The Business Process Outsourcing industry is extensively using advance technologies like virtual assistant and other artificial intelligence based solutions. As far the BPO industry is concerned, the virtual assistant market is expected to contribute a revenue growth of more than USD 2.5 billion by next year. One sub segment of the outsourcing industry that is expected to grow rapidly and will probably prove to be the strongest segment is the customer service agents based from home segment.
Few of the factors that have really given an impetus to the growth of the BPO industry are, services that are provided round the clock, its cost effective nature and the flexibility it provides with respect to location. But, every advantageous thing come with disadvantages. So does this industry. One of the most important disadvantage or challenges we can point out is the lack or incapacity to support and manage the customer service agents spread all across the world. Outsourced agents have a huge network across the globe. They cater to multiple organization with their expertise and services at the same time. In situations like these it becomes difficult to prioritize one organization’s needs over another.
There are certain that can be taken and that have proved to be effective in the above mentioned situations. They are effective in measuring success as well as failure of outsourcing by contact centers.
1. Levels of service
Every BPO is defined by a service level. As per the industry standards majority of BPO’s adopt an 80/20 service level. It clearly defines the percentage value and time value in seconds. It is a simple metric composed of numbers. Nonetheless, the industry demands a better service level management metric as it defines a lot about the organization. It needs proper consideration of staff and the call volume that is received.
2. Attrition
In the contact center outsourcing industry, the attrition rate for agents also reaches to 20-30% on a yearly basis. Contact centers have the flexibility to reduce or increase the agent number. But, in case of reduction it becomes important to keep a check on the rate of attrition. This specifically becomes difficult for managers as they cannot keep a check on how the agent performs, interacts with the customers or represents the organization. Performance becomes a major concern in this situation.
3. Performance
Work related interactions sometimes do not fulfill the purpose. Agents need constant motivation to work better. Motivation and constant interactions help people perform better but, managing this is a big challenge. It is also important for personal and professional growth. Speech analytics software is helping managers tackle this problem to some extent as it allows giving actionable feedback.
4. Process Adherence
Every organization or a BPO to be precise needs to have its process in place. If agents are thorough and clear with the process, it becomes easier for them to handle their customers and miss out on opportunities. Thus process adherence is an important factor to emphasize on when it comes to contact center outsourcing.
Having said that, it will not be wrong to say that there are other factors apart from KPI’s that BPO’s need to focus on. The above mentioned parameters will not only enhance the functionality of the agents but also help measure their and the organizations performance and success.
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