Your Ultimate Guide to Effective Call Center Outsourcing in Chicago

Business process outsourcing (BPO) for customer service is popular in economic centers such as the Windy City. It offers many benefits that can help local ventures achieve sustainable success, including cost reductions and scalability.

However, businesses must ensure BPO’s effective integration and longevity to optimize its benefits. 

If you want to outsource call center services in Chicago but need help figuring out where to start, this article is for you. It explores how local businesses can effectively leverage call center outsourcing. It also provides steps to guide the BPO engagement.

The Primary Benefits of Effective Call Center Outsourcing

Before we discuss the steps to integrating BPO processes into your business, we must first explore the reasons for considering outsourcing call center services.

Call center BPO offers many benefits to help your organization stay ahead of the fierce Chicago landscape. It can help you reduce costs, increase scalability, gain better access to resources, and enhance focus on core competencies. 

The features and services of call center outsourcing make it widespread across businesses of all types and sizes. According to 360 Research Reports, the global contact and call center outsourcing industry reached a value of $75.4 billion in 2021.

But what is BPO? It is the practice of delegating non-core tasks, such as customer service, to a third-party provider. The following section discusses its benefits in detail.

1. Significant Cost Reductions

One of the most popular advantages of outsourcing is its cost-saving potential. This benefit is most evident when partnering with a BPO provider that operates in areas with lower living expenses. 

For example, Outsource Accelerator reports that businesses that outsource to the Philippines enjoy up to 70% savings on labor costs. This difference is due to the country’s relatively minimal salary ranges compared to Chicago’s surging compensation costs. 

Your Chicago business can also enjoy savings via call center outsourcing. The following factors guide and reduce costs, optimizing revenue:

• Minimized office rent, equipment, and utilities
• Decreased hiring and training expenses
• Fewer technology investments
• Reduced benefits package costs
• Better economies of scale

2. Better Access to Specialized Expertise

Call center outsourcing lets you tap into a global pool of customer service representatives (CSRs) who are well-versed in industry best practices, etiquette, and trends. They are readily available and possess the necessary soft and hard skills for various call center services, including:

• Inbound services. BPO teams can handle incoming calls from consumers seeking assistance or placing orders. Inbound call centers include customer and technical support lines.
• Outbound services. Third-party CSRs also initiate outgoing calls for various purposes, including telemarketing, lead generation, appointment setting, and surveys.

In addition, CSRs know the different regulations covering Chicago companies. They navigate industry-specific laws and data privacy codes, such as:

• Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (ICFA)
• Illinois Telephone Solicitation Act (TSA)
• Illinois Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA)
• Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
• Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)

With Chicago’s low unemployment rate and high job gain rate, this benefit of call center outsourcing can guide you toward success. As it becomes harder to attract and retain qualified labor locally, access to such expertise at a lower cost is valuable.

3. Guaranteed Leverage of the Latest Technologies

BPO providers utilize advanced call center tools and software to streamline processes. Access to the following allows you to avoid expensive investments, purchases, and subscriptions:

• Automatic call distribution platforms
• Interactive voice response (IVR) tools
• Customer relationship management (CRM) systems
• Speech analytics software
• Quality monitoring tools

Service vendors offer cloud-based contact center-as-a-service (CCaaS) solutions. Cloud-based programs allow you to interact with customers anytime via the Internet. Some of its features include:

• Artificial intelligence (AI) empowers self-service solutions and automated customer support services, such as virtual agents and bots.
• Omnichannel capability ensures consistent customer service through various communication channels, including chat, email, social media, and voice interactions.
• Security and compliance features protect sensitive information from unauthorized access and regularly monitor compliance with relevant data privacy regulations.

4. Improved Scalability and Flexibility

Your Chicago business can handle fluctuating customer demands better by optimizing the call center agents and tools gained through outsourcing. These added resources can guide and maintain operational efficiency without additional costs or commitments. They also help prevent the risk of overstaffing and understaffing. 

Here are other call center BPO features that can improve your company’s scalability and flexibility:

• Round-the-clock services
• Multilingual team
• Improved access to global market insights

5. Increased Focus on Core Competencies

All the above benefits help your business reallocate time and resources to other matters. You can attend to activities directly impacting your success, whether healthcare delivery, product development, or market expansions.

With trained and experienced third-party CSRs, your in-house team can also focus on their expertise. You need not require your internal staff to accommodate surging call volumes.

Lastly, you can reinvest the capital you saved through outsourcing in your company’s core competencies and profitability drivers. In a competitive corporate hub such as Chicago, call center outsourcing can be the first step to guiding your business toward success.

Five Key Steps to Chicago Call Center Outsourcing: A Definitive Guide

Your business must effectively integrate the team and its processes to enjoy the many benefits of partnering with an outsourcing company. Below are five crucial steps for a long-term and cost-efficient call center BPO partnership.

1. Define Your Call Center Goals and Needs

Understand what you want to achieve by outsourcing your call center operations. This step helps determine the call center tasks you need to outsource, whether inbound or outbound, technical or non-technical. Some common goals include:

• Streamline processes
• Gain more leads
• Increase first-call resolution (FCR) rates
• Enhance customer satisfaction scores (CSAT)
• Increase sales conversion rate
• Reduce consumer churn 
• Lower average handling time (AHT)

When listing objectives, make sure they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Define numbers, results, and deadlines. For example, here’s how you can improve CSAT scores the SMART way:

• Specific. Aim to increase the CSAT score by 5%.
• Measurable. Track progress through post-call surveys and feedback.
• Attainable. Train agents in customer service best practices and empathy.
• Relevant. Better CSAT scores indicate positive customer experiences and loyalty.
• Time-bound. Set a 12-month goal for achieving the 5% increase.

Make sure to check the availability of your internal resources as well. Do you have enough staff to perform your processes efficiently? Is your business equipped with the necessary call center technologies to improve operations? What is your budget?

With clear goals and requirements, your Chicago business will know which line of expertise it needs from a call center outsourcing partner. Clarity in these aspects also guides you to ensure you do not waste your resources by outsourcing unprofitable or unnecessary tasks. Conducting a cost-benefit analysis helps solidify this cost-saving potential.

2. Find and Choose the Right Call Center Partner

Your call center outsourcing partner can make or break your initiative. Researching and picking a BPO provider is more than just a box on your to-do list; it is a critical decision that impacts your initiative’s success.

Narrow down potential service vendors by checking if their services and commitments align with your goals and needs. Conduct thorough research about their firm to better understand how partnering with them benefits your business. 

Here are a few considerations:

• Experience and portfolio. To ensure your chosen partner can adapt to your consumers’ needs and challenges, ensure it has relevant industry experience. Examine its portfolio for similar clients and analyze success stories to see how it handles operational and customer service calls with varying requirements and complexities.
• Specializations and expertise. Each industry and call type has nuances and complexities, so specifying what services you want to outsource is critical. When searching for a BPO provider, read about its line of expertise to ensure it understands your call center needs.
• Service inclusions and rates. Your Chicago business must understand the full range of services call center outsourcing offers to guide its decisions. This step lets you compare different BPO firms’ pricing structures to select the most cost-efficient deal. It also helps prevent hidden fees and unexpected costs later.
• Client reviews and testimonials. Relying on call center outsourcing providers’ marketing materials and sales pitches is insufficient. To verify their credibility, you should read what their past and current clients say about them. Firsthand experience and feedback will help paint a clearer picture of what it is like to work with them.
• Compliance and security. Call centers work with sensitive customer data, from personal information to credit card details to social security numbers. When choosing a partner, research or ask about its security measures and compliance with relevant regulations. This step helps prevent data security and privacy risks.

Once your Chicago business has short-listed potential call center outsourcing providers, you can ask for trial periods or project proposals as an extra guide. Consider the following factors during trial periods:

• Specific call types, volumes, and features
• Duration and scope
• Limitations and restrictions, such as data access or peak season coverage
• Deliverables, such as staffing plans, technology solutions, and pricing structures
• Communication and collaboration systems
• Key performance indicators (KPIs)
• Technology compatibility testing

This extra step allows you to spot red flags, mitigate risks, and make more informed decisions when selecting a BPO partner.

3. Negotiate and Draft a Comprehensive Contract

Security, clarity, and mutual benefit are the fundamental elements of a successful call center outsourcing partnership. Thus, you must create and agree on a service-level agreement (SLA) to align your goals and visions with your chosen BPO provider.

Learning how to write an SLA is simple. It is often a joint effort between both parties. You must include the SMART objectives and requirements you listed in the first step of this guide and find common ground with your provider. 

Additional steps to drafting a comprehensive contract include:

• Establish clear roles and responsibilities
• Define KPIs and other performance metrics
• Address data security and privacy protocols
• Specify regulatory compliance requirements
• Include an exit strategy and termination clauses

Your SLA should also state specific service considerations, such as:

• Multilingual capabilities. If your company requires CSRs who speak different tongues, ensure it is stated in the contract. Define your language proficiency expectations and service levels for each.
• Seasonality and peak times. Peak seasons and weather fluctuations often occur in a business hub such as Chicago. When creating an SLA, negotiate staffing and adjust for peaks and valleys throughout the year.
• Local knowledge and cultural awareness. The City of Big Shoulders is a culturally diverse region. In your SLA, specify your need for agents knowledgeable about local nuances, regulations, trends, and seasonal fads.
• Intellectual property. Remember to include robust confidentiality clauses and non-compete agreements. Taking these extra measures helps protect your company’s intellectual property.
• Operating hours. Communicate your preferred shifts and hours with your provider to avoid employee turnover and scheduling issues. This step helps promote work-life balance for your teams.

Negotiation is critical during this collaboration. Your Chicago business must secure its interest in call center outsourcing and ensure the SLA guides future collaboration.

Ask for a transparent pricing structure upfront. Address billing terms, overtime charges, and additional service fees to avoid unforeseen charges and unclear costs.

4. Transition and Train Your Call Center BPO Team

Once you have chosen an outsourcing provider, it is time to integrate its team into your business model. Onboarding and additional training ensure an effective transition, minimized disruptions, and optimized performances. Here are the essential steps to achieving this goal:

• Map processes and procedures. Document your existing call center tasks, workflows, and policies, and adjust them to adapt to your provider’s systems and practices. From here, you can develop training materials that cover your Chicago business’s procedures and protocols that call center outsourcing teams can use as a guide.
• Transfer data and knowledge. Share critical data and reports to ensure your BPO team provides personalized and positive customer interactions. Do this step securely to avoid breaches and violations. Consider knowledge transfer workshops or joint sessions with your internal and outsourcing teams.
• Integrate technologies and infrastructure. Your internal systems must be compatible with your BPO providers’ technologies. Provide the third-party staff access to necessary tools, platforms, networks, and systems. This step allows them to conduct test runs and troubleshoot any potential technical issues early on, propelling a smooth transition.
• Conduct a comprehensive training program. Ensure your call center BPO team understands and masters your business’s products, call handling techniques, policies, and best practices. To solidify their skills and knowledge, utilize a blend of training methods, including online modules, hands-on exercises, and coaching sessions.
• Provide feedback for improvement. During training, be sure to offer constructive criticism and assessments to gauge the effectiveness of your program. This step helps you and your BPO team identify areas for improvement. Implement performance dashboards and track KPIs to adjust the training as needed.

Following these steps and planning proactively can help you seamlessly integrate outsourcing teams. The success and speed of your transition process also depend on your business model. 

Here are a few guidelines and tips to help your Chicago company streamline call center outsourcing initiative and onboarding:

1. Consider a phased approach to your transition. Gradually shifting call volumes or specific functions to your BPO provider lessens mistakes, delays, and burnout.
2. Maintain open communication channels. Throughout the transition process, ensure both internal and outsourcing teams are transparent with each other.
3. Foster a collaborative spirit. Encourage seamless information exchange and a friendly environment between all parties involved to reduce awkwardness.
4. Provide ongoing support and resources. Help new agents overcome the challenges of learning curves when adapting to new protocols, systems, and customer bases. 

Remember, successful transitioning and training are ongoing processes. Embrace continuous learning, address challenges with agility, and promote a supportive space to optimize your BPO partnership.

5. Monitor and Manage Outsourced Processes Regularly

An outsourcing initiative does not end on the last day of onboarding and training. A set-and-forget approach to outsourcing leads to stagnant performance, hidden issues, and missed opportunities.

To avoid such issues, utilize call monitoring and quality assurance tools to track performance metrics. Although initial training ensures competency at the start of your initiative, ongoing monitoring helps track and maintain those standards over time.

Your Chicago business can benefit from regularly evaluating its call center outsourcing teams’ performance and analyzing data, guiding it in:

• Pinpointing areas of improvement
• Identifying potential skill gaps
• Crafting ongoing training and development programs to keep agents sharp
• Determining and adapting to shifts in customer needs and expectations
• Optimizing resource allocation
• Detecting and resolving risks promptly
• Nurturing collaboration and joint problem-solving
• Demonstrating accountability and transparency
• Aligning goals for mutual benefit

Ongoing monitoring and management ensures successful and long-term outsourced call center operations. It promotes sustainable performance, continuous improvement, proactive problem-solving, and strong communication.

The Bottom Line

Although outsourcing is often easier than performing call center operations in-house, your business must take steps to ensure the initiative’s effectiveness. Partnering with an external provider could cost you more without precaution and planning.

You must carefully specify your goals and needs, research providers, create a comprehensive SLA, and smoothly integrate and train BPO teams. However, a successful outsourcing initiative continues after these steps. You must also monitor and manage delegated processes for constant improvement.

Let’s connect if your Chicago business seeks a call center outsourcing provider. Unity Communications is an award-winning provider that can guide you through the process.