How to Ensure Quality Service with Call Center?

Outsourcing Call Center Services

Introduction

Imagine a call center teeming with customer interactions leaving a sense of being heard, valued, and satisfied. Now, imagine that same level of service being achieved without having to manage it in-house. Sounds like a dream? Outsourcing Call Center Services can make that dream a reality only if done right. Success just lies in how one can ensure quality not just meets but exceeds customer expectations. In a world led by customer experience, let’s dive into how to stay in control and keep the service bar high, even when it is in someone else’s hands.

How to Ensure Quality Service with an Outsourcing Call Center?

How to Ensure Quality Service When Outsourcing Call Center Solutions info

1. Choose the Right Partner

A spot-on and appropriate partnership forms the very foundation for quality service in outsourcing.  According to Deloitte’s 2022 Global Outsourcing Survey, 78% of businesses cited “quality of service” as a primary factor in choosing an outsourcing partner. Search for a call center provider who has worked in your industry. Industry experience guarantees that the provider understands the unique challenges and customer expectations of your sector. 

Apart from experience, consider technological capability. A provider who makes use of advanced technologies like AI, machine learning, and omnichannel support can provide consistent and better service. Besides these, consider cultural alignment. Your partner has to share your company’s values and approach toward customer service to provide a seamless brand experience to your customers.

2. Clearly Define Expectations and SLAs

The best means of ensuring quality is through setting expectations from the outset. This is done by developing detailed Service Level Agreements, or SLAs, which have in them performance metrics such as response times, first-call resolution rates, customer satisfaction scores, and many others.

These SLAs should be realistic and challenging for the provider, stretching to maintain high standards. Periodically review these agreements and update them to reflect changed business needs and/or customer expectations.

3. Foster Ongoing Communication

Good and regular communication forms the backbone of any successful outsourcing relationship. It will be worth underlining to schedule a consistent touch point with the outsourcing partner to review their performance, cover feedback, or discuss problems that arise.

These are lines of communication that must be open and transparent, allowing the development of insight on the parts of both concerning how things could be done differently and better. Whether it’s through weekly meetings, monthly performance reviews, or instant messaging platforms, staying connected ensures you’re in at every turn on how your customer service is being managed.

4. Invest in Full Training

Even though you outsource, that doesn’t mean training shouldn’t be a priority.  

According to the 2023 State of Customer Service Report, companies that invest in regular training for their outsourced call center agents see a 20% higher FCR rate.

Their agents should also be very knowledgeable about your products and services but also your brand values. It helps not only in improving the quality of service provided but also maintains consistency in the customer experience right up to the level of your brand identity.

Engage your Outsourcing Call Center partner in training programs on the following: product knowledge, etiquette of customer service, and other topics. The frequent refresher courses and updates concerning new products and services will be instrumental in bringing the team abreast of how to respond to any customer query.

5. Implement Robust Monitoring and Reporting Systems

Quality means performance, and you cannot manage what you cannot measure. Set up robust monitoring that will allow tracking in real-time key performance indicators that may include call wait times, average handling times, customer satisfaction scores, and first-call resolution rates.

Most of the latest call center solutions have inbuilt analytics that reflect these KPIs in real-time. Use the data to monitor performance continuously, and make data-driven decisions for improving the quality of service. Schedule regular reporting with your outsourcing partner to keep a close watch on trends, discuss issues, and celebrate successes.

6. Regular Audits and Quality Checks

In addition to tracking the KPIs, audits and quality checks also form part of ensuring that your outsourcing partner will maintain the standards according to your expectations.

Research by PwC revealed that “organizations that conduct monthly performance audits experience a 30% increase in customer satisfaction (The Impact of Auditing on Customer Satisfaction, PwC, 2023)”.

It can be as simple as listening to some call recordings, reading customer feedback, or even mystery shopping exercises.

These audits should be periodic, and these should also be shared with your partner. Avail these for giving feedback constructively and working collectively on strategies for improvement.

7. Encourage a Customer-Centric Culture

Even if the call center is outsourced, the culture of customer service is really important. You want to drive and encourage your outsourcing partner to apply customer satisfaction-focused practices. This may include empowering agents to solve issues without having to transfer calls, rewarding excellent service, or setting up some feedback loop whereby agents can provide insight on how to improve customer interactions.

A customer-centric culture within your outsourced call center means that every interaction is cared for and attended to with a reflection of the commitment to quality service.

8. Stay Involved

Outsourcing doesn’t mean to deny control. Be actively involved in the process by visiting the call center, interacting with agents, and sitting in on training sessions when possible. Your involvement reinforces your commitment to quality and helps ensure your outsourcing partner stays in sync with your service expectations.

Conclusion: A Partnership for Success

The benefits of outsourcing your call center are threefold: cost savings, scalability, and specialized knowledge. You will, however, have to ensure quality service on top through upfront planning, clear communication, and ongoing involvement.

By doing so, with the right selection of partners, expectations set, investment in training, and continuous monitoring of performance, you can be certain of one thing-high-quality service at your outsourced call center that retains treasured customers. Let’s put it this way: this is not an outsourcing of a function; this is about the partnership that could keep your brand safe while your customers are happy.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

You can assure quality by selecting a valid and renowned outsourcing partner with a good past performance record, with the help of Service Level Agreements and regular performance reviews. 

Experience in your industry; strong communication and customer service; use of high-end technology. Check their ability to handle the needs of your business and their reputation for high-quality service.

To monitor performance, you can use KPIs such as average handling time, first-call resolution, and customer satisfaction scores. Regular reporting and audits will help you ensure the call center meets your expectations.

Yes, provided that clear guidelines are set, open communication with the outsourced team is effected, and regular updates and reviews are being carried out, control of how your customers are handled can be retained.

Regular reviews, either monthly or quarterly, will allow you to keep track of performances and whether the operation remains at standards. You can further make adjustments based on feedback and shifting business needs.

Author Profile

Varuna Raghav
Varuna Raghav
As a CX and marketing specialist, Varuna Raghav has more than 15+ years of experience in her name. Her enriching input has been valuable to the brands and organizations she's worked with.

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