The call center and outsourcing industry has expanded rapidly worldwide over the last twenty-five years as a result of varying client requirements. Thus, finding a partner that fits with your company’s needs has become increasingly more time consuming.
After you’ve made the decision to outsource parts of your business processes, it’s key to ensure you find an experienced partner that will look after your interests and protect your brand. Onboarding a new partner requires significant resources, so it’s important to conduct proper due diligence. Here are some points to review when meeting with potential outsourced partners:
- Location & Language: The vendor must operate in time zones necessary to service your business. Additionally, many vendors offer multi-lingual support.
- Communication Skills: The team members selected for your account need to be able to communicate effectively and professionally. This includes language fluency, enunciation, accent level, and cultural affinity. Ensure you gain a deep understanding of the potential partner’s hiring and training processes. Do not be afraid to ask for call recordings, secret shop their queues, or hand pick focus groups during site visits.
- Business Culture: The vendor should demonstrate a strong corporate culture with a focus on employee engagement offering both personal and professional growth for its employees. Happy and motivated employees result in a committed staff that provides a better overall customer experience.
- Reliability: Understand the company’s corporate structure and financial backing, as many call centers run into cash flow issues.
- Technology: The vendor should be a fit with the client in terms of both enterprise-level technology and specific applications related to the project at hand.
- Core Skills: Some call centers are better versed in certain processes and industries than others. Ensure your potential partner has experience related to your campaign.
- Reputation: The vendor should be able to provide high-quality references, case studies, evidence of tenure in the business and a solid track record.
- Data Security: It’s critical that the vendor will be able to provide data protection in terms of private information, and protection from unauthorized access. PCI and SOC 2 certifications along with the right levels of insurance are a strong indication of proper security measures.
- Redundancy Planning: Review the company’s IT redundancy plan to ensure campaign uptime requirements can be upheld.
- Strong Management: Learn about the company’s management team, their experience, and performance management practices. This will be the group responsible for protecting your brand and driving results.
To learn more about The Office Gurus’ and our capabilities and strengths related to the above please contact us to schedule a free consultation.
