In the first part of this article we learned about the basics. We learned what outsourcing Customer Service is, what the top 4 benefits of outsourcing it are and we went through the 3 first important things you need you to know about your possible outsourcing partner (specialization, kips and location).
Before you choose the right outsourcing partner for your company you will also need to fully understand who you will be working with and the benefits you can receive from choosing them and the way they handle information and software security.
So, in this article we will learn two new key factors to research before choosing the right partner and how to manage this service once you’ve got a signed contract.
4. Additional Services
Many outsourcing companies offer a range of benefits alongside customer service. They can provide you a wide range of services like call recordings which can help you to obtain feedback about how the company is handling your customer’s issues and service quality. They can also provide real data about your customer’s perception of your company. In the long run, such add-ons can be beneficial to improve customer service, but not all providers offer them.
You may want to look for an all-in-all service provider, as it may be more convenient in the longer term. However, if you find an outsourced team focusing only on customer support, you can always complement it with external tools.
5. Security
You should be aware of all the possible risks related to sensitive customer data you might be sharing with a third-party, so before hiring external help you should review your own internal security, figure out any weak points, and restrict access to certain information. You should ensure that no external party can reach your client’s credit card details, health records, without your approval.
We highly advise that you consult your legal team before signing any contract, so you will clearly understand all the terms and have everything clear about your new partner, the functions they will be handling and the way to measure their real productivity.
How to manage and have better control over your outsourcing partner?
Customer experience is the major factor for your business growth. Almost 70% of the customers leave companies after just one bad interaction. So remember that you shouldn’t leave your customer support team without supervision and guidelines.
The first thing to do is to hire internal or in-house managers to establish and maintain a connection with your outsourcing partner. These agents should inform both parties about the current customer support situation, resolve all the routine issues and keep quality control.
Training
The training process is extremely important to make sure that your outsourcing partner’s agents are as productive as possible. During the training process it is key that you share all your knowledge and provide external employees with manuals, training videos, FAQs, etc. They should know your company as well as you do.
You will also need to establish brand tone guidelines so your customers will be treated in the way they are used to and even better.
You can specify what the agents need to say and which phrases they need to avoid, to create good customer relations, it is also beneficial to test the agents using hypothetical scenarios. Try to cover the widest range possible, from a new client’s call to a specific issue or query.
Maintain Constant Communication
A good communication between your outsourcing partner and your company’s managers is essential from the beginning. You will need to promote a two-way communication with your outsourcing team to create a real partnership, and accomplish the company’s goals.
Communicating with your outsourcing partner will be the way to learn about the current situation, about your customer’s needs and will be the way to find weak spots that require additional work or even gather some insights that might be useful for your internal team.
To make this more convenient and easy, invest in tools of communication like Zoom or Skype to have an easy, more personal access to your outsourcing partner team of agents.
Quality Control
Quality control is vital to fully see the benefits of having an outsourcing partner. Quality assurance metrics will help you evaluate the performance of your outsourced service and support team.
These are some metrics that could help you keep a good quality control strategy:
- Average Speed of Answering – The time it takes to answer an incoming call
- Customer Satisfaction Score – Measures your customers level of satisfaction with the support or attention provided
- Customer Effort Score – Tracks customer experience during the call
- First-Call Resolution – It evaluates the agents ability to solve client’s issues and queries
- Average Handle Time – The amount of time your customer spend on the line
All these data will provide valuable insights on the service quality levels and how to increase customer service productivity and improve clients’ satisfaction.
Outsourcing customer service and support can help you scale up your business, lower expenses and overall improve the quality of your customer service and support.
When looking for your ideal outsourcing partner, you should consider the company’s experience, skills, geographical location, and the availability of some added services that can help to improve workflow, but be aware, because these extras can cost extra money to, so make sure to have every aspect clear from the get go.
Always keep in mind that you will need to keep close attention to your outsourcing partner, provide mindful training and constant supervision so they can effectively represent your brand and achieve high customer satisfaction. So, take the chance, research and make your business grow with a little help from some friends!
