Selecting an Outsourcer*

Selecting an outsourcer for your company requires more than finding vendors that say they are call center experts. The real question is, are they a good match for your program and its needs?

There are many considerations that enter into the selection process. To get you started, here are 15 questions to ask yourself as you evaluate vendors and their capabilities.

1. Similar Work. Have they done similar work? If your program is inbound and they primarily do outbound, tread carefully. If you are looking for sales calls and they currently do customer service, their reps won't have the right skills and personalities. Experience in your vertical business area such as health care, catalogues or charities can be desirable, although not always a must.
2. Professional Reps. Listen to calls on a site visit and mystery shop their clients, if you require inbound call handling. Do the reps sound like the types of reps you want placing or handling your calls?
3. Knowledgeable Supervisors and Account Service Staff. These are the primary individuals who translate your wishes into telephone rep behavior. Are they knowledgeable? Are you comfortable with them?
4. Training Program Quality. Telephone reps require training in call center skills to succeed at their job. They require training in your program to succeed on your company's behalf. Make sure the vendor conducts new hire, refresher and program-specific training, and review the training curricula and time to get a feel for its quality and depth.
5. How Much Monitoring and Coaching? It should be frequent rather than occasional. How can your vendor know their reps are doing a good job if they rarely listen to them? Also, look for a call center that allows you to remotely monitor your own calls and that can send you recordings of your calls on request.
6. High or Low Turnover? If the telephone staff turns over several times a year, this means you will frequently have new reps handling your calls. If it is a very simple program, this may be OK, but most programs require deeper knowledge or experience. Lower turnover enables reps to acquire that.
7. Usable Reports. If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. Ask for a copy of the vendors' standard reports to assess if they meet your needs. If you require custom reports, ask for a quote on the cost to develop them. For inbound, make sure to ask for wait time and abandoned call reports for your program. For outbound, make sure to get reports on the "no" responses, bad numbers, unreachables and list penetration.
8. Value-Added Services. Does the vendor add value beyond placing or answering calls? For example, will they alert you when they think your program could be improved, or could this wait months until you notice it in the numbers?
9. Productive Culture. What's the culture of the call center? What's the emotional feeling there? Is it a pressure cooker with people on edge, or a pleasant place to work where people are busy doing their jobs? If the reps are happy, they are more likely to treat your customers well.
10. Responsiveness. If the vendor isn't responsive when you are a prospect, what will happen when you're a client? Are their response times for set-up, and for changes to your script or program, acceptable? If yours is an inbound program, will they have adequate staff to handle your calls when they arrive?
11. Primary Contact and Escalation. Are you comfortable with the individual who would be your primary contact at the vendor, typically an account service rep or account executive? If things aren't working out, how far up can you escalate to get action on your issue?
12. Fair Contract. Although vendor contracts could be the subject of an entire article, and perhaps even a book, there are a few basics. Is their contract reasonable? Can you work in elements that protect your interests, such as wait times and abandon rates? Is there a way to exit the relationship before the next renewal if things aren't working out?
13. Adequate Technology. People are more important than technology, but a few basics are necessary. Inbound call centers should have an ACD to route calls (and increasingly e-mails) to the next available rep. Disaster recovery is also important. For outbound, the call center should use a computer to dial, which is more productive than dialing by hand. All call centers should have call monitoring and call reporting. Also, an on-screen program for information display and entry that can accommodate your specific needs is essential.
14. References. Ask for at least 3 references and contact them. Do any have calls similar to yours? Surprisingly, some company references aren't all that enthusiastic, which is usually a red flag, since one expects a reference to be among the happiest of customers. Long time customers are usually a good sign.
15. Cost. Cost is always a factor. However, also think about the total value of your calls. It could be a bargain to pay $3.25 instead of $2.75 for an inbound call. When? If your company gets 5% more $200 orders for $3.25/call, or if the more expensive vendor is the one that is responsive and meets your needs. Look at the total picture.

Selecting the right call center vendor isn't a snap decision. It requires homework. It's prudent to know what and who you are buying before you sign on the dotted line. After all, you are entrusting your vendor with nothing less than your customer relationships.