Outsourcing Customer Service
Outsourcing Customer Service
Executive Summary
The choice to outsource company’s relations with their customers is a choice many businesses are making. With the costs of labor more than a quarter of the rate an average customer service representative makes in the United States (U.S.), large companies are making the choice to offshore some, or the entire company’s customers service departments to other countries. To many of these companies, the benefits are out weighing the issues relating to outsourcing in general. Breaches of security and customer satisfaction are some of the problems businesses are facing when making the choice to offshore. Are cutting costs more beneficial than customers losing faith in the products of the company? Outsourcing Customer Service Outsourcing is a business practice that is used around the world. This paper will describe the business case for a company to outsource some of its operations, and the risks that are weighed when choosing to outsource. What impacts those decisions have on the company and its customers will also be discussed.
A Background on Outsourcing Outsourcing customer service overseas involves hiring another company abroad to take over either some or the entire customer support department. Outsourcing has become a growing trend today. Many large American, European, and British corporations are eager to cut costs by off shoring customer service jobs to foreign firms for significantly lesser wages.
Why Outsourcing? Some of the objectives a company will accomplish by outsourcing jobs to foreign firms are cost savings, having 24 hour customer service, and a centralized service center. Each of these points does however come at a price, and will sometimes outweigh the benefits.
Saving money has been the greatest reason companies have chosen to send the majority of their customer service departments to other countries. The thought of cheap labor is enticing to many businesses when making the choice to
Executive Summary
The choice to outsource company’s relations with their customers is a choice many businesses are making. With the costs of labor more than a quarter of the rate an average customer service representative makes in the United States (U.S.), large companies are making the choice to offshore some, or the entire company’s customers service departments to other countries. To many of these companies, the benefits are out weighing the issues relating to outsourcing in general. Breaches of security and customer satisfaction are some of the problems businesses are facing when making the choice to offshore. Are cutting costs more beneficial than customers losing faith in the products of the company? Outsourcing Customer Service Outsourcing is a business practice that is used around the world. This paper will describe the business case for a company to outsource some of its operations, and the risks that are weighed when choosing to outsource. What impacts those decisions have on the company and its customers will also be discussed.
A Background on Outsourcing Outsourcing customer service overseas involves hiring another company abroad to take over either some or the entire customer support department. Outsourcing has become a growing trend today. Many large American, European, and British corporations are eager to cut costs by off shoring customer service jobs to foreign firms for significantly lesser wages.
Why Outsourcing? Some of the objectives a company will accomplish by outsourcing jobs to foreign firms are cost savings, having 24 hour customer service, and a centralized service center. Each of these points does however come at a price, and will sometimes outweigh the benefits.
Saving money has been the greatest reason companies have chosen to send the majority of their customer service departments to other countries. The thought of cheap labor is enticing to many businesses when making the choice to
References: Aspden, Rachel (2006, January). The Bangalore Effect. New Statesman, Vol. 135 Issue 4777, p26-27, 2p Kivlehan, Noella Pio (2005, October). Companies divert calls back to the U.K. Estates Gazette, Issue 543, p135-136, 2p, 1c Fox, Justin (2003, November). Where is your job going. Fortune, Vol. 148 Issue 11, p84-94, 7p, 1 chart, 1 map, 5c Pfeffer, Jeffrey (2006, March). A Penny Saved, a Customer Spurned Outsourcing customer service may seem like a bargain, but it can cost you some of your most valuable clients. Business 2.0, 7(2), 66. Retrieved May 4, 2006, from ABI/INFORM Global database. (Document ID: 988319131) Alster, Norm (2005, Fall). Customer Disservice, CFO; Fall2005, Vol. 21 Issue 13, p40-44, 5p, 2c