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There are many myths that surround offshore call center outsourcing, we’re only naming five. Here's why they're just that - myths.
Myth #1: Offshoring will hurt the Customer Experience.
We have all experienced the frustration of an agent with a foreign accent when dealing with a complex issue. But times have changed. Data from 2022 shows that the average consumer is completely fine with a light accent as long as they can provide “first-call resolution”. In other words, agent competency trumps accent..
Don’t be mistaken, there are certain accents that are less tolerable, but if you do your homework on what works with your customer-base your will do just fine.
If you are curious, the British accent has been rated the #1 accent for customer care interactions followed by a midwest US-based accent is always a winner. Other highly-rated accents are the Philippines for offshore, followed by the Dominican Republic for nearshore.
Bottom line it is quite common for offshore teams to outperform their domestic counterparts.
Myth #2: Offshoring is bad for our economy and is un-American.
Once a political talking point, this myth has been debunked decades ago. The US economy has only benefited from leveraging low-cost labor around the world. Offshoring has proven to increase revenue and overall profits for companies. This translates to growth and more high paying jobs for the US workforce. .
The reality is, America’s economy needs offshore labor more now than ever. It is the lack of labor here in the US (10.3 million unfilled jobs) that is driving high-inflation. Labor has become the most precious commodity and the US is missing out on major growth in GDP because of it. Simply put, American companies have to lead out in leveraging the global talent pool otherwise we will inevitably lose our competitive advantage and fall behind as a global economic leader.
Myth #3. It's too hard to manage.
The truth is that offshore call center outsourcing isn't any more difficult to manage than in-house customer service. If you're new to the process, it may take a few weeks to get used to working with an offshore company, but if you choose a good one, you’ll quickly figure out what works best for your business and thus find managing an outsourced call center will be easy.
Myth# 4. You'll lose control over your customer service team.
Nope. You can still manage every aspect of your call center operations, including employee training and performance evaluations. All you have to do is establish clear policies and procedures in advance—then make sure the offshore company follows them exactly as you specified.
Myth# 5: Offshore is not secure.
Myth Busted. The safest path is to partner with a BPO that can produce a PCI-DSS or SOC 2 certification, (not just compliant, certified! Big difference). Secondly, choose a BPO with a “work-in-office only” policy for maximum security.
With today’s cloud-based technology, BPO agents will login and work securely within your network, like they are in the next room. Moreover, an offshore BPO that has a properly secured “in-office work environment” will most likely have tighter security than your own office here in the US. .
Buwelo leadership has been building and managing high-performance (and highly-secured) offshore CX teams for nearly 25 years. Buwelo is trusted by many of the world’s most respected brands.
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