Companies are often faced with the dilemma of whether to outsource their call centre function to a specialist agency or keep it in-house.
Certainly the decision won't be made lightly and there are a number of factors which need to be taken into consideration. There will be many businesses that have set up their own internal call centre operation, as this activity is an integral part of their business.
Businesses have to weigh up whether or not it is cost effective to have the call centre function handled by trained agents that do not directly work for the business. The answer may be no as the product, service offering or process, or combinations of all may be just too complex to consider outsourcing to a third party.
On many occasions there will be companies that will set up call centres in-house. These may have been set up many years ago, growing from a few seats in an underutilised office space that has now become quite a large call centre team.
Often this can result in the operation not being particularly sophisticated, the skill level required to receive or make calls not being extremely high, or the technology used obsolete.
Trying to set up a call centre operation in-house without the correct expertise, knowledge or technology can have seriously detrimental effects on the corporate image, reputation and success of the business.
Productivity of the call centre must be considered when operating in-house. There are a number of areas that need addressing and cannot be overlooked to ensure productivity is optimised.
An in-house call centre must return value for money for the business and staff must be fully utilised throughout their day or shift. Technology must be able to handle a multi-channel response and a company must invest in staff training to ensure retention is high and that the company can match their employees' ambitions.
A business must be able to scale up or down as call volumes demand and customer service must be at the highest possible level. In addition, a company must ensure that staff are fully aware of Data Protection, PCI Compliance, TPS and all other regulatory considerations.
To make the whole process a lot easier, it is worth considering outsourcing. There are many benefits of appointing an outside expert as they will be able to address all of the above concerns and make the process readily available.
Additionally, an outsourced external partner allows the company to focus on its core business activities and not spend valuable time in areas where they are less experienced. They can let the experts take control, and retain manpower and hours to support their core corporate offering.
Flexibility is another key asset that an outsourced specialist call centre offers. A client can appoint a specialist call centre for any length of campaign, and this scalability enables further cost cutting.
Once initial agent training is complete, outsourced call centres are able to commence work with immediate effect and this is far quicker than a company setting up its own centre. The service can be switched on or off during cycles of activity and companies only need to pay for what they use.
Specialist outsourced call centres will also have important measurements in place to monitor the successes of every campaign.
It is becoming increasingly important to offer consumers as many marketing touchpoints as possible. 北京赛车pk10 elements include email, phone, SMS and mail, and consumers are frequently reminded of all alternative channels.
To set up and operate a multi-channel service in-house may be too expensive or difficult to run if it is not your forte. Using an outsourced expert that has these applications in place will be extremely beneficial.
In addition, companies and brands can take advantage of other services offered by outsourced agencies. The call centre might be part of a wider spectrum of services, and by outsourcing other requirements under one roof, companies can make further savings.
As financial gloom threatens the national skyline, outsourcing can become a source of comfort for UK plc.