Business processing outsourcing (BPO) is a sure-fire way of streamlining your customer services. It allows you to horizontally expand your business without a huge investment in staff and infrastructure.
Outsourcing to the Philippines is a great choice for any type of customer support but particularly for call center services. Why? Because the Philippines have nearly 30 years of committed service to BPO outsourcing, particularly in call center services – and you can’t beat that kind of experience.
And if you choose a reputable company like Loop Contact Solutions , your highly-skilled outsourced call center team is likely to include many college or university graduates who are handpicked for their intelligence, flexibility, and problem-solving capabilities. Here’s another bonus: because of the lower cost of living in the Philippines, you can save up to 50% on your call center payroll.
So for many growing businesses, it’s not a matter of if you should outsource your call center to the Philippines, but how you choose the right one.
To help you, we’ve collected our best tips for finding the right call center provider to fit your business.
Decide On Your Business Call Center Needs
Before you start searching for a call centre provider, it’s best to work out exactly what your business requires of that service.
Every business is different and contracts with call center providers are generally flexible enough to accommodate most requirements. But you’ll save time and money by being prepared for the conversation with Filipino Call Center Service providers about your needs.
4 Top Business Needs to Consider Before Contacting A Provider:
1. Do we want more than voice calls?
Most call centers expect to field a company’s verbal communication. But many call centers also provide non-verbal communication services too. This means call center agents use written communication through multiple channels such as email, live chat, or SMS to respond to customers’ support requests.
Work out which type of service you need now or may need in the future as your company grows. Make sure your provider in the Philippines is able to offer the range of services that you want.
2. Do we want inbound or outbound call center services? Or both?
Your business may want your outsourced call center team to deal with your sales calls, such as cold or lukewarm calling and other outbound calls. Or, you may want the agents to deal with customer queries – inbound calls. You may even want both.
Your business may want your outsourced call center team to deal with your sales calls, such as cold or lukewarm calling and other outbound calls. Or, you may want the agents to deal with customer queries – inbound calls. You may even want both.
3. Have we got performance metrics to compare with potential service providers?
One thing that can determine whether your potential call center provider is a good fit for you, is to check the strengths and weaknesses of your current customer service.
If you have performance data for your existing provision you can see how well or poorly your team performs. It will be a great way to inform your choice of outsourcing service. After exploring your data you may decide to outsource only those areas of your customer service where your current team needs a boost.
And if you’re a start-up and haven’t got a current customer service team in place, be prepared to ask if your outsourcing partner can help you with the metrics aspect of your business.
4. Have We Determined Our Call Center Budget?
Call centers in the Philippines charge different rates. This can vary depending on the quality of the provider’s service, their location, their equipment and utilities, and the salary of their employees. As well as this, many tariffs depend on the volume and type of calls these centers make or receive and any additional services you request from them.
Before you embark on outsourcing it’s best to decide on the maximum amount you have in your budget to pay for these services. This is likely to be the determining factor in which provider you pick or which services you are legitimately able to cover the cost of.
Tips To Find the Best Call Center Provider in the Philippines
So, you’ve determined all your business needs. Now you’re ready to approach providers in the Philippines. Brilliant!
Next, follow these best practice steps to find a great call center for your business:
Prior To Contacting Your Call Center Provider
- Perform a generalized search of call center providers in the Philippines. Investigate through their websites if their services and pricing match your needs.
- Refine your list and chronologically order the providers in line with their ‘best fit’ for your business.
- Check out reviews for these companies on review sites such as Glassdoor and Clutch. Make sure you keep your eye out for any suspicious-sounding reviews, though.
- Refine and reorder your list.
Contacting Your Service Provider
1. Contact the service providers and arrange a virtual meeting. Take advantage of site tours such as pre-recorded tours on the provider’s website, or YouTube, or ask for a live virtual tour of the service provider’s facilities.
2. Cross-check that their current service matches your required services. And double check what other service offerings they provide in case you require them in the future. This avoids the necessity of changing service providers as your business grows.
3. Ask about the skills set or qualifications required by the providers of new employees, and what in-house training is undertaken for the agents to become experts in your business.
4. Enquire about the company’s industry experience. But don’t be put off if their experience is not as long as more established companies. The Philippines has a long history of offering BPO services, so even newer companies are likely to employ experienced staff. Newer call center providers may not be less competent than more established providers and their rates will almost certainly be a lot less.
5. Ask the provider to describe their call center processes. Check if you’ll get a shared or dedicated team for your services.
- Shared call center teams can cater for multiple clients. This may mean that the providers’ agents don’t become as knowledgeable about your company as dedicated teams. However, the costs are significantly lower, so may be suitable for small businesses and start-ups or companies expecting a lower volume of calls.
- • Dedicated teams cater solely for your business. They’ll become an expert in your product or service. The agents will field or make inbound and outbound calls and possibly deal with verbal and non-verbal communication too if required. Obviously, the cost for this type of team will be higher but may be the best option if your call volume is higher.
6. Discuss how the company handles and reports on quality assurance & KPIs. How a call center quality assures its services is a key indicator of its overall performance.
Check how the provider checks the quality of their call center agents. These agents are going to be the first point of contact for your customers so those checks matter. These agents will contribute to how your brand or company is viewed. Your reputation rests on this service, so double-check how the agent’s service is assured and reported back to you.
If you are satisfied that the provider checks the quality of their service and can provide clear success metrics regarding their performance, then you may have found the best fit for your company.
7. Discuss the global reach potential of your call center provider. The providers’ agents are already going to be bi-lingual – they’ll speak Filipino and English. But if the provider offers multilingual agents, then your company may be getting more bang for your buck if it has the global marketplace in mind.
8. Check the provider’s hardware and software solutions and how they handle data recording and security. You should feel confident that your call center will provide top security measures and secure handling for your customer and your business data.
9. Take advantage of a free quotation. If the provider doesn’t suggest a free quote, ask for one.
Double-check the provider’s quotation and ask if the tariff will change over time. Ask if these rates include hidden fees, such as transfers, after-hour calls, extra call minutes, and virtual reception services. Ask for clear transparency in your provider’s pricing.
10. Triple-check the service agreement before signing. If any fees are being hidden by your call center provider they will be in the service agreement. If certain fees are NOT on the agreement your company cannot be held accountable for them.
Checking the small print now can save a big headache later!
Key Takeaways
The Philippines offers some of the most experienced, highly skilled and enthusiastic call center operatives in the world. And because the country has been at the forefront of BPO service for almost 30 years, customer support jobs are popular.
The customer service workforce in the Philippines is large and has a wide skill set. Agents are used to dealing with the customers of most industries. By outsourcing your call center to the Philippines, your company can be the next business to benefit from our smooth operational handling of your inbound and outbound calls.
Make Loop Contact Solutions your go-to call center provider. We provide knowledgeable agents, high-performance sales and retention, and a world-class customer communication experience. By choosing us, you’ll get a team that’ll help your company make huge savings while you grow.
