Outsourcing is when you contract a partner that can give technical support without them being a part of your company. Working alongside a technical outsourcing company will definitely have its benefits, for instance, they can do the job faster and they will already have all the tools required to do the job. But with all the good comes certain doubt, meaning that the company you are hiring to provide technical support to your customers will be the face of your company, so you need to choose wisely and plan ahead to avoid any inconsistencies with your brand.
Go for IT!
When a business process is outsourced, it can provide the company significant cost savings. There will be no need for more office space, no hiring and training, no need to buy new equipment, because the outsourcing company should have all these taken care of.
You can also improve the quality of the service by working with a highly qualified outsourcing company with skilled and trained agents that will successfully deliver a good customer service experience for your customers.
In-house tech support tends to lack motivation, generally companies use the same equipment for years to lower costs, and this lack of improvement puts in danger the quality of the customer support you are providing. Having all equipment renewed regularly can represent a significant investment, and the time your new hires become familiar with the company and new procedures can sometimes demotivate and create barely noticeable losses in the long run. To avoid these issues you will need to have high quality motivational and technical training regularly, which again, increases your effort and investment.
The process of preparing and choosing your outsourcing partner are key factors to achieve customer satisfaction.
A Strategy to Win
You should know that outsourcing also has its disadvantages, this is why planning ahead and doing the right research for partner options will help you find the best of each world.
If you are clear about what processes the outsourcing company will take care of, you are on the right path. These need to be specific and have established goals, so they can be measurable.
It is good to have a clear knowledge about the laws and regulations where the technical outsourcing company you are hiring is located, the language and the time difference.
When you are ready to choose a partner, do thorough research and don’t be afraid to go for smaller or mid-sized outsourcing companies, you will be amazed. Their flexibility can some times be unmatched by bigger, more bureaucratic options. Once you have chosen a partner you feel comfortable with, you will need to get right into action!
Remove all communication barriers. You need to be able to translate all your business information to people who may not fully understand your angle or best intentions, so be as clear as possible. It will also be impossible for your customers to have a good customer experience if they can’t understand the agents, due to a bad accent or lack of knowledge about the queries made, therefore a neutral accent and constant training are areas you may want to review constantly.
It is vital to be aware of the quality service reporting that the outsourcing company has developed. You must be able to measure and have reliable sources about the levels of satisfaction your customers have regarding the technical support provided by the outsourcing company.
Focusing on the agents can provide a wide range of information regarding the outsourcing company, it will tell you about the level of commitment that the partner has, because for an agent to be a great agent, the company should have invested in equipment, software and training to guarantee that their agents will be able to give the best technical support to your customers. It should have organizational knowledge about your company, know the values and core principles you want to translate to your customers so they can be loyal and recommend your company to new potential customers.
Technical support agents, in particular, need to have a deeper understanding of your company, they need to have general information about the organizations, but need to fully understand your products, services and systems.
Having focused training can help develop agents that truly represent your company, and if your partner’s tech support agents have access to e-learning, this is a reliable and cost effective way to have people from other countries fully understand your business. Taking full advantage of technology available will bring you closer to the newly acquired team.
Make the agents a part of your company by engaging in good communication from the start, for motivational purposes but also to properly monitor their performance and the quality of the customer support they are providing, eventually finding recurrent issues you may help solve for them.
All changes and updates made in your products, services and systems need to be well communicated to all in-house personnel as well as to agents working on the outsourcing company. Constantly remind both that they are on the same team. Developing good communication between both companies is the key of having top technical support for your customers.
Outsourcing technical support might seem like a big challenge, and it is, but it will lead to top technical support, given by top It agents resulting in happier and more satisfied customers.
