How to outsource customer service without losing quality

Outsourced customer service gives you access to a specialized workforce without distracting from your core business competencies. However, using a customer service Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) to communicate with your customers shouldn’t affect the quality of support they receive.

Given that customer expectations are constantly increasing, is it possible to relinquish some of your operational responsibilities by customer service outsourcing and still meet those expectations?

It is absolutely possible. However, your customers still connect the quality of support they receive with the value of your business. Good quality service is still essential.

• Does customer service team structure affect support quality?
• Outsourced customer service vs quality assurance
• How to keep quality high in outsourced customer service teams
• Ensuring success in outsourced customer service

Does customer service team structure affect support quality?

Although some companies keep everything in-house regardless of size, the larger a company grows, the more likely they are to look into customer service outsourcing options to supplement or replace in-house teams or account for seasonality in hiring. That can take several forms:

1. Outsourcing all support to BPOs
   This means that there is no customer support team in-house. Instead, a customer service outsourcing company is supplied with all the information needed to support customers at any level.
2. Outsourcing a support tier to BPOs
   For some companies, tier 1 customer support agents are outsourced while escalation specialists remain in-house. Fewer take the opposite approach, outsourcing tier 2 agents and keeping frontline customer service representatives in-house.

In either case, support quality specialists can be based in-house or onsite. You might think an in-house QA specialist gives you better insight. But, especially in cases where the company outsources across multiple vendors to cover multiple regions or time zones, that logic doesn’t always follow. All models of support setup with BPOs can be successful if the right processes and communication pathways are in place to facilitate quality customer service.

The structure you choose is not a determinant of quality. Your vendor is.
When you outsource, you are investing not just money, but time and trust. Your BPO partner should be able to demonstrate how they will be good stewards of that investment.

Outsourced customer service vs quality assurance

Regardless of the way you structure your customer support team, you should be able to assess the quality of customer interactions.

Customer service quality has traditionally been measured with metrics like Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) or Customer Effort Score (CES). These metrics can help you set KPIs and understand benchmarks. But the qualitative data, harnessed through conversation reviews, is critical for all companies who outsource.

When you are not on the floor to see trends and spot agent knowledge gaps, numbers alone cannot tell you how to improve. Reviews flesh out your understanding for a better connection with performance.

The right quality assurance software helps you understand support performance no matter how support is structured.

How to keep quality high in outsourced customer service teams

There are three common problems associated with customer service outsourcing.

Problem #1: Customer service companies experience higher employee attrition

Attrition is one of the best indicators of how employees are valued.

Employee retention is a universal problem in customer service, so be aware that the employee tenure may be shorter than you think. The length of time customer service employees spend in one job depends on industry and age, among other factors.

Nice’s 2022 attrition report looked into US and UK-based vendors, finding that BPO agents were more likely to quit sooner than in-house employees.

This is not good for customer service quality. The processes of hiring and onboarding new employees are time-consuming and costly. It also stands to reason that agents with more experience with a company are better acquainted with the product and company tone of voice. Many teams rely on senior members who have more depth of knowledge to help with their quality assurance program.

Ways to combat the problem of employee attrition with outsourced customer support teams

Investigate how much value a customer service outsourcing company puts into its employees. Do they invest in training? Find out how you, as a provider, can bolster career progression. For example, promote top-performing agents into the quality or training process to improve job engagement.

Salary is important to us all. The people who are on the customer frontlines (i.e. outsourced customer service reps) should be valued. Make sure your chosen customer service outsourcing companies pay appropriately and consider establishing raises to reward employees directly.

In general, the bigger the company, the higher the attrition rate. Consider outsourcing customer service to multiple smaller providers rather than one bigger one.

Problem #2: An extra degree of separation

When you outsource customer service, you want to delegate agent management. However, you want to avoid the ‘silo effect’. The silo effect happens when communication fractures and information is not shared between departments & teams.

In essence, you do not want the benefits you reap from customer service outsourcing to come at the expense of quality and customer satisfaction.

So, how do you combat the extra degree of separation between business and customer when customer service is outsourced? A successful partnership between a BPO and a business comes down to two things: training and communication.

Agent training in outsourced customer service companies

Theo Panaritis, a customer service training specialist, discusses how businesses should get involved in how BPOs train employees:

“Continuous training should be at the core of the quality maintenance efforts. Not only product training, but also power skills training – focusing on communication and agility.

What is also important here is to set clear communal processes. Just because customer support is outsourced, it doesn’t mean that the goals are different! What is important here is to blend the outsourced team with the in-house related departments and teams.

The outsourced customer service team shouldn’t feel like an outsider and should be involved in the company updates. Blending teams in a collaborative environment is not an easy task, but it’s something that we have all been preparing for in the last two years where remote and hybrid work have left their mark.

Furthermore, the outsourced customer service provider needs continuous feedback throughout the hiring and training process. Fearless feedback is the force behind constructive and honest discussions.”

Problem #3: Consistency & calibration

Consistency is a hot topic right now in customer service.

Chat, email, call, social networks, bots, video — the ways in which businesses communicate with customers are expanding. But customers crave consistency across channels, so companies also need to maintain a consistent voice across platforms and people.

Adding outsourcing to the mix can add another layer of complexity to this issue.

This is where your support goals become very relevant. If BPOs are aware of and aligned across company goals, there is at least a benchmark for success.

The 3 ways to maintain consistency in customer service operations

1. Knowledge base

All companies should have clearly defined internal standards and procedures. A single knowledge base that gives all agents access to protocols and procedures is low-hanging fruit when it comes to consistency.

2. Structured onboarding

Give all agents the same diving board to jump off, no matter where they work.

A strong onboarding process introduces:

• Customer personas and target users

• Company values and communication rubric

• Product training

• Common user scenarios

• Tools and proceedings

We operate and recommend a ‘buddy’ system to promote shared learning and non-formal guidance (this aids company culture & well-being also).

3. QA Calibration sessions

The first thing you can do to keep your agents consistent is to have your reviews consistent. Misaligned or biased reviews lead to inconsistent grading and skewed quality metrics.

Monthly calibration sessions help all teams combat this. Get your reviewers together to either:

(a) review conversations blind, then discuss grades after,
(b) review conversations together to facilitate discussion,
(c) review conversations with agents for transparency.

If you have outsourced your quality management in addition to your support team, it’s best to set up a process where you perform some spot-checks on the quality reviews. This is where you review the grade given by the reviewer to ensure that they are following your own quality standards.

Ensuring success in outsourced customer service

Outsourcing customer service can be a strategic move that allows your company to focus on core competencies while still delivering exceptional support. However, to ensure success, it’s crucial to approach outsourcing with a clear strategy that prioritizes quality, consistency, and communication.

By carefully selecting a BPO partner that aligns with your company’s values and goals, investing in continuous training and robust onboarding processes, and maintaining rigorous quality assurance practices, you can overcome the common challenges of outsourcing. Remember, the key to retaining the trust of your customers lies in the seamless integration of outsourced teams with your in-house operations. This integration ensures that every customer interaction reflects your brand’s commitment to excellence.

Ultimately, when managed correctly, outsourcing customer service not only meets but can exceed customer expectations, fostering loyalty and enhancing your brand’s reputation. By following the strategies outlined in this guide, you can confidently outsource customer service without compromising on quality, ensuring that your customers continue to receive the exceptional support they deserve.