How NOT to Stress About Outsourcing Customer Service and Sit Back Like a Boss

Outsourcing customer service is adapted by 12% of U.S. companies. Due to our seemingly infinite interconnectivity, outsourcing of work globally came as a result. It is not uncommon for a company or an entrepreneur today to have workers outsourced (most of them off-shore), in fact, it is considered a necessity for various reasons although sentiments largely differ. Statistics shows that a total of 2,273,392 U.S. jobs were outsourced in 2011.

But, why the stress?

While customer serving outsourcing takes a tremendous load off a business owner’s shoulders, for some, it seems only to be replaced by a different bag of burdens such as remote and/or timezone coordination. Consumers spouted backlash regarding ineffective communication due to language and cultural barriers.

Many also view outsourcing customer service is the quickest way to bankruptcy due to low-quality work done by “human cronjobs”, limited ability of outsourced workers to do creative and abstract thinking, and alleged outsource agencies’ malicious tricks in the trade.

Long story short, outsourcing = bad idea = loss

Are you constantly looking over your shoulders, worried that you have made or will be making the wrong decision? Read on…

Warding Off Stress from Outsourcing Any Kind of Customer Service Effectively

Why do some companies and small businesses report outsourcing success? Why do others quit because of failure?

The difference lies between their view about outsourcing, their business process, the research they’ve done, and the keeping in touch with their outsourcing agency.

Think: “We don’t outsource. Rather, we recruit globally.”

The word here is “recruit”.

More often than not, the actual reasons one has in mind when outsourcing work usually determine its success or failure. Goes the same for outsourcing customer service, specifically, live chat support.

One has to have the right reasons for outsourcing. The ideal reason is: You have more valuable things to do.

If your sole reason is to pay cheap labor or to cut costs, the resulting mindset is “I’m moving workloads from expensive to cheap workers”. Most likely you’ll get human cronjobs along with the dark side of outsourcing.

On the other hand, if you’re thinking along the lines of: “I’m going to chase and recruit talent where I can find it, and if I can find top-tier talent in (insert lower salary arbitrage country here), I’ll prefer to hire it there”, you can actually get out high-quality work.

Which of the two you think would lead to success?

Have a clear process in place

Managers need to understand that outsourcing (whether on-shore or off-shore) doesn’t replace proper and good process.

So let me ask you from the get-go: have you specified a process for your outsourced workforce? Do you have one in mind before you partner with an outsourcing agency?

A proper and good process right from the start is the foundation for the success of outsourcing your customer service.

The onboarding session is the “big”, if not the single opportunity, for you to specify how the task you’re outsourcing should be done, what your expectations are, the results you want, additional skills you (might) need from an outsourced worker (if any), your business policies, feedback procedures, key performance indicators, and other essential information that you consider will give you the maximum results and satisfaction.

Research, research, and compare

Going around for an outsourcing company is a bit like shopping. Too often, majority of us consumers would readily go for the lowest prices only to be disappointed in the end.

I’m sure you as a business owner and as a manager have now realized that it’s hardly about the price, else fine dining will never make a single dime. You know better!

When doing your research, there is at least one entity you’ll have to deal with – the freelancer you’re going to outsource work to, or the agency.

For many entrepreneurs, hiring an individual vs an agency is mostly the first decision they have to make. Whether you choose one over the other, the consequent research to be done is quite similar.

Whether you’ll be getting an individual or an outsourcing agency for your business, always remember to NEVER skip vetting the competency of applicants. Look for solid evidence that could back their “maximum satisfaction” claims, among other things to keep in mind.

And just like canvassing or shopping, it would be best to have a checklist in hand!

To Sum It All Up…

The confidence and the peace of mind that comes after making a business decision, be it having a free live chat feature for your Ecommerce site or hire a customer chat service, can only result from a careful, thorough research and comparisons, having a clear process in place, and having the right mindset about outsourcing.