US firms shift call centre ops back home from India

Two weeks ago, AGL Resources Inc., an Atlanta, US-based natural gas distribution company, decided to shift its call centre operations from India to the US. The centre was operated by India’s third largest information technology (IT) services company, Wipro Ltd.

Along with similar instances of Delta Airlines Inc., United Airlines Inc. and Chrysler Group Llc reported earlier in the year, this could raise a flag for Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) firms which earned nearly $15 billion (Rs69,450 crore today) from such back-office work in the year to March.


In April, Delta Airlines decided to pull out its call centre operations in India with Wipro and take it back to the US. In March, auto maker Chrysler decided to move its call centre operations from India to Michigan and Utah in the US. In February, United Airlines decided to shift its call centre operations from India to Chicago and Honolulu.

“Given the current state of the US economy, now is the right time to invest in our country and create new jobs,” noted Hank Linginfelter, executive vice-president, utility operations, at AGL Resources in response to an email from Mint.

AGL said that were no consumer satisfaction issues. “Wipro employees have provided excellent service to our customers, but we believe our company’s best long-term strategy for the future is to provide jobs here.”

AGL’s decision to establish its new centre in Georgia will create approximately 75 news jobs locally. The customer care centre, expected to be operational by 1 June, will be AGL’s second such centre in the US. A third one will be set up in New Jersey in December.

Interestingly, industry body Nasscom’s report, Perspectives 2020, identifies the US Midwest, which includes states such as Michigan, as a viable alternative to Indian companies as it offers a “low-cost, high-quality talent pool”.
This, according to Nasscom, is particularly true for “interaction-intensive” and “culturally sensitive” services, both of which apply to call centre operations.

AGL does acknowledge that by shifting it’s call centre operations to India in 2007 the company has achieved cost savings, which enabled it “to invest in the modernization and improvement of many customer service functions and activities”, according to Linginfelter.

United Airlines, when it shifted its operations from India, had hinted at customer satisfaction issues. “More sophisticated conversations with our guests are much better suited for us to handle instead of a third-party partner,” spokesperson Robin Urbanski was cited as saying by Bloomberg in a 10 February report.

United’s call centre operations in India had employed as many as 165 workers.

Indian outsourcing companies eyes Latin America

The top Indian outsourcing companies are now exploring acquisition opportunities in the Latin American countries, as increasing number of customers are demanding near-shore delivery capabilities for physical proximity and ease in managing these relationship.Small service providers in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico like Globant, which has customers including Adidas, LinkedIn and Citi and around $100 million in revenues, is increasingly being approached by some Indian technology companies.

Even as we hire more locals, we continue to look at focused nearshore companies such as Globant for strategic alliances," said a top Executive of an Indian firm. He also requested anonymity because his company does not want to disclose its acquisition plans before they are materialized.

As customers like GE and Citi continue to send more IT work to India, some customers and vendors are discovering that near shore locations in Latin America are offering almost similar cost advantages for back end projects apart from better proximity.

The customers such as HNI, one of the biggest American office furniture manufacturers, recently chose a near shore partner in Brazil instead of an outsourcing vendor from India because it was not comfortable with the difference in time zone.

"While there is no doubt about Indian companies ability to serve customers across time zones, some customers still prefer to work with a vendor located nearer," said an Outsourcing Consultant familiar with HNIs decision.

For the Indian companies seeking to serve customers locally and from nearby locations, outsourcing companies in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina offer lucrative mergers and acquisition opportunities.

Resources
http://www.offshoringtimes.com

Outsourcing Call Center Business: offshoring the whole world

India and Philippines have been racing with countries which provides employee leasing solutions. The abundant knowledge of Filipinos in the field of Information and Technology has grown rapid demands from foreign companies to lease staff on Philippine soil. With systematize strategies given by foreign minds mutual business relationships are formed with a clause to share business ideals which sends both associating bodies to enrich with the benefits of offshore staff leasing.

Manila isn't just the gateway to the Philippines, it is now a ground that comprises business ventures that generates millions of dollars which contributes to the Philippine economy's boost. Hundreds of companies have planted their piles on hiring Filipino manpower to make progress with their business infrastructures.

CCI-Call Centers, an International Call Centers India provide the best quality offshore call center services for Inbound, Outbound Call Center Services, Help Desk, Non Voice, Back Office, E-mail and Chat Support Services India.

Offshoring Call Center Business

Online businesses established their websites all over the Internet. The main goal and the primary objective is to draw attention to potential clients with whom they can establish business ventures via offshoring.

Offshoring is on the line of outsourcing, as part of this business enterprise the provider engage negotiations wherein the client passes the responsibilities and all the resources to a potential offshore staffs. As things gets on the way of negotiations there are certain kinds of services that could withheld by the provider. Online businesses offers a lot of junctions when it comes to providing products and services. There are assertive enterprises which compels to the growth of web services that accumulates profits via the Internet.

Call Center Outsourcing

When it comes time for a business to decide on a call center outsourcing provider it can trust, one key element in determining a provider’s ability to deliver successful services is their use of technology.

Examining the providers use of technology closely during the decision making process can uncover if the provider is employing the kinds of technologies and applications that are critical to deliver optimal customer experiences every time.

A recent Forrester report by analyst Elizabeth Herrell with Simon Yates and Lauren E. Nelson, “Twelve Criteria For Contact Center Outsourcers,” highlights this need and other major considerations when choosing a vendor.

Because call center outsourcing providers are extending their agents to represent the company, it is important to understand how the support these agents are receiving and their ability to deliver quality services.

According to the white paper, it is important to look for a number of applications that should be use to ensure top notch services. These applications range from those that support agent productivity, to improving workforce scheduling, computer telephony integration and other quality monitoring tools.

Other technologies to keep an eye out for include support for automated transactions, IVR and access to reports on the performance and quality of service being provided for the company.

Also a critical consideration for a call center outsourcing is security. When looking for a provider it is vital to ask question like what types of security protocols are being deployed, how is data access being protected and what types of security measures are required for agents.

Keeping these key factors in mind during the evaluation process can help companies to choose a provider that will not only meet their needs, but guarantee success into the future.

Outsourcing demand to pick up in H2: Nasscom

Indian cities best for outsourcing, As per latest Survey by Nasscom.
New Delhi is the most attractive city in the world for companies looking to set up offshore back office operations thanks to its cheapness and a large pool of skilled labour, a new survey by a US-based consultancy says.

The next six slots in the league table produced by outsourcing consultancy neoIT are also filled by Indian cities -- Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai ,Pune,Chennai and Kolkata.

"The labour pool remains a huge advantage in India -- you don't have to spend lots of money training people up," Sabyasachi Satyaprasad, a senior director at neoIT, told reporters in New Delhi.

Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City is the most attractive non-Indian destination for off shoring jobs, followed by Manila, Shanghai and Moscow.

NeoIT, which has offices in India and the Philippines, used feedback from more than 60 of its clients to rank outsourcing destinations based on their infrastructure, costs, talent pool, language skills and other factors.

New Delhi edged above other Indian cities due to its relatively low cost of living and, by Indian standards, fairly good infrastructure.

BPOs eye global footprint to meet customer needs

The Indian business process outsourcing industry is following in the footsteps of information technology service firms, increasing its global footprint as it eyes bigger and more complex work from clients.

The demand for global solutions is pushing Indian BPOs to grow aggressively into global centres, said a senior executive. For instance, in the past 18 months, WNS has expanded its presence in the Philippines, Romania, and now Latin America.

"All the important wins that we've talked about have a non-India component to them. This is very important from our perspective, as we talk about our global footprint, global strategy and global operations strategy," recently said Neeraj Bhargava, CEO of WNS.

Analysts believe the trend will only increase in the days ahead, as clients look for outsourcing partners that can support critical processes from multiple delivery centres.

"Gone are the days when you could deliver from just one geography. The multi-geography need is arising out of de-risking geography presence, need for specific skill and language capability. For instance, we have seen many clients prefer having a presence in the Philippines as a de facto to India," said Sabyasachi Satapathy, partner Tholons Advisory.

N V Tyagarajan (Tiger), COO of Genpact, believes that with global customers on board, Indian BPO players will have to expand their operations in other geographies.

He explains that if one is serving the Eastern European market, the service provider will have to be present in a country like Romania for language capabilities, "if you are serving the US financial sector, where English is the prevalent language then you can serve from India and the Philippines. Rather, clients are asking for work to shift to the Philippines, due to cultural affinity," added Tiger.

Genpact has centres in China, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa [ Images ], Spain and the US.

"We have seen customers from the really badly hit economies, i.e. the US and UK, asking if a certain work can be done onshore. Besides, as relationship with existing clients deepen and as we do more complex work, we need to have onshore presence," said Tiger. Genpact also has ramped up its US centre numbers, especially high-end work.

Satapathy adds that clients were earlier more concerned about cost reduction, but now its about domain knowledge and skills. "Take procurement BPO. Indian players have not been able to succeed in taking this to an offshoring model. The reason being lack of right capability and skill of delivering. Nowadays nearshore, onsite capabilities are as important as offshore," he added.

Anando Mukerji, CEO of Firstsource, feels not having a nearshore or onsite presence means on business opportunity. The company has close to 4,000 employees in the US.

Its biggest centre, in Buffalo, has close to 600 employees. "We are ramping our numbers in the US. This quarter, we will add 100 more in the US as demand for work increases. One of the reasons for this is customers asking for higher onshore presence due to the protectionist environment, but for us, it is also coming from business needs," said Mukerji.

However, Sudin Apte, senior analyst, Forrester, believes that while clients are asking for Indian-plus-one geography, India will continue to get the bulk of work.

"The trend is across segments like IT services and product engineering, as well as BPO. This is happening due to the political environment and the need for derisking; constantly working at different hours is impacting quality and language and cultural issues. But 70 to 80 per cent of work will continue to be delivered out of India," added Apte.

Why Outsourcing Services are Becoming Popular

That would be worth mentioning that there are plenty of reasons as to why outsourcing services have become so very popular. However, if we were to identify the most prominent of those reasons, it would certainly include the ability of outsourcing service providers, especially those that are based in developing countries such as India, to achieve, sustain and deliver the requisite cost and efficiency benefits as per client demands. Competitive pressures have increased considerably in recent years and since reducing costs and improving efficiency makes it a lot easier to face up to the competition, outsourcing has become the preferred choice for businesses worldwide.

Apart from the benefits described above, there are other reasons as well that justify the ever-increasing popularity of business process outsourcing. Another good reason for the growing popularity is that offshore outsourcing services allow businesses to concentrate more on their core processes such as production, sales, business expansion, mergers & acquisitions etc. When businesses have enough time and resources required to optimize core processes, it becomes easier for them to achieve targeted organizational goals and objectives. This naturally allows them to build competencies, something that is a prerequisite for emerging a winner in today's highly competitive market. It is not surprising then to know that more-and-more businesses are now choosing offshore outsourcing in order to boost their business interests.

Since competition is anticipated to intensify in the near future, it would be correct to assume that demand for business outsourcing will increase as well. That bodes well for the outsourcing services industry, as far as its future is concerned.

How to make Call Center Outsourcing Businesses

Contact center outsources can help to set your company apart from your competitors. With the right kind of call center outsourcing for small businesses you can reach your customers better with the outsource call center message you deliver and assist customers with an inbound call center that will bring them back to your business. Begin making the most of call center outsourcing by turning to a call center business to market your company.

Call center outsourcing companies can perform market surveys to find out you’re your customers want. Use a specialized outsource call center that has proven results with telemarketing efforts. Whether you use call center outsourcing providers fro marketing, as a help desk center or to direct client inquiries, make the most of call center outsourcing dollars with measurable results in a variety of ways.

1. Make sure you’re using the best call center operations

2. Hire an inbound call center to get you on track.

3. Measure the results of your call center
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Avoid waste with good information about call center outsourcing providers
Outbound call center management can take up a good chunk of your budget so you should make sure that you are putting your resources into call centers that work. Through client surveys, and ultimately through your sales figures, you should have a good handle on the most appropriate outbound call center management for your company.

Bring in call center operations to increase sales
After the surveys and plans are in place, the next step is to find the best place to put your calling requirements. An call center outsourcing for small businesses can help sort though all the choices as well as design your marketing pitches and recommend other lines of communication that could help increase your business profitability.

Measure call center business results
Keep track of the number of calls taken by the inbound call center and make sure you get reports of the disposition of those calls to ensure that you're getting your money's worth from the vendor. With the right kind of call center operations, you can be sure that your resources are being used in the best way.

Tips & Tactics Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
Try a short-term contract with an outsourced call center if you're not sure the service can help your business. Look at the results before making along term commitment.

Outsourcing Services back in business

The global outsourcing industry started showing signs of recovery in the second quarter ended June although many companies now prefer
captive operations to third-party outsourcing, shows a recent study.

Outsourcing transaction volumes increased 10% quarter-on-quarter even as third-party BPOs continued to struggle, according to the study by Everest Research Institute, an independent research and analysis organization.

“The paralysis of decision making which had almost crippled the industry late last year is now easing up. More and more pent-up transactions are being announced,” says Gaurav Gupta, principal and country head of Everest Group.

The quarter saw 27 new captive centers coming up around the world, against 21 in the first three months of the year. Nine new centers came up in India including those of Barclays, Boeing, Credit Suisse and Honeywell.

“Companies are being cautious. They are being more thoughtful and strategic as they go in for the captive strategy rather than expand into third party model in the current environment,” Mr Gupta said.

Nearshoring too continued to gain ground with 11 new centers announced in East Europe. Latin America also witnessed significant increase in market activity with eight new centers coming up.

According to the report, annual contract value (ACV) has also increased by 10% from the last quarter. Despite the downturn, BFSI vertical grew 26%. Some of the large deals in this sector are AXA Sun Life’s 15-year contract with Capita worth $805 million and National Bank Financial seven year contract with IBM worth $367 million.

Everest also cites recent geopolitical and macroeconomic events in Argentina and proposed amendments to the US tax code to pose potential medium-term risks and thus require monitoring.

Indian offshore call centers

Offshore call centers are expected to continue growing, despite the fact that some companies are bringing their customer care services back home.

Last week, Lloyds TSB became the latest British company to decide to reduce its use of Indian call centers. But earlier this week, Barclaycard announced that it is moving more work to Mumbai, and Data monitor contact center outsourcing analyst Peter Ryan said it is shortsighted to predict the end of customer service outsourcing.

Investment in offshore markets will continue for some time, as companies attempt to capitalize on lower costs and high-quality client care, Ryan said, predicting that more industries "than ever before" will be looking to adopt outsourced customer services.

This year "will be one of the most challenging in contact center outsourcing's history," Ryan said.

Ryan said, however, that call center operations will have to invest in Web-chat, SMS and e-mail technologies if they want to attract new customers. They also must offer systems tailored to specific vertically integrated industries, he said.

Companies will be looking for suppliers that can satisfy demand from multiple contact channels rather than just voice, he added.

Data monitor predicts that outsources will start to focus on higher-value services--such as business-to-employee care and technical support--that are likely to lead to higher revenues and profits over the long term.

Inbound Call Center : Giving Customers strong Solutions

Inbound call centers can be lifesavers. After all, when your phone's ringing off the hook, it's proof that business is finally booming. When you're too busy to answer, however, it's a sign that your business is buckling. Inbound call centers can help.

Designed to help you improve both customer service and relationship management, inbound call center solutions are an affordable, effective means for accommodating growth while satisfying customers. In fact, inbound call centers offer many benefits, and can make life easier for your business on several fronts. For starters:

1. Inbound call centers are ideal for taking and processing orders via phone.
2. Inbound call centers offer a fast and affordable solution to sudden surges in business.
3. Inbound call center software can double as an answering service.
4. Perfect for customer service, call centers are an excellent instrument for managing and improving customer relationships.
5. Outsourced call centers are an accessible option for companies that want to provide round-the-clock tech support.


Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Assess your inbound call center needs

For smart management, inbound call center shopping begins with a needs analysis. Decide what inbound call centers can do for you -- order collection, customer service, tech support -- as well as how much volume you expect to throw their way, then proceed accordingly.


Compare outsourced call centers with inbound call center software

If your inbound call volume is low, and consists mostly of informational inquiries, consider on-site call management; inbound call center software is an ideal do-it-yourself solution. If your call volume is high, however, and includes more complex customer interactions, outsourced call centers, which are vendor-driven, are a better option.


Research offshore outsourced call centers

While controversial, outsourced call centers in other countries are worth considering because they are cheaper by far than U.S.-based inbound call centers. You can minimize controversy and still take advantage of lower rates by employing inbound call centers closer to home, in Canada or the Caribbean, for example.

I recommend: There are outsourced call centers worldwide, including Call Centers in India; International Market Access, in the Caribbean; Asian Call Centres, in the Philippines; and TigerTel/UTR, in Canada.

Inbound 'call' centers? Try inbound 'contact' centers.


Focused increasingly on comprehensive customer service, call centers are turning more and more into generalized contact centers, answering inquiries made not only by phone, but also by e-mail, instant message and web chat.

I recommend: Popular vendors providing inbound call center software with wider contact center capabilities.


Find inbound call centers with the special services you need

Many inbound call centers offer unique services such as subject matter specialties and multilingual customer service reps, which can truly differentiate you with your customers.

I recommend: Look for inbound call centers via the American Teleservices Association; its member directory is searchable by company type, location and specialty.


Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

Keep in mind that inbound call centers are more than commodities; they're also instruments with which to brand and publicize your business. Because they're often companies' primary point of contact and customer service, call centers should be treated not as products, but as partners.

• Because most inbound call centers charge you based on usage, ask vendors to give you price quotes for an average month, a slow month and a busy month.

• While some inbound call centers offer shared agents, which handle calls for multiple companies, others offer dedicated agents that are assigned exclusively to your company. The former agents are more affordable, but the latter tend to produce more satisfied customers; know the difference and choose accordingly.

• If you're looking at inbound call center software, ask for a free trial. If you're looking at full-blooded outsourced call centers, ask to visit the call center in person and to listen in on live calls being answered for other customers.

• While many inbound call centers will offer to set up your customer service phone number for you, it's important to own your line. Acquire your own number, therefore, and have it assigned to your inbound call center.

• Because most service contracts with inbound call centers are binding for at least six months to a year, make sure yours includes pricing and terms that are clear and correct. What's more, make sure your vendor signs a service level agreement (SLA); not always standard, it guarantees short response times for your customers.

Offshore outsourcing Today

Offshore outsourcing isn't as gratifying as it used to be, according to consulting firm.

Diamond Cluster International's annual study of information technology outsourcing found that the number of buyers satisfied with their "offshoring" providers has fallen from 79 percent to 62 percent. In addition, the number of buyers prematurely terminating an outsourcing relationship has doubled to 51 percent.

"The blame cannot be heaped solely on the shoulders of providers," DiamondCluster consultant Tom Weak land said in a statement. "Many buyers are now several years into at least one outsourcing relationship, but they still lack effective measures to gauge the success of their outsourcing initiatives, which are critical for knowing and getting what you want."

The report is based on surveys and in-depth discussions with 210 senior IT executives at "global 1000" companies and with 242 senior executives at outsourcing service providers in the United States, India and other countries. Research was conducted in late 2004 and early 2005.

Outsourcing refers to farming out tasks to a separate company. That company's operations might be in a lower-wage nation, which makes for so-called offshoring. IT head honchos are planning to push more of their tech tasks to low-wage countries, according to a Merrill Lynch survey earlier this year.

Business leaders defend offshoring as ultimately good for the U.S. economy and its workers. Critics of shipping high-wage work to lower-cost countries are concerned about job loss in the United States.

In the short run, at least, U.S. techies may be more the losers than gainers when it comes to offshore outsourcing of IT work. A report last year sponsored by the Information Technology Association of America trade group on offshore outsourcing of software and IT services indicated that sacrifices by U.S. IT workers would result in an improved U.S. economy overall.

Politicians have entered the fray. Recently, the House of Representatives passed "Buy American" legislation that would force the Department of Homeland Security to buy products mostly made in America.

According to the new Diamond Cluster report, worries about anti-outsourcing legislation and political pressure have waned, but 88 percent of buyers remain concerned about employee backlash.

The study also found increased interest in sending tech work to China. Forty percent of buyers expect to outsource some IT functions to China during the next three to five years compared with 8 percent last year, the report said.
During the course of a service engagement, the scope of the project, deliverable or even the agreed upon price may change. Make sure that you clearly communicate any schedule, scope or payment changes to your service provider and get confirmation from them - in writing - that they understand and agree to the changes. Similarly, keep a record of any agreement changes requested by the service provider and whether you accept or reject those modifications. Save copies of any email exchanges that you have

Offshore Telemarketing : Easy way to business communications

Offshore Telemarketing : Easy way to business communications

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EMEA Call Center Outsourcing Growth Expected to Continue

By positive economic movement in central and eastern Europe, the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the call center outsourcing market is likely to grow at a steady pace. The vast majority of large, medium and small businesses in EMEA continue to seek cost reductions, focus on building core competencies and gain economies of scale through smart investments in outsourcing. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, EMEA Contact Center Outsourcing Market, reveals that the market earned revenues of $11.20 billion in 2006 and estimates to reach $16 billion in 2012.

"While the UK outsourcing market is very mature and has almost reached saturation, there are significant opportunities in other European nations," says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Michael DeSalles. "The Netherlands along with Central and Eastern Europe hold tremendous promise for new outsourcing contracts, especially in financial services, communications and information technology."

There is a significant percentage of in-house (not outsourced) business in EMEA that represents a rich, viable opportunity for outsourcing providers to gain more wallet share. To some, it may be a surprise that contact center offshoring for EMEA is taking place in Northern Africa, particularly Egypt and Tunisia for French–speaking customer care. South Africa is fast becoming another important contact center destination for UK clients. Given the current status of contact center technology, distance is no impediment in the quest for less expensive call center destinations – often outside the European continent.

In this very complex and fragmented market, successful providers have come to grips with the fact that they must provide native-tongue, multilingual agent capabilities – often termed a 'pan-European' solution to attract and keep key clients.

"Not unlike the trend in North America, enterprises serving customers in EMEA look to enhance customer experience through high quality contact center interactions," explains DeSalles. "Customer retention activity is becoming more important with growth in outbound calling to expand company value and branding with existing customers and acquire new ones."

Increasingly, clients are looking for outsourcing service providers that offer comprehensive, globally expansive solution sets. This helps to mitigate operational (and political) risks without sacrificing quality or customer retention and satisfaction. From a technological perspective, the emergence of IP technology along with hosted contact center offerings, have been important drivers for EMEA outsourcing growth.

The EMEA Contact Center Outsourcing Market is part of the Contact Centers Growth Partnership Service, and it provides an overview of this customer care outsourcing sub-set. It includes a complete analysis of key market challenges, drivers, restraints and trends that are impacting market penetration and growth in the industry. In this research, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysis thoroughly outlines market size, market share by major providers, and pricing strategies. Interviews are available to the press.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been partnering with clients to support the development of innovative strategies for more than 40 years. The company's industry expertise integrates growth consulting, growth partnership services and corporate management training to identify and develop opportunities. Frost & Sullivan serves an extensive clientele that includes Global 1000 companies, emerging companies and the investment community by providing comprehensive industry coverage that reflects a unique global perspective and combines ongoing analysis of markets, technologies, econometrics and demographics.

Inbound Call Centers for Customer Support Services : know your Needs

Inbound Telemarketing Services able to communicate more effectively with service providers about your inbound call center needs, truly getting what you want.

In order to find out more about inbound call centers for customer service and support, please visit our helpful buyer’s guide to inbound call centers. It can help you answer important questions like “What should I look for in an inbound call center?” and more.

Inbound call centers are business centers dedicated to assisting companies with inbound customer service and support calls. There are a wide variety of inbound call centers available, including those with bilingual customer service representatives, 24 hour capabilities, and both dedicated and diverse customer service representatives at your service. Inbound call centers employ service and support experts whose specialty is to best serve you through excellent service to your customers.

Inbound Call Center : Giving Customers strong Solutions

Inbound call centers can be lifesavers. After all, when your phone's ringing off the hook, it's proof that business is finally booming. When you're too busy to answer, however, it's a sign that your business is buckling. Inbound call centers can help.

Designed to help you improve both customer service and relationship management, inbound call center solutions are an affordable, effective means for accommodating growth while satisfying customers. In fact, inbound call centers offer many benefits, and can make life easier for your business on several fronts.

1. Inbound call centers are ideal for taking and processing orders via phone.
2. Inbound call centers offer a fast and affordable solution to sudden surges in business.
3. Inbound call center software can double as an answering service.
4. Perfect for customer service, call centers are an excellent instrument for managing and improving customer relationships.
5. Outsourced call centers are an accessible option for companies that want to provide round-the-clock tech support.


Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Assess your inbound call center needs

For smart management, inbound call center shopping begins with a needs analysis. Decide what inbound call centers can do for you -- order collection,

customer service, tech support -- as well as how much volume you expect to throw their way, then proceed accordingly.


Compare outsourced call centers with inbound call center software

If your inbound call volume is low, and consists mostly of informational inquiries, consider on-site call management; inbound call center software is an

ideal do-it-yourself solution. If your call volume is high, however, and includes more complex customer interactions, outsourced call centers, which are vendor-driven, are a better option.


Research offshore outsourced call centers

While controversial, outsourced call centers in other countries are worth considering because they are cheaper by far than U.S.-based inbound call centers.

You can minimize controversy and still take advantage of lower rates by employing inbound call centers closer to home, in Canada or the Caribbean, for example.

I recommend: There are outsourced call centers worldwide, including Call Centers in India; International Market Access, in the Caribbean; Asian Call Centres, in the Philippines; and TigerTel/UTR, in Canada.

Inbound 'call' centers? Try inbound 'contact' centers

Focused increasingly on comprehensive customer service, call centers are turning more and more into generalized contact centers, answering inquiries made not only by phone, but also by e-mail, instant message and web chat.

I recommend: Popular vendors providing inbound call center software with wider contact center capabilities include Avaya, Nortel and Genesys.

Find inbound call centers with the special services you need

Many inbound call centers offer unique services such as subject matter specialties and multilingual customer service reps, which can truly differentiate you with your customers.

I recommend: Look for inbound call centers via the American Teleservices Association; its member directory is searchable by company type, location and specialty.


Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

Keep in mind that inbound call centers are more than commodities; they're also instruments with which to brand and publicize your business. Because they're

often companies' primary point of contact and customer service, call centers should be treated not as products, but as partners.
• Because most inbound call centers charge you based on usage, ask vendors to give you price quotes for an average month, a slow month and a busy month.

• While some inbound call centers offer shared agents, which handle calls for multiple companies, others offer dedicated agents that are assigned

exclusively to your company. The former agents are more affordable, but the latter tend to produce more satisfied customers; know the difference and choose

accordingly.

• If you're looking at inbound call center software, ask for a free trial. If you're looking at full-blooded outsourced call centers, ask to visit the

call center in person and to listen in on live calls being answered for other customers.

• While many inbound call centers will offer to set up your customer service phone number for you, it's important to own your line. Acquire your own

number, therefore, and have it assigned to your inbound call center.

• Because most service contracts with inbound call centers are binding for at least six months to a year, make sure yours includes pricing and terms

that are clear and correct. What's more, make sure your vendor signs a service level agreement (SLA); not always standard, it guarantees short response times for your customers.

Call Center Outsourcing News and Trends

Contact center outsources are a growing piece of the business landscape for many industries. A call center business can be a profitable enterprise that serves the needs of business with customer service, help desk and telemarketing activities. As more call center outsourcing for small businesses open up opportunities, you should keep an eye on the call center outsourcing news and trends to remain competitive.

Information about outsource call center opportunities are available if you take the time to look for it. Whether you need the services of an outsourcing call center, or run one of the many call center outsourcing companies, you need to stay on top of emerging technology and other resources that can add to your profitability. Follow call center outsourcing news and trends in a number of ways.

1. Follow trends in call center outsourcing for businesses

2. Subscribe to call center publications

3. Meet with industry experts to get the latest outbound call center management information


Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find the latest inbound call center trends

As call center outsourcing providers learn more about the needs of their clients and what businesses are willing to outsource, they are becoming savvier about where to place calls to reach your audience. B2B contact center outsourcers are a growing business trend that you should consider suing if you haven't yet.


Stay on top of call center outsourcing providers

While you need to spend time watching the industry trends and the latest emerging technology that is affecting the industry, you should find the best publications that address your specific needs. Find niche publications that can narrow your focus and regularly feed you with the important news that you need so have each day.


Get to know call center operations professionals

A good networking group can be your best source of call center outsourcing news and trends. By getting involved in industry trade groups and associations you can be on the front lines of new information and find out what's going on in the industry from those who are most active in it.


Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

Request each of your employees to join a call center business trade group so that your company is well represented at all events and you don't miss out on any break news and trends.
Compiled from business.com

Profitable Customer Relationships through off shoring call Center Services

The fundamentals that will help your organization achieve greater success

If you’re still trying to sort out what customer relationship management really means, you're not alone. The term has been so hyped and so broadly interpreted that it remains a source of confusion. And once codified as a popular business movement, terms tend rise and fall with the trends of the day.

But it’s important to remember that building profitable customer relationships will never go out of style. From the days of the corner store in centuries past, to the global enterprises of the future, the following 12 principles will remain the backbone of building a successful business. Each is both compelling on its own and intertwined with the others — there is no question, though, that customer relationship management as an integrated whole is greater than the sum of these parts.

1. Continuously Learn About Your Customers. This is the first principle of managing customer relationships because it is the most fundamental. From this everything else follows. When you know your customers, you can make sound business decisions about how to develop your relationships with them. Collect and analyze information about your customers to get to know them well. Maintain your knowledge in customer profiles that are available to all who need them. But don’t stop there. Apply everything you know to building a customer valuation model. Knowing the value of customer relationships is essential for managing them wisely.

2. Handle Different Customers Differently. This idea has been repeated so many times that it’s practically taken for granted now. But the power of this principle lies in the potential for optimizing the value of each customer relationship through differential treatment. Based on customer segmentation, call centers can provide user-appropriate Web and interactive voice response (IVR) interfaces, routing routines, service levels and content. It is important, however, not to differentiate simply because technology exists that can do so. Segment customers sensibly. There are hidden costs to differentiation that must be weighed against the increased value that personalization can be expected to produce. Effective strategy ultimately seeks to optimize the value and "wallet share" of each customer segment.

3. Anticipate Customer Needs. Building strong customer relationships positively alters the selling process in many ways. Knowledge of your customers presents new opportunities for making the right offer to the right person at the right time. Analysis of customer profiles, especially using powerful analytics tools, can provide insight about who buys what from you when. Contact management systems can detect cross-sell and upsell opportunities and act upon them by presenting suggestions to agents during service calls, dynamically responding to customer input or automatically presenting customized offers in Web pages and IVR systems. Even government and nonprofit organizations can use these principles to better fulfill their charters and anticipate the needs of their constituents.

4. Interact With Customers. Desirable relationships are not one-way. Relationships result from interaction. Knowing your customers is just the first step. Use that knowledge to deepen relationships with customers whenever you interact with them. No matter how sophisticated the technology that organizations and customers use to communicate, your customers are people and people appreciate being recognized, listened to and understood. Letting your customers know that you care enough about them to get to know them is an important part of managing the customer relationship.

5. Focus on Revenue and Retention. Unlike many other management initiatives, building strong customer relationships is not first and foremost about cost savings — although that will often be the end result. Instead, the emphasis is to increase the revenue received from current customers and heighten the retention rate of valuable customers. A renewed focus on customer relationships can require so many organizationwide process changes that operational cost savings may well be realized, but in other ways. Talk time on customer calls may increase as agents make the most of each opportunity — it takes time to service customers well, to listen to them, to collect information about them and to upsell and cross-sell to them. But these steps can pay off in multiples. The return on investment for building customer relationships should not be expected from short term operational cost savings.

6. Increase Value for Your Customers and the Organization. The bottom-line reason for building customer relationships is to increase value both for customers and the organization. There are many ways to deliver increased value, including being “easy to do business with,” creating efficiencies for your customers and making timely offers of products or services that perceptively address customer needs. Similarly, there are many ways to increase the value of your customer relationships, and the most fundamental of these appear in this list of key principles. When executed properly, building customer relationships is a “win-win” for all parties.

7. Present a Single Face Across Channels. One of the ways to create value for your customers is to simplify the ways that they deal with your organization. Take a holistic view of your customers and consolidate information from across the organization, regardless of geography, department, function or product line. When you have a complete picture of each customer’s relationship, you can design customer interaction processes from the customer’s perspective, thus increasing value and letting customers know that you know them.

8. Enable Information Sharing and Interaction Across the Organization. Building customer relationships requires all parts of an organization, not just the call center. It is both a requirement and a benefit that organizations improve their internal communication processes. The only way to develop a comprehensive view of each customer’s relationship with the organization is with the full participation of every part of the organization. This requires strong support from top management and across the board. As the central point of contact with customers, the call center has a vested interest in driving the development of organizationwide interaction processes.

9. Create Business Rules to Drive Decisions. Business rules codify and automate processes, specifying what should happen in specific situations, thus enabling both differentiated customer treatment and automation. Developing organizationwide business rules is a monumental task, and how well it is done directly affects your success in building customer relationships. Business rules define the ways that the strategy is executed.

10. Empower Employees with Information and Training. Capable desktop tools may be the most visible technological feature of customer relationship applications. Just as the cockpit of an airplane displays all the information a pilot needs to fly in any condition, the contact management screen should pull together cleanly and clearly all that the organization knows about its relationship with that customer. Furthermore, business rules should dynamically change that screen to support and guide the agent in optimizing the customer relationship. Empowerment is a key principle, however, because no set of business rules can or should fully anticipate every conceivable situation: Agents need training, information and support offered by business rules so that they can make good decisions that are consistent with the organization’s strategy.

11. Retain the Right Customers. One of the truisms associated with customer relationship management is that it is cheaper to retain a customer than to acquire a new one, but that idea can be taken a step further. In order to maximize value, organizations should focus on retaining valuable customers, not necessarily all customers. Be warned, however, that misapplication of this principle can be dangerous. Mistreating “low value” customers, even if you are losing money on them, is hard to justify in the court of public opinion (which is where your future high-value customers are sitting).

12. Remember That Cultivating Customer Relationships is a Way of Doing Business. These efforts go beyond tools, techniques or programs. Building customer relationships is about the way you do business. It requires participation and hard work by people throughout the organization, and if done right, the work never ends. Results from these efforts should be fed back into the process to continuously refine business rules, marketing efforts and information systems. True optimization has no finish line — it’s an ongoing mission.

Source : cmsight.com

Offshoring threat downplayed for U.K. call centers

The U.K. call center industry is still set to see strong growth over the next few years, despite hype about the impact of offshoring, according to new research.

A report by analyst firm ContactBabel predicts a gain of more than 150,000 jobs over the next three years, bringing the total U.K. call center work force to more than 1 million--though that does represent a drop in the growth rate of recent years. U.K. call centers currently employ 850,000 people.

The growth, however, will not be across all sectors. Offshoring -the shipping of jobs overseas--will hit the finance, telecommunications and utilities sectors, where there will actually be a decline, with a net loss of 5,000 jobs. But contact centers in IT, retail, outsourcing and the public sector are set for strong growth, according to the report.

Steve Morell, principal analyst at ContactBabel, said in the report: "In the long term, offshoring will become an accepted part of the customer service mix for some businesses, especially those with many thousands of contact center workers. The most likely scenario is that most companies will keep the majority of their contact center work within the U.K."
CNET News

Why Outsource Call Center Services to India

Recent market analysis indicate that outsourcing is increasingly becoming the option of preference worldwide . Although in house Call Centers represent the majority of Call Center is the most common option today. Outsourced service provider may facilitate anything from a single project to an entire operation for a client and in turn provide services to that client's end-customers. Market analysis shows that the one year growth is almost 25% for outsource solutions vs. 5% for in-house solutions over the next five years.

Offshoring brings substantial benefits to the global economy and the lion's share will likely go to the US economy, research by McKinsey Global Institute. "Off shoring creates wealth for US companies and consumers and therefore for the US as a whole," it adds. Of the $1.12 to $1.14 value potential to the US from $1 of spend off-shored to India, 58 cents comes from savings accrued to US investors and customers and 5 cents from import of US goods and services by providers in India. "Economic Times edition- September 11, 2003".

Tremendous Potential

In today's highly competitive world, companies are looking to outsource much of the work that needs to be done, but have little success with it. Global companies such as Dell and British Airways have found out that India, with its inherent strengths, has a strategic advantage while setting up Call Centers. Successful companies like GE and Amex saw the tremendous opportunity in India due to its vast technological base and have set up their own call centers to handle customer requests.


Well educated Professionals

India has a large pool of student population with very excellent English speaking and communication skills. With thousands of universities where English is the first language, India can never be short of an English speaking population. The entire world is aware of the fact that India has produced the maximum number of software professionals. Therefore, recruiting highly skilled professionals for a Call Center can be very easily done in India.


Low Attrition Rates

A Contact Center job is a long term approach for agents in India, unlike the United States, where a Contact Center job is often perceived as a part time job, done to fill in the gaps of employment opportunities. Therefore, the attrition rates in India are much lower than the United States. This helps Indian call centers to invest all their resources in the agents, as they are confident of low labor turnover. This also saves time and resources on training new recruits, which in turn allows the Centers to focus on improving client processes.


Excellent Quality and Service at Low Price

Due to the cheap and highly skilled labor, it turns out to be very reasonable to outsource Call Center operations and back office processing to India. The average price of a Contact Center agent in United States is almost $ 2000 where as that of an agent from India is just over $200. Therefore, the cost savings account to almost 40% of the costs incurred otherwise. Highly liberal Government policies on Call Center operations The government has declared a tax holiday for Call Center Companies.

BPO Industry in India

"At a time when the US economy is reeling under the financial crisis, the domestic market needs a well-managed approach to overcome global economy havoc. The situation is not so gloomy, although ICICI, the largest private bank in India, has suffered losses"

EMPLOYER REGISTRATION LINK

India is one the major markets for large overseas companies and lucrative outsourcing destination. According to NASSCOM chief- Som Mittal., IT and ITES services are growing at a faster rate and are poised to generate nearly $ 60 billion in revenue by 2010. With the global financial turmoil, India is expected to benefit from its BPO and IT/ITES offshoring services.

Kamal Nath, Commerce and Industry Minister, while participating in the India-EU Business Summit was quoted as saying that short and medium term fundamentals of the Indian economy were sound, the country could not remain insulated in the long term from such a crisis.

The Indian BPO industry is poised to grow nearly five-fold to $ 50 billion by 2012, a study by India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) and consulting organization Everest Group said. The Indian BPO industry employs about 700,000 people across 25 countries and accounts for about 40 % of the total global BPO offshore market. The industry aims to provide direct employment to over 2 million people in next five years in India alone.

However, according to IMF sources, India holds a good share in the global offshore IT and ITES (IT-enabled services) market, of which around 60 % comes from IT and 40 % from ITES. They, together contributes to about 5% of India’s GDP. The industry is poised to fare better in revenue, if industry insiders are to be believed. India’s Union Budget 2008-09 focuses on improving infrastructure and encouraging all sources of investment, in order to achieve growth in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-2012).

“Taking the ongoing economical crisis in US into account, the scenario is painful for a shorter term but it’s an opportunity for the country like India as more companies may outsource business in an effort to cut operational cost,” said Pavan Vaish, CEO of IBM-Daksh Global Services. “A lot of will come out of it in off-shoring business in future,” added Vaish.

Praveen Senger, head (software and services industry vertical research) of IDC India, talked about the future of the BPO Industry. He said that with a CAGR of 43% as compared to 25% of IT outsourcing, the BPO outsourcing shall surpass it in 2012. K. V. Subramaniam CFO of Oracle Financial Services said that outsourcing is not an option but a necessity for any business. So despite the small hiccups, like the current financial crisis, outsourcing industry will only grow stronger.

India has held top position for three consecutive years since 2005 as one of the most attractive markets for retailers worldwide in the annual A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). If the market analysis, irrespective of current US economy, goes true then the retail sector is expected to grow from $330 billion to nearly $450 billion by 2010 and $630 billion by 2015.

“Success and failures are the great teachers. Having a good product or service is not necessary, the core value lies in innovation”, feels Navyug Mohnot, CEO and founder, QAI, India. “Customer-centric and long-term strategy, as well as innovation and differentiation is needed in order to retain market, he said.


Source: http://www.brightemps.com/news/3/

Outbound Call Center - The Perfect Solution for Your Business Outsourcing

Call Center India is one of the best Washington based offshore call center which provides outsourcing call center services including Voice based - Inbound/Outbound call center services, Non voice services - chat,email and sms chat support and back office support- data entry,document management,mystery shopping,qualitative analysis and building database.

The company offers advanced services with Cisco IP networks and ability to call and receive calls from over 30 countries. Call Center India uses distinct metrics to measure agent success, such as daily agent feedback, talk time, average time to answer, hold times, wait time, wrap times, defined escalation procedures and specified account manager.

We have a experienced professionals and world’s largest pool of college educated workers team that ensures quality delivery at each and every stage of our process. We also leverage on our software development team that provides all the required tools to increase productivity and experts to handle outbound and inbound calls exclusively.

Quality of service is the “core strength” for call center India. Being less expensive is just one of the benefits you get by allowing us the opportunity to serve you.


Gartner report: Indian BPO industry’s revenue to increase two-fold by 2010-end

According to a recent report by the information technology research and advisory firm Gartner, the economic downturn and protectionist measures of western countries notwithstanding, the market share of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry will likely increase two-fold over the next couple of years.

The report said that Indian vendors in the BPO sector would experience growth, owing to factors like dependable service delivery, sustained acquisitions of Europe and North America-based shared service centers, as well as revenue growth from continental Europe by way of partnerships.

The 2008 revenue figures are expected to double by 2010 - last year, the foremost 20 India-centric BPO service providers managed $4 billion revenue, which was 5 percent of the $80-billion revenue figures of the leading 150 BPO companies of the world. As per Gartner study, the market share of India's cost-effective BPO industry would rise to 10 percent by the end of 2010. Along with having the cost advantage, the Indian BPO industry also attracts corporates because of the fairly simple regulatory norms.

Arup Roy, senior research analyst at Gartner, said: "Indian BPO providers are swiftly evolving to balance exposure to vertical industries, currency and legislation issues. Their strategies include investing in onshore and nearshore delivery, and pioneering new area of analytics services or knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), where Indian BPO players are shining!"

Source: http://www.topnews.in/gartner-report-indian-bpo-industry-s-revenue-increase-twofold-2010end-2154290

India BPO Industry to Grow

"At a time when the US economy is reeling under the financial crisis, the domestic market needs a well-managed approach to overcome global economy havoc. The situation is not so gloomy, although ICICI, the largest private bank in India, has suffered losses"

EMPLOYER REGISTRATION LINK

India is one the major markets for large overseas companies and lucrative outsourcing destination. According to NASSCOM chief- Som Mittal., IT and ITES services are growing at a faster rate and are poised to generate nearly $ 60 billion in revenue by 2010. With the global financial turmoil, India is expected to benefit from its BPO and IT/ITES offshoring services.

Kamal Nath, Commerce and Industry Minister, while participating in the India-EU Business Summit was quoted as saying that short and medium term fundamentals of the Indian economy were sound, the country could not remain insulated in the long term from such a crisis.

The Indian BPO industry is poised to grow nearly five-fold to $ 50 billion by 2012, a study by India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) and consulting organization Everest Group said. The Indian BPO industry employs about 700,000 people across 25 countries and accounts for about 40 % of the total global BPO offshore market. The industry aims to provide direct employment to over 2 million people in next five years in India alone.

However, according to IMF sources, India holds a good share in the global offshore IT and ITES (IT-enabled services) market, of which around 60 % comes from IT and 40 % from ITES. They, together contributes to about 5% of India’s GDP. The industry is poised to fare better in revenue, if industry insiders are to be believed. India’s Union Budget 2008-09 focuses on improving infrastructure and encouraging all sources of investment, in order to achieve growth in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2007-2012).

“Taking the ongoing economical crisis in US into account, the scenario is painful for a shorter term but it’s an opportunity for the country like India as more companies may outsource business in an effort to cut operational cost,” said Pavan Vaish, CEO of IBM-Daksh Global Services. “A lot of will come out of it in off-shoring business in future,” added Vaish.

Praveen Senger, head (software and services industry vertical research) of IDC India, talked about the future of the BPO Industry. He said that with a CAGR of 43% as compared to 25% of IT outsourcing, the BPO outsourcing shall surpass it in 2012. K. V. Subramaniam CFO of Oracle Financial Services said that outsourcing is not an option but a necessity for any business. So despite the small hiccups, like the current financial crisis, outsourcing industry will only grow stronger.

India has held top position for three consecutive years since 2005 as one of the most attractive markets for retailers worldwide in the annual A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). If the market analysis, irrespective of current US economy, goes true then the retail sector is expected to grow from $330 billion to nearly $450 billion by 2010 and $630 billion by 2015.

“Success and failures are the great teachers. Having a good product or service is not necessary, the core value lies in innovation”, feels Navyug Mohnot, CEO and founder, QAI, India. “Customer-centric and long-term strategy, as well as innovation and differentiation is needed in order to retain market, he said.

Source: http://www.brightemps.com/news/3/