In-House vs. Outsourced Call Centre - Which Should Businesses Opt For?

Posted by Rahul Garg

Customer satisfaction has always been a top priority, no matter whether your business is service/product-oriented. To keep running a business in a thriving manner, it is vitally important to give an accurate and prompt response whenever a customer approaches for help.

It is fundamental to live up to customers’ expectations because when you succeed in doing this, you directly uplift your brand loyalty, which consequently, paves the way for incredible business growth.

Here, the question that could possibly strike to your mind is, ‘Is it easy to meet customer expectations during support service interactions?’

The answer is ‘Big No’ if you are running a business with a tight budget and don’t have relevant experience in handling call centre operations. Then, what should I do? Well, go for call centre outsourcing.

However, if you possess a pertinent experience in running customer service operations and budget isn’t your problem, operating an in-house call centre isn’t a bad idea at all.

“Which one is more beneficial between call centre outsourcing and operating an in-house call centre?”

Actually, both the in-house call centre and outsourced call centre come with some pros and cons. But call centre outsourcing has become a trend these days because it not only takes away the hassle of handling non-core business functions but also promises better results without demanding a hefty price.

Today, we will shed light on the difference between in-house and outsourced call centre to wipe out all the related queries, so please don’t be distracted while reading the following pointers:

Outsourced Call Centre:

To understand why call centre service providers are in great demand, it is imperative to make sense of ‘What does outsourcing mean?’ first. Call centre outsourcing means approaching a third-party company to handle call centre operations. This brings two-fold advantages like ‘Pared distractions,’ ‘High CX levels,’ etc. Now, you may have already got the answer to ‘Why do companies outsource?’

By virtue of outsourced call centre services, businesses can take a sigh of relief, as it’s totally up to the outsourcing partner to meet SLAs. Here are some advantages and disadvantages of outsourcing:

Advantages of Outsourcing:

Cost-Effectiveness:

Starting with the salient perk, cost-effectiveness is what you can enjoy with outsourced call centres. Generally, businesses have to invest a big chunk of money to handle call centre operations. For perfect call handling, you have to respond whenever your telephone rings, which indirectly, puts core business functions on the backburner.

According to emerging reports, companies save at least 50% percent of their hard-earned money when they contact call centres in UK, India, etc. regarding outsourcing.

Focus on Core Competencies:

To set new benchmarks in terms of business growth, you must give undivided attention to core competencies, which isn’t possible when you are busy with running an in-house call centre. Here, outsourced call centres come to rescue as they put a full stop on rising distractions.

Diligent and Deft Calling Agents:

To reap benefits from call centre operations, having a team of diligent and deft call agents is paramount. However, bringing a horde of dexterous customer service representatives isn’t easy. This is where the salience of the call centre outsourcing soars because call centres in India, UK, etc. have always been known for their large workforce.

Disadvantages of Outsourcing:

Less Control:

Well, when you choose an outsourced call centre to cater to customer needs, you are likely to lose control over call handling operations. Therefore, reaching out to the right call centre outsourcing partner is important so that you can get to know what is being done to enhance service levels.

Confidentiality Problems:

When you opt for call centre outsourcing, you put invaluable and sensitive customer data into someone’s hands, which indirectly signals to a data breach. In case customer data gets compromised, you don’t only lose customer loyalty forever but also get a black spot on your brand image. To put it briefly, confidentiality problems is what you can face after joining forces with an outsourced call centre.

In-house Call Centre:

In-house call centre means handling telephone-related tasks on your own. Companies that opt for handling call centre operations without taking any external help often have to bring resources like a team of skilled calling reps, state-of-the-art technology, etc. in the pursuance of delivering seamless call handling services. Besides some amazing advantages, businesses experience some disadvantages while handling call centre operations.

Advantages of In-house Call Centre

Gain Invaluable Insights:

The major benefit you can gain by running an in-house call centre is invaluable insights into how to improve the quality of products and services. It goes without saying, when you offer an enhanced level of products and services to customers, your business is likely to experience seamless growth. Plus, you will have full control over call handling operations, which is nothing less than icing on the cake.

Security:

As we have already discussed, call centre outsourcing sometimes yields confidentiality issues. But this hassle can be overcome if you take matters into your own hands. When you run an in-house call centre, there is no third-party company is involved, which automatically dwindles the odds of a data breach.

Zero Hassle of Hidden Costs:

By all means, call centre outsourcing is a buzzword these days, but it seems like a curse when the hassle of hidden costs strikes. Sometimes, companies choose a wrong outsourcing partner, ergo, encounter the problem of hidden costs in the later stages. However, when you operate an in-house call centre, that problem automatically gets vanished.

Disadvantages of In-house Call Centre:

Compromised Business Bottom Line:

Business’s bottom line always gets compromised when an in-house call centre is operated. It is so because you have to invest a big chunk of money in the essential resources like agents, cutting-edge technology, etc. In addition, there is no guarantee you witness seamless call handling operations, as there’s a likelihood the situation goes out of control during the peak hours. At this juncture, appointing an outsourced call centre seems a perfect choice.

Scalability Issues:

Scalability issues always come out to annoy when you run an in-house call centre. During the off-peak hours, you have to pay those agents, who are sitting idle and waiting for calls to come. While peak hours, on the other hand, you may find yourself helpless because you may be short of call centre agents to handle immense customer call traffic.

Conversely, call centre outsourcing companies handle scalability issues with utmost ease owing to their vast industrial experience and enormous richness of resources.

Summing-up:

Choosing between two options — ‘Run an in-house call centre’ and ‘Outsource call centre services’ has never been easy. But as a business owner, you have to make the final call. With this write-up, we have discussed the advantages and disadvantages of both outsourcing and in-house call centre, which will definitely make easier for business owners to have the final word.

It is fundamental to remember that if something is fruitful for one organisation, it doesn’t mean that it would be beneficial for other company. As we said earlier, if you have more than enough budget and apposite industrial experience, you won’t face much fuss while running an in-house call centre.

On the flip side, if you are willing to enjoy the benefits of call centre outsourcing, check the background and track record of the vendor you are going to choose. This is extremely important because if you join forces with a trickster vendor, you will certainly regret in the near future.

We hope you have understood everything while having a tour of this write-up, however, if there’s a something that has gone over your head or you want to give some suggestions regarding this write-up, make use of our comment section. Until then, its goodbyeJ.

Thank you for reading!

Tags: Call Centre Outsourcing Call Handling Call Centre UK