When the phrase, “customer service jobs” is uttered, it can bring up a lot of negative emotions and feelings. Customer service jobs in the United States have been outsourced to developing countries for decades.
It is not a new business strategy phenomenon.
It is a hot button issue because of the politicized and emotional notion that every available job in the United States should be reserved for Americans.
A customer service representative aids consumers by procesing orders, responding to complaints, answering questions, providing information, and helping consumers however possible related to a business’ operations. Customer service representatives can work in an office or remotely.
However, as much as American businesses are criticized for outsourcing jobs offshore, the truth is that many Americans are not enthusiastic about such jobs.
Over 4 million Americans abruptly quit their jobs in April 2021. It was the highest mass job exit in over 20 years. It’s a phenomenon known as “The Great Resignation.”
And they weren’t just leaving secure jobs due to the pandemic, low-wages, or life dissatisfaction, though they were mitigating factors.
Americans are entrepreneurial spirits, and so many are leaving their jobs in mass numbers to start their own businesses or find their dream job.
Over 10 million low to medium wage jobs were available in August 2021 alone, according to recent Labor Department data.
The point is that in the digital business world of the 21st century, Americans are becoming more entrepreneurial and yearning for work that affirms their ambitions. Additionally, remote work is steadily becoming the norm.
So, businesses outsourcing entire departments offshore, like a customer service department, isn’t seen as being out of the norm as it used to be.
Here are three keys to successfully outsourcing your customer service operations offshore.
Do you need assistance outsourcing your customer service operations offshore? Contact BrainCX today.
Related: The BCX Video Experience
What Is Outsourcing?
Outsourcing is the business practice of hiring a third-party company, usually an affiliated company, to set up an office offshore in a developing country to perform a formerly internal work function that will be transferred to the offshore office.
For example, instead of having a customer service division in-office, all customer service operations would be transferred offshore. Qualified local workers would be hired to work as customer service representatives in the outsourced offshore location.
While your business would monitor operations, the third-party facilitator would be primarily responsible for setting up the outsourced offshore office and setting up operations.
The third-party facilitator would be responsible for connecting your business’ customers to customer service representatives hired and trained by the facilitator.
Outsourcing does not mean that your business can just forget about your customer service division. Your business must always monitor its progress while trusting that the closely aligned third-party facilitator will run it professionally and efficiently.
Customer service efficiency is vital for the success of your company. But outsourcing it offshore with the aid of a trusted partner will allow you to focus more on othe important business aspects.
So, what are the benefits of outsourcing customer services operations offshore for a business?
Why Outsource Customer Service?
There are a few notable benefits to outsourcing your customer service operations offshore, but the most obvious one is the cost saving benefits
A 2010 Harvard Business Review article estimated that a business could save anywhere between 10% to 30%, or more, on various operating costs by outsourcing part of its operations.
Outsourcing your customer service operations offshore enables your company to offer your customers access to representatives who speak more than one language.
Overly repetitive tasks, like answering the same question form many different customers, can be left to the outsourced offshore staff while your company focuses on more important matters.
Outsourcing will also enable your business to offer more customer service options and coverage to customers. Customer service representatives outsourced to other countries work in different time zones.
So, you can now offer 24-hour and daily customer service coverage to your consumers. Almost 82% of American consumers will stop patronizing a company if they endure a bad customer service experience or can’t access it.
When you allow a trusted third-party facilitator to run your outsourced offshore operations, your business will have more time to focus on other business matters. Renewed focus on business operations can allow you to scale up or expand operations sooner than later.
3 Successful Ways To Outsource Your Customer Service
1) Establish Your Brand’s Tone
Your offshore and outsourced customer service operations can be used to professionally establish your company’s brand and tone.
As previously mentioned, 82% of American consumers will turn their back on a company if they endure a negative customer service experience.
Your company can create a set of operating guidelines that exactingly specify what your outsourced customer service representatives can and cannot say. You can craft a script with prompts that helps them interact with customers.
And your guidelines can ensure that your outsourced customer service representatives are conducting themselves professionally and in a way that represents and professionally establishes the tone of your brand.
2) Review Numerous Options
All customer service operations do operate in the same way or with the same goals.
Some customer service operations are operationally designed to deal with high-volume calls during holiday seasons and tax-free sales days.
Other customer service offices are more trained to handle the tedious task of answering the same question, having repetitive conversations, or providing the same information over and over for hours on end.
This part of customer service is tedious, but it is the cost of doing business and every customer will demand respect for asking trivial questions.
Other customer service offices are designed to deal with more unpredictable and in-depth situations and business solutions with customers who have serious purchase problems.
Outsourcing your customer service operations offshore will allow you to explore which or how many such options apply to your business model.
3) Train Your Customer Service Specialists
Make sure that your new outsourced customer service representatives are thoroughly trained like their American counterparts. They should go through mock customer service drills to gauge how they will react to various situations involving American consumers.
The better that your customer representatives interact with your customers, the more established your brand becomes.
Your customers have an expectation of how your company interacts with them, especially via customer service. Make sure those expectations are met and exceeded after an outsourcing transition.
Where To Find Offshore Customer Service Agents
Many emerging economies and developing countries are developing nascent middle classes and radically improving their educational standards.
While many Americans do not learn another language, many people in the foreign countries and the developing world speak one or more languages.
And there are many places in the world to find qualified customer service agents.
Call Centers
You or a third-party business facilitator can find qualified workers in international call centers or call center recruitment agencies.
Call centers in Asia and Africa feature educated, multilingual employees who speak fluent English. And many international call centers now feature agents with empathy training to optimize the experience with the customer.
Freelancing Sites
You can also find quality international customer service employees for your offshore operations on various freelancing and gig economy worksites.
Many qualified candidates even post their resumes on such sites.
Referrals
A trusted third-party facilitator or business partner, like BrainCX, can provide referrals, partner selection options, technology outsourcing, and digital transformation strategies.
Conclusion
Like remote working or e-commerce, outsourcing a portion of a business’ operations is now the norm.
Outsourcing your customer service operations can save you up to 30% and optimize your business operations.
And it can allow you to focus on other business aspects that can help your business expand sooner.
Do you need guidance on outsourcing implementation strategies? Contact BrainCX today.
Related: The BCX Experience
