How to Outsource Your Call Centre: 5 Steps to Outsource Your Call Centre Operations

Outsourcing your call centre helps you delegate your call centre department to a business that specializes in it and enables you to focus on what you know how to do best.

However, the wrong call centre outsourcing partner can provide customer support services that could make your customers hate your company.

You’d agree the key then is in the choosing. That’s what you’ll learn how to do in this article. We share 5 simple steps you can follow to outsource your call centre operations and go to bed in peace every day.

Let’s begin by first understanding the basics.

What is call centre outsourcing?

Call centre outsourcing means hiring an external customer service provider.

These call centre outsourcing solutions handle your customer communication through phone, email, chat, or other channels. The outsourcing company employs and trains agents and sets up the customer support or call centre software that they use.

What are the advantages of outsourcing your call centres?

When you outsource your call centre, you get the following:

Reduced costs of hiring, training and managing employees.
Scalability to meet business needs and ensure enough agents for customer inquiries.
Advanced software enhances customer experience and agent productivity.
Outsourcing provider handles customer communication, freeing time for your core functions.
24/7 customer service support with more flexible working hours.
Multilingual support expands your customer base and caters to diverse languages.
Experienced agents get training to deliver excellent customer service for higher satisfaction.

Now, who wouldn’t desire all these advantages for their business?

However, everything comes with a minor cost. And no, we’re not talking about money but the possible downsides of call centre outsourcing.

What are the disadvantages of outsourcing your call centre?

Heads-up! Here are a few drawbacks to outsourcing a call centre so you are well-prepared to make an informed decision:

Outsourcing your call centre to a foreign country creates language barriers. It causes miscommunication between your customers and the call centre agents.
Monitoring and enforcing your customer service standards can be challenging. You can’t control the quality of service your customers receive from a distance.
Customer service agents from different cultures may need to learn cultural nuances.
Sharing sensitive customer data with a third party increases data breach risks.
Outsourcing your call centre means entrusting a third party to represent your brand. This results in a potential loss of control over your brand image and messaging.
Outsourcing your call centre may seem cost-effective. However, language training, quality control, and monitoring costs may increase with time.

But with the right outsourced service provider, customer support tools, and effective training, you can easily make the advantages outweigh the drawbacks.

Here are five steps you can follow to ensure you choose the right call centre outsource partner.

5 steps to outsource your call centre operations

We have outlined five simple steps to streamline the process of your call centre’s outsourcing.

Let’s get into the details.

1. Assess the need for call centre outsourcing

Outsourcing call centre operations starts with assessing the need for outsourcing.

So how do you do that?

First, you need to check your call centre’s current performance. Then, identify areas for improvement by reviewing call centre metrics. KPIs include call volumes, response times, and customer satisfaction rates.

The goal is to determine if outsourcing the call centre will improve the performance.

The second thing you need to know is how your business will benefit from outsourcing call centre operations.

For this, analyse the costs and performance advantages of outsourcing it. As well as the potential risks involved and how you plan to mitigate their effect.

Once you do that, it’s time to find the right outsourcing provider for your business.

2. Find the right call centre outsourcing provider

Once you identify the needs, you need to find the right outsourcing provider.

Here are some factors to consider when choosing a call centre outsourcing provider:

Compare call centre outsourcing costs with in-house operations. Choose a provider with transparent pricing.
Find a provider with extensive industry experience and a proven track record. Check their references and case studies for knowledge and expertise.
Research the provider’s reputation for delivering reliable and quality services in the industry.
A provider’s services should include multilingual help and 24/7 customer service.
Choose a provider with modern technology and infrastructure to handle the call volume.
Ensure a cultural fit between your business and the outsourcing provider. Choose the one that aligns with your values and goals.

Once you decide, the next step is transitioning.

3. Plan for a successful transition

Planning is the first rule for becoming successful in anything. You’ve obviously heard this a million times. But it is still true.

Effective planning is vital for successful call centre outsourcing because it:

Minimises service disruption and ensures smooth handover to the new provider.
Enhances understanding of your business processes by the outsourcing provider.
Facilitates proper training of agents under your business standards.
Establishes clear communication channels between the provider and your company.

Create a detailed transition plan covering all transfer process aspects. Your plan should include timelines, milestones, roles, and duties.

4. Managing the outsourcing relationship

Use the following tips for managing the outsourcing relationship:

Schedule regular meetings with your outsourcing provider. Discuss performance metrics and any concerns or feedback you have. It will help you identify any issues early on and address them quickly.
Provide regular feedback to your outsourcing provider, both positive and negative. It will help them improve their performance and meet your business needs.
Measure service quality with customer feedback, call monitoring, and other metrics. Identify any areas for improvement and ensure the service meets your standards.
Prepare to address any issues that arise promptly. It will help sustain a good working relationship with your outsourcing provider.

After working on your relationship with the outsourcing provider, it’s time to measure the success metrics.

5. Measuring and evaluating results

Tracking the performance of outsourced call centre operations helps you monitor customer satisfaction, first-call resolution, and call volume.

You can determine whether the outsourcing provider meets your expectations.

To measure and evaluate results effectively, consider the following tips:

Set clear performance goals and benchmarks for the outsourcing provider.
Analyse performance metrics regularly and discuss them with outsourcing providers.
Assess service quality using customer feedback and satisfaction surveys.
Review your outsourcing arrangement for cost savings and other benefits.
Analyse performance evaluations to inform future outsourcing decisions.

By measuring and evaluating the success of your outsourcing arrangements, you ensure your call centre operations continue to deliver results.

You might encounter some common and resolvable challenges while evaluating your call centre’s outsourcing provider. Let’s take a look at these possible challenges.

What are the common challenges in call centre outsourcing?

When you’re aware of the challenges that lie ahead, you can better prepare to address them.

Watch out for these common challenges that you’ll face when outsourcing call centres:

Language barriers hinder communication when outsourcing call centres.
A cultural difference between the outsourcing provider and customers can require extra effort.
It is tricky to know whether an outsourcing provider meets company standards.
Outsourcing call centre operations increases the risk of data breaches, especially in countries with lax data protection laws.
High turnover rates among call centre employees can impact service quality and continuity.
Additional expenses like training and software licensing can result in cost overruns.

But we won’t leave you with just the challenges.

How can you overcome call centre outsourcing challenges?

Follow these tips to address the common challenges when outsourcing your call centre:

Outsource your call centre to providers with fluent agents or train agents in languages.
Consider visiting the call centre and providing cultural training to agents.
Set clear expectations and consider outsourcing to call centres with aligned time zones.
Provide feedback to the outsourcing provider to address quality control issues. Perform performance evaluations and call monitoring.
Audit and monitor your call centre outsourcing provider’s processes and use encrypted communication channels.

You are now fully prepared to outsource a call centre provider.

But with numerous options available, how do you find that needle in the haystack?

We have the answer for you.

Just in case you decide to run your own call centre

Assessing the need for outsourcing is essential, but finding the right provider to ensure the best customer service is more important.

But if you finally decide to do it in-house, we have just the perfect call centre solution for you.

TelebuHub – our top-notch call centre solution.

TelebuHub has a comprehensive suite of features. It includes inbound and outbound call centres, multilingual support, and AI-powered chatbots. These features make TelebuHub the top choice for your business.

So, what are you waiting for? Contact us to learn more, or sign up for a free trial now.

Vasudev Jagarlamudi

Vasudev Jagarlamudi is responsible for Happy Customers at Telebu Communications. After working in various roles from sales and marketing to product management, he found his calling in customer service. As the head of Customer Service, he ensures that every issue that the client expresses is a chance to earn a Karma point. Vasudev believes that all answers are found in books, deep conversations, and good questions.