Benefits of Australian Businesses using an overseas call centre
From the Editor: Well you can’t say we don’t provide a balanced opinion!
In a recent article appearing on www.anthill.com.au the author suggested the basic concept that by offshoring your Australian call centre, you will save over 60% (compared to running it onshore) and that will free up lots of money to invest back into your business to make it more innovative.
The author was Scott Stavretis, CEO of one of the fastest growing outsourcers in the Phillipines, Acquire BPO so it would be fair to say there is a pretty clear reason as to why Scott may be pushing that agenda.
That said, we’ve reported before on why using an overseas call centre is so attractive (it saves money) but in my view this comes at the risk of a lower customer experience.
As we are continuing to report, the customer experience is becoming the key differentiator for brands across the world so outsourcing to save a few dollars now may come at a much higher price later.
To be clear, I’m not anti-offshoring.
Using an overseas call centre can and will be a viable alternative for a lot of organisations (especially with better customer segmentation and routing tools available) but I’m still yet to find anyone who will confidently proclaim that offshoring will provide a better customer experience, so ultimately there is always a higher price to pay.
What are your thoughts?
Why Australian businesses should use an overseas call centre to boost innovation
We currently work in a business environment where our ability to compete will depend on our ability to innovate.
In this age of connectivity, there is now a huge amount of knowledge that can be shared and accessed at any time, making speed of innovation the strongest source of sustainable advantage for a company.
However, constant innovation requires company resources – it needs focus, time, manpower and of course, financial resources.
Business leaders are continually looking at new ways of reducing costs while still maintaining high productivity.
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is one approach Australian companies can take to assist in freeing up fiscal and human capital.
At a minimum, businesses can save up to 60 per cent on current contact centre costs (versus an overseas call centre), which can then be reinvested back into the core business and enable a shift towards high value tasks.
Why outsource?
This approach gives Australian companies the opportunity to invest into what will give them a true competitive advantage, rather than just straight business processes.
While there is a perception that offshoring can negatively impact a business’s brand and operations, many Australian companies have reported an increase in service standards after successfully offshoring their customer service centre, with NPS scores proving a key barometer of clients’ success.
This has been achieved by having a high calibre of staff who are dedicated to this field and ensure calls and contacts are responded to immediately, while also minimising time on the phone for customers.
A BPO gives Australian businesses the freedom to grow a sustainable and scalable organisation which can achieve its business objectives whilst leveraging a cost base that other global organisations enjoy.
In this day and age, there are some roles which are already recognised as jobs that will be outsourced.
These include customer service, software, app and web development, and accounts payable/receivable.
However there are also a variety of other positions where we are likely to see a shift towards outsourcing.
Is offshoring the future?
Over the next five years, we will see engineering design, for example, infrastructure and product development, full management accounting, data science/analytics and even various types of marketing services, including digital marketing, social engagement and creative services outsourced.
Any roles which are formulaic or are heavily processed driven are easiest to offshore; however, any role that doesn’t need personable contact can be.
By freeing up valuable staff and financial resources, you have the ability to tightly focus your company on the products and services which your company is best at producing.
One of the best ways to future-proof your company is to consider a BPO.
In an age where innovation, productivity and competitiveness are key pursuits for Australian business, outsourcing has become a tool that drives sustainable and scalable solutions with customer experience at its heart.
Recommended reading: Do customers really care about the call centre location?
Find a complete list of call centre outsourcers and BPOs where you can quickly search by country and area of expertise on our CX Directory >
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