An Inbound call center can also be defined as a call handling service unit. The main objective of such a center is to provide quick and effective client support. Some of the inbound call center outsourcing services provided are:
Order Taking: This service is outsourced to ensure that all the sales oriented calls care handled. These processes also help the client ensure that all the crucial information regarding the products purchased by the clients is properly stored on a secure server.
Technical Support: This service is extremely crucial for all manufacturing and technological firms. The services offered here include providing relevant, on-time and effective technical support to the callers. Broadly, the services can be classified into the following categories – trouble shooting, product installation and repair, etc.
Customer support is an integral part of all the services provided by inbound call centers. This is why these services require only seasoned or fully trained professionals, who will be able to tackle calls on behalf of the business clients. This will help the inbound call centers build a healthy and constant relationship between the clients and their customers.
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Inbound Call Center Outsourcing
Call Center Outsourcing Trends
In his report titled ‘2007 Trends to Watch: Contact Center Outsourcing and Services’, Peter Ryan commented on the state of the call center outsourcing market at that time, saying, “Not only will more industries be looking to adopt third-party customer care services than ever before, their horizontal functions will be shifting to more profitable requirements.
Additionally, the need to satisfy demand from multiple contact channels as opposed to strictly voice-based services will be crucial for success over the long term. Those outsourcing vendors that properly target industries with realistic and tailored programs and are able to accommodate cross-channel solutions are certain to succeed.”
The truth of these words can be seen in the present market conditions as well. More and more companies are opting to outsource their non-core services, leading to an increase in the number of call center services providers.
This leads us to the all important question of what a call center can do to survive this influx of competition. Listed below are three key areas that make a difference:
- Price Levels: Providing cheaper service while maintaining good service quality.
- Offshore Deployment: One way to ensure a competitive edge is by taking the call centers offshore.
- New Business Models: The client and customer needs are changing. A customized business model is sure to help in the long run.
Offshore Outsourcing Integrates National Economies
Economic globalization is no longer only a dream because of the growth of offshore outsourcing services. Here, globalization is used to refer to a phenomenon, using which all the world regions, societies and cultures gel together with the use of global transportation or communication channels. There are several advantages to this phenomenon, chief among which is the overall technological and intellectual growth of the whole human race.
Economic globalization brought about by the offshore outsourcing services has allowed all the national economies of the world to integrate with each other and achieve equal growth. This can be seen in the present call center outsourcing based system. By outsourcing non-core services to developing nations like India and Brazil, the developed nations are rooting for their growth. On the other hand, companies in the developed countries are using the savings to create even more core jobs onshore.
In fact, the importance of the offshore outsourcing industry in the global economy is described in an article published in a prominent daily of Bangladesh in July 2005, which says, “Citing various studies, the WTO noted that the global turnover from offshore IT services reached 45 billion dollars in 2003, or less than 10 per cent of total world business service exports.”
Offshore Outsourcing Services
According to a report published in the May 2009 issue of Computer World, “…At companies with revenues of at least $5 billion, as many as one quarter of IT jobs will be moved offshore by 2010.” However, most of these companies do so without fully understanding all the benefits of such a business scheme, as the report further went ahead to say, “Numerous surveys indicate that anywhere from 17 percent to 53 percent of customers have not realized business value/return on investment from offshore outsourcing.”
Then why is the offshore call center business still booming? The answer comes in the form of financial savings. By offshoring non-core services to foreign lands, these companies gain advantage of labor arbitrage. This means that they are getting the job done at lower prices than what they would have to pay onshore.
There are several other advantages of offshore outsourcing, such as hiring a workforce that is both talented and eager to work. Developing nations like India have some of the world’s most talented IT professionals, who require only accent improvement to be the ideal candidate for work in any call center.
Offshore Outsourcing Benefits
It was quite some time back that someone had the bright idea of outsourcing their non-core jobs to developing nations like India. By doing so, they not only wanted to capitalize on a growing IT market but also make effective use of a talent pool that just keeps on getting bigger and better. Initially, this concept of offshore outsourcing was referred to as time-sharing and was meant to cut costs. However, over the years, the benefits only grew. Here are some of the common benefits:
Labor Arbitrage: This was the initial gold mine that attracted international firms to start offshore outsourcing. Developing countries have a very vast and talented workforce, which is willing to work at cheaper rates than their international counterparts. This is because of the highly competitive market in these nations and also due to the steep difference in currency values.
Infrastructure: Another reason for the competitive pricing of offshore call center services is that the overall setting up and maintenance of these call centers is pretty low as compared to their international counterparts.
Better Quality of Service: The major international call centers are characterized by their high quality of customer service. Some of them even offer the unique combination of onshore management with offshore services. This way the outsourcing companies are made to feel as if their work is being handled onshore rather than offshore.
Offshore Outsourcing Facts
Many companies have the misconception that offshore outsourcing of services is not in their vested interest, although all the market surveys point to the contrary. Probably this statement by Jack Welch, of General Electric, about outsourcing to developing nations like India will give a clearer view, “A truly global company will be one that uses the intellect and resources of every corner of the world. India is a developed country as far as intellectual capital is concerned.”
One fact that hinders many from offshore outsourcing is the idea of their project being handled by a foreigner. Now they no longer need to worry about this, with the innovative new feature provided by some of the best call center service providers. They call this feature ‘Onshore Management with Offshore Services.’ These call centers have their head offices in all of the developed nations, from where full control can be exercised on the outsourced service.
Another commonly misunderstood fact is that by outsourcing of a service, the company loses all its control over it. This can also be taken care of by hiring a call center firm that creates regular records on vital facts, such as calls made, effective calls, calls received, etc. This way complete control can be exercised on the project.
Offshore Outsourcing Services: Medical Travel and Tourism
Medical tourism is the latest in the outsourcing services provided by tourism and call center firms. It is the act of traveling abroad to get cheaper dental, health or cosmetic care. For example, cosmetic surgery to remove excessive skin will cost somewhere around $20,000 in the US, whereas the same surgery will cost $9,000 in some of the top medical institutions in India. This in no way means that the level of competence is less.
Medical travel and tourism is on the rise in developed countries. People there are traveling to cheaper destinations, which boast highly trained doctors and excellent nursing services. For some patients, the whole journey becomes a pleasure trip with a visit to popular tourist spots while cutting back on the overall expenditure of the treatment process.
Another factor in the favor of such offshore outsourcing services is that several expensive surgeries are not covered by medical insurance. This way a cheaper alternative will help protect one’s the lifetime savings.
Offshore Outsourcing Services and Health care
Companies that are not considering health care outsourcing services are missing out on a potential money saving strategy. According to John Lovelock, health care analyst with Gartner Inc, by offshore outsourcing services not directly associated with patient care, health institutions can achieve savings as high as 20 percent or more. According to Lovelock’s estimates, such organizations make an average savings of about 22 percent, which includes the various IT and non-IT services.
At the Gartner Healthcare IT Summit in Baltimore, John Lovelock said, emphasizing the need for health care outsourcing services, “We are moving toward this simply because healthcare is under a lot of pressure. Healthcare needs to focus on its core business. We need to do what we do well, and stop focusing on what we don’t do well.”
However, before outsourcing such services, security issues must be properly considered. For instance, outsourcing to China may not be as feasible an option for developed nations as compared to outsourcing to India.
Offshore Outsourcing Services and Occupational Health
Offshore outsourcing of services is common and the company’s occupational health outsourcing services is no exception to this rule. A study conducted by the research group called Market and Business Strategy (MBD) shows that 50% of the OH services in the UK in 2005 were outsourced, a trend that is likely to rise substantially over the next four years.
Some of the reasons for leading companies in the US and Europe conducting occupational health outsourcing are:
- Legislative Complexity: It helps increase the legislative obligations for the employers.
- Integration: This way all the occupational health services can be extracted from one supplier. It also facilitates economics of scale.
- It helps keep the headcount in check.
- Continuous Service: Outsourcing services tend to cover up for all the general holidays in the central nation. This ensures continuous service.
Call Centers: Inbound Outbound
An inbound call center is a facility that is dedicated solely to handling calls that have been made to them by the customers. They provide very specific customer service competencies. Some of the most prominent services provided are: customer service, order processing and complaint handling.
Technology has made providing these services very simple. Tools like Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) have helped enrich the customer experience. For instance, with the use of the ACD mechanism, the inbound call center distributes calls to their proper destinations without any manual interference.
An outbound call center, however, has a completely different set of customer services competencies. They involve making calls directly to the customers. The major services categories here are: Telemarketing and Feedback Retrieval. These services require the expertise of the employees to make sure that the customer is comfortable throughout the call and that his attention does not waver.