More and more companies consider the contact center a strategic ally; as the company grows and the customers multiply, it turns out to be indispensable to rely on a channel that becomes the link between the end-user and the company.
But, what should we take into consideration at the moment of deciding to invest on an in-house call center (in our own facilities) or to hire the services of an external contact center?
In-house
Generally, the companies decide having an in-house contact center for a confidentiality reason, since they do not wish to deliver information for a data base.
The election process
One of the chief disadvantages appears from the beginning. The company’s Human Talents Department is not trained for carrying on a personnel selection process for a call center; it has no descriptions of the specific center posts, therefore errors can be committed when selecting the project members.
Support Department
At the contact center we have key support departments, which at an in-house are not the exception; the system and the development departments are tantamount for the existence of any center. However, this issue may become so complicated that the center operation has to be stopped due to lack of software support or development, which allow the continuity of management.
Contact Center Platform
Another in-house contact center weakness is specialized software meant for the operation: generally, these kinds of programs need strong investment, and this does not always happen.
Outsourcing Call Center
Until now we have indicated, in this article, every point to have in mind at the moment of setting an in-house center. Now we are going to compare them with the election of an outsourcing call center.
Selection Processes: these are profiles defined according to the kind of campaign (competency-based selection).
Payroll: The payroll, as well as the social benefit charges, is assumed by the center, and this is very convenient in relation with the company’s costs.
Support department: Human Resources, Systems, Department of Finances, each link is set in motion, so that the Operation Department can work at the contact center.
Contact Center Platform: Since to market the contact center specialized service constitutes a change of direction for the company, a strong, profitable and reliable platform is sustained to deal with every tailor-made requirement.
The companies will have to weigh every element they need to take into account when choosing between an in-house and an outsourcing center. This will depend on the company’s size, on the importance of counting on a channel of communication, as well as on the objectives posed for the business plan. Generally, the outsourcing center turns out to be the best strategic ally for any company which seeks retaining their customers’ loyalty, providing what we all want: attention.
Source: CCN
