What Today's Help Desk/Contact Center Outsourcers Can
(And Should) Offer
BY MAGGIE KLENKE, GETRONICS
Outsourcing used to be a numbers game, and choosing a provider was
relatively easy ' just find the agency that could answer the most calls
in the shortest period of time for the least amount of money. In today's
multichannel world, however, companies need to look beyond initial numbers
to find providers that can adapt to Web, e-mail and/or phone inquiries,
while potentially blending incoming with outgoing contacts. After all,
part of the reason for outsourcing is to avoid added investments in
technology, infrastructure and people. Even if a company does not need all
of these capabilities initially, it is important to select a partner that
can scale to offer support when needed.
Today's outsourcing arrangements are not necessarily all-or-nothing,
but often define a sharing of tasks, media or workloads. The outsourcer
may take all e-mail communications while the client takes all phone calls;
or the client may handle everything up to a certain capacity, with the
overload routed to the outsourcer. Other splits are time of day, normal
load versus special projects, outbound versus in-bound or anything else in
between.
The following are the 10 specific areas that are crucial to the success
of an outsourcing relationship. Ranging from technology to philosophy,
these areas should be explored before signing a contract. A company should
lay down clearly defined objectives and expectations, ask leading
questions, conduct a thorough analysis, keep an open mind and negotiate a
detailed and fair contract.
Technical expertise. The first step is to ensure the
outsourcer's technical capacity. The checklist should include the
capability to offer interconnections, database management and provision of
new services such as IVR capability or Web-based services. Consider not
only current needs, but expected future requirements. Part of the value of
outsourcing is relying on someone who has in-depth experience and can
offer advice regarding the benefits and pitfalls of various options.
Ensure the service provider under consideration has the proper business
contingency planning and security measures in place so it can provide your
organization with your customer data in the event of an unplanned business
disruption. Coordinating a plan that covers contingencies in both the
client and outsourcer's operations will prevent unpleasant surprises
when you can least tolerate them. Developing these plans together is key
to the successful implementation when the unexpected happens.
Experience in your industry sector. For many industries,
it's important that the provider understand the business. If you are in
retail, consider (and speak to) the outsourcer's other clients in that
arena. If you have a tech-support center, consider whether the agents have
the knowledge, experience and certifications they need. It is common for
outsource providers to specialize in certain industries and kinds of work.
This often means they understand the language and the issues that callers
will raise, even if it isn't in the basic training provided on the
client's products and services.
One important piece to discover is the outsourcer's turnover rate
among agents. Many centers have upwards of 30 percent turnover. Make sure
you check the numbers of an outsourcer with which you are considering
doing business.
That doesn't mean you should never be the first client of your type
for a firm. Sometimes the benefits are too compelling to pass up. If,
however, you are the first, expect to make an investment in training the
outsource staff in not only your systems and products, but in the industry
as well. There is likely to be a ramp-up period when some additional
quality monitoring would be advisable.
Experience with the kind of work requested now and planned for
the future. Look for current clients who have similar contact
types, media, etc. Can the reps manage inbound calls with outbound calls
and handle Web inquiries and Web chat? You most likely will not want to
demand that agents blend media or mix inbound and outbound calls, but if
your provider can offer that flexibility, efficiencies and cost savings
might be available.
It's important to determine if there is a clear methodology in place
to deliver superior customer care to your high-end clientele or
conversely, rapidly clean your queue of routine inquiries. These take very
different skills and it is important to ensure that the experience the
outsource partner brings to the game is appropriate to the role intended
for them.
Financial stability. In today's market, you need to
assess the financial stability of your potential provider. Be aware that
they, too, will want data on your company's finances. Symptoms of
financial stress include declining service, staff turnover, delay in
meeting plans for new capabilities and slow payment of bills. Check out
your partner carefully as this is likely to be a long-term relationship
with significant investments involved.
The management team. The philosophy and personnel who
will manage your account must match your company's style. Will their
team blend with your customer service personnel as well as your executive
team? Look for connections and possible disconnects before you make your
selection. Find out how long the team leaders have been with the company
and how many other projects they manage simultaneously. Identify the
experience with this kind of arrangement and look for any history that
should make you cautious.
Also, determine if the outsourcer will provide you with one primary
contact who is dedicated to your account. Sometimes, the management
contacts aren't a good fit. Corporate climates and management
personalities can clash, and this seldom makes for a happy alliance.
The front-line team. If the management team is a fit,
make sure the same is true of the front line ' the people who will touch
the end users or customers. Take time to understand who will be handling
the contacts on your account. Will you have access to dedicated personnel
on your contact handling team, or will you be sharing them with other
clients? Dedicated teams have advantages, but they are more expensive
since the outsource provider loses the all-important economies of scale.
Shared teams are generally less expensive on a contact basis, but more
training for more personnel is required, and the depth of relationships
with callers and understanding of the client business may suffer.
Sometimes a dedicated core team can be supplemented with a general pool of
reps to strike the best balance. There is no right or wrong answer, but it
is important to understand the trade-offs. A company with a large call
volume should consider a dedicated team, but a shared team is probably
more appropriate for a company with lower call volumes.
Reporting capabilities. Before you choose your
outsourcer, determine which data you need, from call statistics to
customer information. This is often one of the most challenging parts of
the integration process and must not be shortcut by either party. Looking
beyond the efficiency component, consider how well your partner can help
gather the customer intelligence you need and deliver it in a usable
fashion.
The contact center will deal with more customers in a single day than
many other organizations will in a month, so it is essential that the
center gather data and make them available in a format that supports your
business needs. It is equally important, though, that the intelligence
gained from other channels ' including the Web, branch offices, retail
stores, etc. ' be made available to the outsource provider's contact
center staff so they can do the best possible job.
Monitoring capabilities and philosophies. An outsourcer
should provide assurance that it is treating your customers the way you
expect them to be treated. Consider how they are to measure service levels
and provide you with these reports. Also be sure to perform independent
measurements and your own monitoring functions. There is generally a
contractual provision on quality scores, so the method of measurement must
be clear.
Customer satisfaction measurement process. Customer
satisfaction measurement is a continuation of the monitoring philosophy
and process. You need to know if your customers feel your products and
services are meeting their needs. Are they satisfied? If not, can your
outsourcer provide statistics sliced and diced in a way that allows you to
address the problem effectively? If not, how about the raw data in a form
you can manipulate? This is not just satisfaction with the performance of
the contact center, but with the company overall and will be key data for
the entire organization. One effective tool your outsourcer can provide is
post-call surveys.
References. After you have short-listed your prospects,
gather customer references and plan the questions to ask of them. Inquire
what they would do differently if they had to do it again and learn from
their experiences. Even a happy customer has ideas about how things could
be better.
Choosing an outsourcer is an involved decision, and not one that you
want to make lightly or often. Following these steps can help ensure that
you find the right fit and that your expectations are met. The answers and
information you gather can help you establish a relationship that works
from the start, and one upon which you can build over time.
Maggie Klenke is managing director of the contact center consulting
practice of Getronics. She was
instrumental in the development of the Call Center University program
offerings that include courses leading to a certification as a
professional call center manager.
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