Call Center Outsourcing Risks and How to Mitigate Them
Many companies are always looking to save money. Businesses outsource their call center operations for this reason. However, managers of these companies must understand the risks that come with outsourcing before they make a decision. There are many benefits of outsourcing your call center but there are also drawbacks you need to be aware of first. We will cover some of those risks and how you can mitigate them so you don't face any unpleasant surprises in the future!
Outsourced call center operations have been a success for many companies. The biggest benefit of outsourcing your call center is it can save you money. While this may be true, some risks come with delegating customer service to another company. If done incorrectly, these risks could come at a high cost to the business and end up costing you more than what you save.
One of the biggest risks of outsourcing your call center is security. Make sure you know how secure your information will be once it's passed on to another company like how secure is their server, who has access to your data, and what type of security protocols are in place that protects your sensitive data. If you aren't convinced about the security of your data, don't try to cut costs by outsourcing. It's better to spend a little more on your in-house staff than risk losing your clients' sensitive information.
Some other risks associated with outsourcing customer service includes:
Poor Service
Your customers deserve better than to be put on hold for a long time.
How to Reduce Them
Make sure your company is equipped with a system that keeps customers from waiting too long on the line before giving up and going somewhere else.
Lost or Stolen Data
In addition to poor service, your customers may be giving out your private information through an insecure call center.
Tips to Reduce This Risk
Make sure the company you choose has all the right security protocols in place before allowing them to handle any sensitive data.
Contract Breaches
Remember that outsourcing customer service isn't always bad, but signing a contract with a service provider you are unfamiliar with is a risk you must be aware of.
How to Reduce Them
Make sure to thoroughly review any contract before signing it, and do not allow the service provider to make changes after signing.
Failure to Meet Deadlines
Outsourcing customer engagements means you can gain access to a large pool of resources. It also means you're relying on another company to provide those resources on time. If the service provider fails to meet your deadlines, you run the risk of alienating customers and losing money.
Tips to Reduce This Risk
Avoid locking yourself into a single provider. This ensures that you have a backup if the service provider's staff can't handle your expectations.
Unprofessionalism
Customer service outsourcing isn't limited to your employees. It also includes the end-user; the people who will be handling calls and e-mails from consumers. If you're not hiring a dedicated team to handle these engagements, then you run the risk of unprofessionalism and poor-quality work.
How to Reduce Them
If you're outsourcing your call center functions, choose a provider that employs English-speaking agents who understand and follow procedures.
Customer complaints about the quality of work should be taken seriously and addressed with training and feedback to employees.
Poor Communication
If you don't communicate with your clients and give them opportunities to provide feedback or ask questions, they won't feel comfortable working with you. If you are too busy to communicate with your clients then they'll get the message that you don't care about their business or that they're not important enough.
Tips to Reduce This Risk
Make sure that agents are polite, professional, and ready to communicate in a way that respects the clients.
Payment Issues
If you don't fully understand the billing process then you won't be able to take advantage of opportunities or properly negotiate with prospective clients. Also, if you're unable to pay your staff on time it will lead to problems with high employee turnover.
Tips to Reduce This Risk
Make sure to read your contract carefully and if you feel like you can't understand it, bring in an expert.
Contract Issues
Getting locked into a long-term contract while rates are low is risky because you'll be obligated to offer service at that price even when rates go up. Also, you may end up paying more than the market rate for some services which could lead to higher turnover and dissatisfied employees.
How to Reduce Them
Never sign a contract for longer than a year. Make sure you're given the option of canceling, suspending, or reducing services if something unexpected happens.
Customer Issues
Because you outsource your call center to a different company, it will be harder to provide personalized service and ensure that customers are receiving prompt service. Also, many third-party call centers have higher turnover rates, which can lead to troubleshooting problems with employees who are inexperienced or do not know the product well.
Tips to Reduce These Risks
Customize your outsourcing contract so that you're able to give feedback on services and see reports of customer satisfaction. Also, make sure that your company is given access codes so that you can properly monitor daily activities.
Employee Turnover
It is tough to measure the impact of employee turnover on your outsourcing contract. While many companies use third-party call centers as a way to save money, one concern is whether or not they are sacrificing service quality by having inexperienced employees handle calls.
Tips to Reduce This Risk
Company turnover is minimized by creating a positive working environment. It might be useful to provide employees with incentives for good performance. Turnover is also less of an issue when using offshore call centers since they are focused on building long-term relationships with their clients.
Conclusion
Outsourcing your call center operations to a reliable provider can help you manage costs, improve customer service quality and decrease the time it takes for agents to handle calls. But some risks come with outsourcing, too. To mitigate these risks, do thorough research on potential providers before signing any contracts or agreements. We provide free consultations where our experts will work with you to create an outsourcing plan tailored just for your company's needs!
