Introduction
Large enterprises generally tend to have the resources to establish their own call centers. However for most small to medium sized firms, it makes financial sense to outsource a call center with the aim of providing technical and customer support to current clients as well as potential customers. Outsourcing call center services helps in streamlining a company’s performance hence saving both time and money.
In recent years it has become a common trend to move call centers to foreign countries such as India. This essay seeks to analyze the various factors that inform the decision to transfer call center facilities to other countries. To this end various publications shall be consulted in order to provide the necessary background information to guide the discussion.
Reasons for moving call centers to other countries
Cost Effectiveness
Running call centers in foreign countries and in particular the third world countries, costs much less as compared to establishing them in the developed countries (Sharp, 2003). This is occasioned by the reduction in the cost of manpower in the developing countries.
Consequently, companies can access high-quality call center services on a daily basis at reduced costs, translating into even more profits for the establishment. The cost-effectiveness aspect is also supported by the fact that the developing countries have the operational expertise to provide the needed services without compromising on quality.
Specialization
Establishing call centers in foreign countries provides the perfect opportunity for specialization in the different aspects of company operations including telemarketing, disaster recovery and technical help desk services (Blokdijk, 2007). Such specialization if introduced in a company located in developed countries like the United States and the United Kingdom would require the input of hefty financial resources as compared to setting up the company in the developing countries.
Manpower
Developing countries such as India tend to have an impressive number of individuals with the necessary qualifications to run a call center. The increase in the number of college graduates in such countries without the necessary institutional framework to absorb them into the job market means that setting up call centers in such countries will attract more workers willing to work at a much lesser pay as compared to their counterparts in the developed countries (Sharp, 2003).
Even though companies may initially be required to spend a substantial amount of money in staff training, the eventual benefits are much higher than the costs.
Time-zone Advantages
Setting up branches of a call center in countries with a twelve-hour time difference from the parent country means that a company can easily offer around-the-clock services to their customers (Blokdijk, 2007). This is because they can offer day time call services within the mother country of the company and then outsource the night time calls to a different country going through daylight at the time. In this way the enterprise ensures that its customer’s needs are well attended to irrespective of the time of day.
Conclusion
The establishment of a call center facility is one of the strategies that have been accredited for giving a company mileage as far as customer attraction is concerned. However, in order for an institution to make profits, it is imperative that the costs incurred in the running of the call center be kept at the lowest level possible while at the same maintaining a high level of quality.
This report has analyzed the various reasons as to why companies choose to relocate their call centers to other countries. The aspects covered include cost effectiveness, specialization, manpower and time-zone advantages.
Reference List
Blokdijk, G. (2007). Call Center 100 Success Secrets. North Carolina: Lulu.com
Sharp, D. E. (2003). Call Center operation: design, operation, and maintenance. USA: Digital Press