Your customers deserve the best care. But, handling daily customer inquiries and maintaining lead generation can be a tall task for smaller Australian businesses with limited human resources.
Call centre outsourcing can maximise your business efficiency and give your team breathing room to focus on strategic tasks. Read on to find out what call centre outsourcing is, how your Australian business can benefit from it, and what to look for in an outsourcing vendor
What Is Call Centre Outsourcing?
Call centre outsourcing involves contracting a third-party company to handle inbound or outbound customer care. Instead of handling basic customer care in-house, businesses can turn to external organisations to take care of customer inquiries, lead generation, telemarketing, and technical support.
Traditionally, call centre outsourcing referred to inbound and outbound calls only. However, as new customer care models have emerged, today’s services include a wider range of channels. In addition to calling, businesses can outsource support and customer care provided via live chat, SMS, email, social media, and virtual bots.
Benefits of Call Center Outsourcing Services
Australian businesses can benefit significantly from call centre outsourcing services. This is particularly true for SMEs that have limited in-house human resources. Outsourcing customer care can reduce their teams’ workload, clearing the work schedule for more strategic objectives.
Here are several other advantages your business can tap into through call centre outsourcing:
- Save money: Australian SMEs stand to see significant savings. For example, outsourcing to the Philippines can be up to 70% cheaper than local hiring in Australia.
- Scale up and down: Smaller businesses may need help to maintain a large staff. Outsourcing allows companies to scale up when bigger projects come in without committing to long-term contracts.
- Access specialised talent: Many call centre outsourcing providers have worked in customer care for decades. They have intricate knowledge and understanding of the market, bringing unique value to your business.
- Provide 24/7 support: While working across time zones can be a hassle, it can also allow your business to provide round-the-clock customer care. With outsourced talent based globally, your customers will never have to wait to resolve any issues.
- Focus on core objectives: While customer care is crucial, it can be tedious and time-consuming. Outsourcing lets your team focus on more strategic processes and objectives while your customers remain happy with your service quality.
Choosing the Right Call Centre Outsourcing Provider for Your Business
Convinced that call centre outsourcing is right for your business? Here are some tips on choosing the ideal partner to ensure your customers are cared for and happy.
High English Proficiency
The Philippines ranks #20 on the global English Language Proficiency Index. However, among professional workers, English proficiency is even higher, making it easy for Australian businesses to communicate with local staff. Plus, many Philippine employees speak additional languages like Spanish, which can be a value-add for companies working on a global scale.
Understanding the Prices for Web Development in the Philippines
There are different ways to outsource web development to the Philippines. You have a few options when it comes to pricing and engagement models.
Experience and Reputation
Make sure your provider has extensive experience in the customer care you intend to offer. One of the advantages of outsourcing is access to specialised talent so that you don’t need to worry about onboarding and training.
Also, ensure they are well-versed in the geographic region where you plan to outsource. This will prevent compliance issues and support the cultural fit of your outsourced staff with your company’s values.
Service Offering
Do you need traditional call centre services or a broader portfolio that includes, for example, an AI chatbot? Are you looking to outsource to one country or multiple locations?
Check that your vendor offers the services your business requirements and scan scale to fit your needs.
Technology and Infrastructure
Today, call centre outsourcing isn’t just about answering phones. Your vendor will need all the latest technologies to ensure smooth operations. This may include interactive voice response systems, customer relationship management software, and AI-powered customer care tools.
They’ll also need to guarantee data security through data compliance and management tools, especially if cross-border customer data collection is involved.
Cultural Fit
You’ll be working quite closely with your outsourced customer care team. More importantly, they will represent your company to your clients. As such, it is critical to make sure that they understand your brand and voice. This will facilitate communication both across corporate lines and directly with clients or end users.
How Outsourcing Transforms Customer Service for SMEs
By partnering with professional customer care service providers, SMEs can increase customer satisfaction and transform business operations.
Call centre outsourcing can ensure 24/7, multilingual, professional customer service so clients never have to wait to resolve their issues. It can also save SMEs money in terms of HR and investment into the underlying infrastructure that streamlines customer care.
At the same time, smaller businesses benefit by shifting focus from daily customer care to strategic operations. This allows them to build up their business and innovate in response to customer needs. Ultimately, outsourcing such non-core functions can set your business apart from the competition. Book a free consultation today and discover how call centre outsourcing can elevate your customer service to the next level.
FAQs
What Are Call Centre Outsourcing Services?
Traditionally, call centre outsourcing services focused on inbound and outbound calls, including customer care and telemarketing.
Modern outsourcing services encompass a broader spectrum of communication channels. In addition to phone calls, businesses now outsource support and customer care through live chat, SMS, email, social media platforms, and virtual bots.
How Can Australian SMEs Benefit from Call Centre Outsourcing?
Australian SMEs can save money, access specialised talent, and focus on core objectives when outsourcing customer care functions.
Call centre outsourcing leads to substantial money and time savings. For one, HR costs are often much lower beyond Australian borders. Plus, businesses don’t need to invest in specialised software and data security processes as they outsource these too.
In addition, SMEs with smaller teams can focus on their core tasks and strategic objectives without worrying about daily customer care. Outsourced specialised talent can provide 24/7 multilingual support. Plus, companies can scale their customer service teams up or down as needed.
What Should Businesses Look for in a Call Centre Outsourcer?
Businesses looking for a call centre outsourcer should evaluate the vendor’s industry experience, technology infrastructure, and customer service philosophy.
Your call centre service provider is critical to your customer’s journey. They will often be the first direct interaction a client will experience with your company. As such, ensure that the vendor has experience providing the type of care you need and understands your brand thoroughly.
Compliance is also crucial. Select a partner with expertise in the region of your outsourced personnel. Also, check that they have the infrastructure and technology in place to safely handle customer data and ensure data privacy and security.
Wrapping Up
The Philippines is an ideal outsourcing destination for Australian SMEs looking to onboard skilled web designers. Businesses can expect professional talent and smooth collaboration while saving costs.
Book a free consultation to explore how hiring web designers in the Philippines can benefit your business today.
FAQs
1. What challenges might Australian SMEs face when hiring web designers from the Philippines?
While Australia and the Philippines share a similar time zone, some scheduling challenges may still arise. These are easy to fix with a wealth of remote coordination tools like Calendly and Trello.
Communication may be another challenge. For example, the Philippines tends to be a more high-context culture than Australia. This means that the communication style is less direct. As such, it’s important to pay attention to cultural nuances and take the time to create a positive communication cycle with your team in the Philippines.
Overall, clear lines of communication and the use of effective remote work tools will help mitigate these types of challenges.
2. Are there specific legal considerations for Australian businesses employing web developers from the Philippines?
Australian businesses need to consider the legal repercussions in Australia and the Philippines when engaging overseas freelancers or employees. It’s important to adhere to tax and labour law obligations in both countries. This includes tax withholdings, contracts, probation periods, termination procedures, and so on.
In addition, you’ll need to think about intellectual property rights and data protection regulations in Australia and globally. This will protect your business, your global hires, and your clients.
3. How do Australian SMEs invoice and pay Philippine staff?
There are different ways for Australian businesses to pay Philippine staff. Common payment platforms include PayPal, Payonner, and Wise. Direct bank transfers are another option.
While these are viable payment methods, consider the currency conversion and transaction fees for these cross-border services. Sometimes, these can add up and increase your costs or reduce your staff’s earnings.
With RemoteHirely, it’s easy to pay your staff in the Philippines and rid yourself of the headaches attached. As an Australian entity, we handle all payments made to staff, include equipment costs and any agreed bonuses. Book a free consultation and never worry about bank transfers to offshore staff again!