technologies; no interruption to the agency's core business, and savings in cost-per-call because there are no establishment expenses.

However, using an outsourced bureau for a call centre may not be appropriate in certain circumstances. Such circumstances would include the following:

• Hassles with privacy issues;
• The need for complex information to be communicated;
• Interdependence of other sections or personnel;
• Constant need to update information;
• Internal agency systems and processes that are not easily transferable; and
• Proprietary database information maintained by the agency's information technology department.

In these days of specialisation, it makes sense that a company who's core business it is to organise and execute a call centre, is more likely to do a better job at it (although that's not a given)! It's rather like hiring someone to paint your house. You may be able to do a decent job yourself, but the specialist is a great deal quicker at it! So efficiency is a clear benefit.

Being in the call centre business, call centre service providers are more likely to be able to hire skilled and experienced personnel. And, since a service provider (usually) services more than one company, there is more support personnel to go around. Greater numbers are an aid to continuity, as your service isn't jeopardised if an employee decides to leave. Also, since the customer service reps are probably working for more than just your company, you can benefit from lessons learned from other contracts.

Of course, the number one reason for outsourcing is the cost savings. Outsourcing companies can have lower rates because of the greater efficiency, but also through economies of scale, which actually means that fewer personnel are needed for servicing the combined contracts.

Essentially, there are major issues relating to infrastructure, quality, and pricing that normally favour outsourcing.

Outsourced bureaux invariably have infrastructure that is state of the art with modern computing and communication technology. The excellent infrastructure facilities enhance effective call centre management and contact centre services.

Any professional bureau has a focused quality group that evaluates processes internally based on a checklist of requirements, defined by the customer.

Most bureaux have customised price structures based on the type of program and term of project. Once a rate is agreed, normally training, setup, and customised reporting are all free of cost.