Call centre – internal or external
- by Jens Moeller © Copyright Jens Moeller Consulting Ltd 2011
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Exposé of the reference book “Call Centre Extern” – Deutscher Wirtschaftsdienst 09/00 Editor Jens Moeller
Increasing customer satisfaction and customer retention is one of the most important management tasks of today for any business. The use of call centres for example is an important component in customer relation management. But: should a business set up their own technically and organisationally complex call centre or should they bring in a service provider? And how would they find the best partner? And what is important for future collaborations?
Make or Buy?
The Make or Buy question with regard to call centre activities is rarely looked at from a strategic perspective. The more superficial the union of communication and information is being treated, the more there is a risk of looking at the wrong parameters and overlooking necessary core competencies. On the other hand: the more careful the own core competencies are defined, the less operational and strategic success potential, apart from cost, can be harnessed.
The consequences are significant: imprudent outsourcing can undermine the competitive edge of a business, aid de- qualification and support dependencies and new competitors. The business looses its individuality and identity and becomes replaceable. And at the same time the power of a further embedded market step increases. On the other hand a business can increase its competitive edge through strategically approached outsourcing, focussed on its core competencies. Furthermore cost can be reduced and innovation, speed, service levels and
quality can be improved systematically.1
Search and Selection of the ideal Service Provider
After the decision to buy, the usual approach for search and selection of a suitable service provider is by personal choice, mostly due to cost and time factors. The large spectrum of other possibilities for the search and selection process is often neglected.
A service provider will enforce the reasons to outsource and will fulfil basic service needs, such as speed, flexibility, reliability, communication and independence. General selection criteria range from the impression on the telephone, the “chemistry” between decision makers,competencies in the requested areas, creativity, strategic importance of the project, as well as technical equipment, specifically with regard to data management. Size, image and location become secondary when looking at these factor in more detail. In any case, any criteria should be echoed by decision makers. Also, a selection specification particular to the business needs should be created and used in the selection process.
There should be an intense sift at the begin of the selection process, which will give more time to compare the remaining applicants. Therefore the tender should be specified in great detail to allow a prudent pre-selection. Contract negotiations with regard to pricing can include factors, such as volume discounts, or length of contract, as long as these are relevant for the client. It is vital for the contract to provide a good basis for future collaboration and it should include specific targets that can be measured later on.
Success factors of an ideal Collaboration
Once the ideal service provider has been found the framework often changes. Forecasts need to be revised; DRTV campaigns need to be integrated. Sometimes call handling times need to be extended and with that, cost. In this case motivation and competency for real cooperation is vital, specifically in the areas of staff training, process integration, technology and cost- and quality control. The quality of the collaboration will be influenced by originally agreed conditions and the associated margins. The more intensive the cooperation, the better are the chances of achieving an ideal process – but it also increases the risk of a strategic dependency. The boundaries of MAKE or BUY are increasingly blurred.
Call Centre Extern – Make or Buy, Search Selection and Collaboration with external Call Centres, 250 pages, was published in September 2000, by Deutscher Wirtschaftsdienst, Köln, ISBN 3-87156-272-6. Editor Jens Moeller.
