Call center outsourcing

The NASSCOM-McKinsey study projects the call-center

market as one of the biggest growth areas for India in the near future. It gives

the size of the global customer interaction services as the call centers are a

part of it-as over $ 6.5 billion. Most market researchers however give a figure

three times higher than this. It is estimated that the call center outsourcing

service revenue alone to be about $ 17 billion.

The blended skill sets of English speaking people with

computer literacy, cost and quality advantages, technological progress,

government incentives are all the basic factors making India rejoice a strong

brand in the world. For the same, the business giants like GE, British Telecom

and Bechtel have pioneered in outsourcing call centers to India.

There are countless reasons that underscore the benefits

of outsourcing, such as maintaining or establishing a competitive advantage;

lowering operating costs; delivering expertise not usually available in-house

and providing the latest technology with no additional capital investment or

employee overhead.

The call centers may vary as per their functionality-

inbound call centers; outbound call centers; blended call centers,

medical/healthcare etc. One may decide even within these broad categories, that

what kind of service should be really provided. The wide range starts from basic

ones, created solely to handle customers in a controlled and efficient way. On

the other side, there are sophisticated telemarketing systems, inbound and

outbound, that capture response, analyze demographics, prompt follow-up calls,

and help one manage marketing campaigns and track and measure sales.

The call center hardware and software market in Asia

Pacific is expected to surge 20 percent year-on-year to $ 946.9 million in 2006

from $ 272.1 million in 1999, according to a survey. On average, companies are

realizing a nine percent cost savings and a 15 percent increase in capacity and

quality through outsourcing. (The Outsourcing Institute, 1998). On average,

companies who have completely outsource their call center functions have

realized a greater 10 year average return to investors, a higher average 10 year

annual growth rate, and a larger percentage change in earnings per share. (DGY

Associates, 1997).

Currently, the largest market in the region is

Australia, which contributed $ 130.2 million (or 48 percent) to the total

regional revenues last year. The second largest market is China with $ 46

million (or 17 percent) contribution. In third position is Hong Kong with $ 25.4

million (or nine percent) contribution followed by New Zealand, which

contributed $ 22.8 million. Singapore contributed $ 20.5 million to the total

regional revenues last year.

India and the Philippines are expected to grow in

importance as locations for establishing international outsourcing call centers.

This is because India and the Philippines have a large pool of English speaking

people who can be trained as call center agents easily.

The major benefits to the outsourcer are:

• Greater
  
  flexibility to maximize manpower, money and time resources.

• The
  
  opportunity to conserve and target resources at what you do best, and

• Realizing
  
  significant savings by converting fixed employee costs to flexible, variable
  
  costs and avoiding large capital expenditures required to implement and
  
  maintain call center technologies.

Reports state that in terms of wages alone, India shows

a clear-cut advantage. An agent whose average cost in $ 1900 per month $ 11 per

hour costs only $ 175 when outsource to India. The time zone of 10-12 hours is

another advantage.

The bottom line to all this however remains is to attain

the projected figures and sustain the market share. The key to all this is

quality indeed.

Source:

VNSV Prasad Call Center Consultant

Sapphire Callnet