3 Signs it’s Time to Write That Call Center RFP

by Blue Ocean in Blog, Contact Center RFP

Outsourcing your call center is a long-term decision and solution driven by changing business needs. As the business evolves, the call center aches from playing catch up to the growth – handling more customers, more products, and more processes. Often that changing dynamic creates pressure which can be relieved by partnering with a call center outsourcer. The smoothest route is to adhere to the road signs that can lead you to a scenario that mitigates your risk (and stress level) before it impacts your operations.
We’ve identified three signs that it’s time to write that call center RFP:

1. Increased Call Volume. Increased call volume is the enemy of most in-house call centers.  Growing call volume will strain the resources of your customer service team. Lost calls from increased hold times can spill over to social media and emails, which adds even more stress to your team. When your in-house customer service team is at the breaking point, you should start writing the contact center RFP.
2. The Rules Have Changed. Consumer-focused brands face a dilemma as they serve up more products and services to a larger customer base: should you scale the in-house contact center or begin a process to partner with a call center outsourcer? Maybe your company is entering new geographic markets and launching new products. When new segments of customers need to be supported, it initiates a whole slew of new processes and policies that will soak up call center resources.  How will you service an expanding customer base that requires new customer support processes or support in a different language than your in-house support team?
3. Outdated Call Center Technology. Call center technology infrastructure is the central nervous system of any call center. When it’s apparent your technology can’t handle your current call volume or support new channels like social media, will you choose to invest capital in new technology or will you seek to leverage an outsourced partner’s technology stack?  There’s expensive hardware, software, networking, telephony, and the skilled tech personnel to support it all. It’s not cheap, especially when your existing technical infrastructure is on its last legs.

As call volume grows, the call center’s underlying infrastructure may break to the pressure. Call center agents also need to be trained and organized to service these complex business processes. Can you stomach keeping up with customer service technology that continues to grow in scope and requires more and more capital investment to maintain?  Recognizing that you can alleviate these operational and financial headaches by offloading your call center to a trusted partner can be the first step to customer service nirvana.

If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms, reach out to us. We’ll be happy to learn about your situation and how we might be able to help.

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