Working with an Outsourced Contact Centre
With advancements in communication technology a call to the other side of the world can sound as clear as one made ‘round the corner’. As a result call centres of all shapes, sizes, languages and locations are offering everything from simple messaging services to customer support and order processing.
With a wide choice available it can be hard to make the right decision when choosing a partner – before deciding who you want to work with there are a few things to consider:
- What type of calls / activity do you plan to outsource?
- How do you plan to outsource it? Do you expect the contact centre to adopt your system and be attached to your network, if so, you need to check they have this capability
- Where do you want to outsource to? Would your customers be happy dealing with operators overseas or would you prefer someone closer to home?
- Does your provider ‘get’ your business model and what you’re trying to achieve
- Do they have the right infrastructure (team and technology) to deliver what you’re looking for
These are just a few of the questions to ask before you begin – they’ll help you create a shortlist of the most viable options.
Deciding to Outsource
Once you have made the decision to outsource the next step is to determine how much or little should be covered by your partner – is this all inbound calls or a specific department or service? Your partner should be delegated to like any other member of your team and your expectations should be in line with the services they offer. If they don’t offer what you need, they’re not the right company for you.
Choosing your Outsourcing Partner
As above you need to establish whether the services provided by your partner meet your requirements, make sure what you want is something they can comfortably handle.
It is also important to look out for references and recommendations. If you have contacts within your industry already outsourcing then ask for their thoughts and once you’ve whittled down your shortlist making some test calls is essential, giving you a true picture of the level of service the company provide.
Building an Effective Working Relationship
With your expectations set out from day one, you must be ready to treat your outsourcing partner as any other member of your team and your partner should be happy to integrate your systems and processes as required.
Your partner will also need to be kept adrift of all key business information, regular updates and meetings are essential to ensure performance and service levels remain at their optimum. Starting out with this attitude from day one will ensure your partner knows you mean business and you want to make a success of this as much as they do.
Working with Aquarius
Aquarius is proud to provide contact centre services to a wide range of clients. All of our operators are based in the UK and handle calls from over 200 organisations on a daily basis!
When you decide to outsource we hope that your choice is to work with Aquarius. If you’d like to find out more about how we can support your business contact us on 0800 044 3090