Physically, a Call Centre is a place where a group of people handle large number of incoming or outgoing calls for the purpose of sales, marketing, customer services or other specialised business actively.
Call Centre is typically set up as a room with workstations that include phones connected to ACD system/software of the PABX, computer and a supervisor. It also includes reporting tools to measure agents and call centre performance and monitor the real time activity.
The end result is an information exchange that adds value to your business.
The call center is the lifeline of any organization connecting it to the outside world delivering critical information and representing the company to hundreds of people every day anywhere in the world.
The call center is the lifeline of any organization connecting it to the outside world delivering critical information and representing the company to hundreds of people every day anywhere in the world.
For smaller functions the realizations of benefits are sooner then an entire function, that might take months.
In the early days, BPO usually consisted of outsourcing processes such as payroll. Then it grew to include employee benefits management. Now it encompasses a number of functions that are considered "non-core" to the primary business strategy.
Now it is common for organizations to outsource financial and administration (F&A) processes, human resources (HR) functions, call center and customer service activities and accounting and payroll.
Getting buy-in to outsourcing as the right strategic choice from within your own organization
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Getting the right contract in place to benefit your business and your outsourcer.
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Fear of taking outsourcing company as the business partner?
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Unavailability of a transition plan from moving your centre operation to the outsourcer. Many organizations do not plan for this
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Fear of being exposed for unethical practices
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Job losses
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Lose of control over the processed
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Closing down of one’s own department
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Quality problems
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Slow response time
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Slow resolution times
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Irritated employees, unions, people within community
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Finding the right Outsourcing partner.
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Threat to security and confidentiality in outsourcing
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The employees in your organization might not like the idea of you outsourcing your processes and they might express lack of interest or lack of quality at work
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In outsourcing, you may lose your control over the process that is outsourced
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There can be several disadvantages in outsourcing, such as, renewing contracts, misunderstanding of the contract, lack of communication, poor quality and delayed services amongst others.
Get a strong Executive Sponsor to handle the internal politics and stakeholders
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Define up front what you want the outsourcer to do and what you don’t want them to do
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Engage the operational team who will manage the outsourcer on a day to day basis. Have them involved in the project at an early stage as possible
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Review several outsourcers to identify which is the best business fit for your company (do they understand your brand etc). May be involve multiple partners where possible
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The contract should be a win-win situation
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Ensuring that the outsourced centre is not out of sight and out of mind is also important.
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Putting a senior executive in charge with defined accountability for the outsourced function will ensure this does not happen.
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By having the right service level and performance indicators
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Outsourcing your non-core activities will give you more time to concentrate on your core business processes
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Outsourcing can give you access to professional, expert and high-quality services
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With outsourcing your organization can experience increased efficiency and productivity in non-core business processes
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Outsourcing can help you streamline your business operations
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outsourcing can help you save on time, effort, manpower, operating costs and training costs amongst others
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Outsourcing can make your organization more flexible to change
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You can experience an increased control of your business with outsourcing
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Your organization can save on investing in the latest technology, software and infrastructure as your outsourcing partner would be investing in these
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Outsourcing can give you assurance that your business processes are being carried out efficiently, proficiently and within a fast turnaround time
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Outsourcing can help your organization save on capital expenditures
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By outsourcing, your company can save on management problems as your offshore partner will be managing the team who does your work
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By outsourcing, you can cater to the new and challenging demands of your customers
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Outsourcing can help your organization to free up its cash flow
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Sharing your business risks is possible with outsourcing
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Outsourcing can give your business a competitive advantage as you will be able to increase productivity in all the areas of your business
Call Center and customer service centric jobs will keep growing in Pakistan. This growth will surpass all other segments and therefore as the service industry grows more and more jobs will open for individuals with right education and experience.
Government of Pakistan has announced policy for the establishment of Call Centers in Pakistan to provide services to offshore companies. Government is eager to search for new opportunities for the betterment of services and generation of additional revenue and plenty of employment opportunities.
Being labor intensive, call center business is becoming a major source of employment generation in developing countries like Pakistan and India where the labor charges are comparatively low and educated class is fluent in English language. Apart from employment opportunities, this business would become one of the major sources of foreign exchange earning for the country as well.
Pakistan has invested heavily in technical education and can provide a ready supply of bright people at relatively low cost. 30,000 students are trained annually for different IT sectors are trained annually for different IT business application, CRM, Networking, software Development etc. 1 million internet users and growing fast.
Over 400 cities and towns connected to internet.
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Tax & regularity incentives
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Excellent Telecom Infrastructure in major cities.
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Combination skill sets easily available.
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Large pool of English speaking professionals.
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4,000 graduates and post graduates annually, specializing in information technology.
Although it is really very difficult to give the exact number of Call Centers in the USA. There are thought to be 69,500 call centers in the US, growing to approximately 78,000 in 2003.
By the year 2003, firms are expected to spend $90 billion a year on CRM. (IDC). The worldwide call center services market totaled $23 billion in revenues in 1998, and is projected to double to $58.6 billion by 2003 (IDC). Outsourcing is the largest segment, with $17 billion in 1998, or 74% of the total market, headed for $42 billion in 2003. (IDC)
