Brands embrace outsourcing as a potent business strategy that offers a blend of efficiency and innovation that redefines their consumer relationships and drives their operational success
Companies have come to rely on call centers for services such as frontline customer care and technical support, as well as a host of both back office and knowledge process support services.
This bigger responsibility delegated to third-party service providers also opens up ways for outsourcing risks. Mitigating outsourcing risks, therefore, must be a priority for brands like yours as you reap the benefits of outsourcing.
To address these risks, choosing a trustworthy outsourcing partner is critical. Partnering with a capable partner like Open Access BPO helps brands navigate the complexities of outsourcing, transforming challenges into opportunities for growth and success.
The Value of Identifying Outsourcing Risk Factors
The best way to keep outsourcing risks from popping up is to identify and understand them. This is highly critical since it will determine where your outsourcing partnership is headed.
Mitigating outsourcing risks is more than just a management exercise, though. The information you gain from these factors can help strengthen your outsourcing arrangement. Consequently, it provides a roadmap towards resilience as you and your partner tackle any challenge along the way.
Here are some critical outsourcing risk factors, along with valuable insights and strategies to help your business prepare and mitigate their potential impact.
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Quality and Performance Risks
Before you outsource, it’s important to examine your prospective partner’s record. But just because your partner makes a good first impression doesn’t mean it’s smooth sailing from here on out. There’s still a chance that the output quality from your partner’s agents will decline over time.
Mitigating outsourcing risks such as this involves partnering with an outsourcing firm that continuously ups the ante on service quality by investing in their workforce.
At Open Access BPO, we build teams of talented and truly capable agents by:
- Hiring stellar applicants with the right skills and experience through our stringent recruitment process
- Providing them with a comprehensive training, covering program knowledge and communication skill refinement
- Conducting regular quality assurance evaluations
- Rewarding exceptional performance and providing coaching to those who need it
Additionally, every operations team at Open Access BPO undergo regular assessments to keep everyone competitive. Even our processes improve from time to time, thanks to the leadership team.
These experts are trained to collaborate and pitch ideas that mitigate outsourcing risks and deliver better outputs.
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Natural Disasters and Emergencies
Just like any other office, call centers are vulnerable to natural calamities like floods and earthquakes. Unprecedented circumstances such as civil unrest, unavoidable transportation concern, and public health crises can also render outsourcing operations inoperable. It’s important to note that these circumstances are beyond the call center’s control. However, it doesn’t mean they are completely helpless.
Who could forget about the global lockdowns caused by COVID-19 in 2020? That year, Open Access BPO’s resilience kept our operations running. More specifically, we had (and still have) our emergency communication protocols and guidelines for employee safety ready.
We also have multiple operations sites that can take on higher demand for customer support. During difficult times, our strategically established global offices remain independently capable of uninterrupted operations.
Each site also has backup power systems with redundant Internet connections and storage backups to keep the offices running. Alternatively, remote work has also been our option to mitigate outsourcing risks.
All these ensure our partners that their customers receive seamless support 24/7.
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Cybersecurity Breaches
Extreme weather conditions and a global pandemic aren’t the only ones that can paralyze a call center’s operations. Cybersecurity breaches are one of the risks associated with outsourcing that should be taken just as seriously.
Over time, hackers learn more sophisticated ways to attack companies, potentially leading to compromised system security and leak of company and customer sensitive information.
Partnering with Open Access BPO can lessen your worries when it comes to data security. One of the reasons why we are one of the most trusted providers is our compliance with data privacy laws. These include the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
We at Open Access BPO also make sure to secure the latest data security certifications. For instance, we are recognized by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) which reassures bank cardholders. Meanwhile, our System and Organization Controls (SOC 2) certification solidifies our commitment to secure information access.
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Staffing Shortages
Employee turnover has always been associated with outsourcing firms. There are many causes for this problem, such as inadequate workforce planning or an unexpected influx in call volume. Staffing shortages are one of the most obvious signs of an outsourcing problem,. which is why mitigating outsourcing risks should be prioritized.
In addition to Open Access BPO’s workforce forecasting strategies that ensure every shift is has the right number of agents, we always ramp up our recruitment and training efforts to bring out the best of every employee.
Our career development programs give our agents a clearer picture of their future with us. We also invest in initiatives that promote a healthy work-life balance and overall job satisfaction.
Did we mention that diversity and inclusion are two of Open Access BPO’s core values? Our inclusive hiring practices make offshoring risks like staffing shortages become more avoidable. Having agents from various cultural backgrounds enables us to be more innovative and adaptive to diverse customer demands.
All of these are foundations of our work culture centered on empowerment.
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Technology Failures
Earlier, we talked about how cybersecurity breaches can bring a call center’s operations to a halt. But we have to also consider the imperfection of technology itself causing operational delays. For instance, hardware malfunctions, software glitches, and network outages become relevant outsourcing risks that may cross your mind.
Open Access BPO’s IT Support team keeps track of the latest updates on the technology we use. Besides that, they also make sure that all of the hardware our agents use is functioning optimally. To that end, our IT team never forgets to conduct routine checks on all of our tools as well as maintenance of equipment.
Of course, Open Access BPO’s IT Support team has to keep their skills sharp if they want to avoid technology failures. This is why they undergo training that proactively equips them with knowledge that can minimize disruptions. As a result, our investment on tech infrastructure pays dividends in terms of mitigating outsourcing risks.
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Regulatory Non-Compliance
Besides those concerning data privacy, regulatory compliance in outsourcing is a critical matter. If these regulations aren’t followed, it could lead to major legal and financial consequences.
Setting up shop in other countries could make this problem more of a priority. After all, you have to do a bit more research on foreign laws.
However, mitigating outsourcing risks such as non-compliance is still possible without exerting too much effort. For instance, Open Access BPO helps brands establish their presence in Asian markets through our office in Xiamen, China.
This is a strategic location for many brands, enabling them to establish, strengthen, and expand their reach to the massive Chinese-speaking consumer base.
Since we already have our foothold in China, we can take care of the regulatory compliance on behalf of our partners.
There are other countries besides China that support outsourcing. The Philippines, for example, is considered a top call center hub and home to Open Access BPO’s operations. Through the years, we have complied with and leveraged the supportive policies of this outsourcing destination. This means our clients will find it easier to avert offshoring pitfalls.
Why Partner with Open Access BPO?
Despite the risks associated with outsourcing, having a call center partner remains a highly beneficial move for your brand. But it’s even better if you partner with Open Access BPO. After all, mitigating outsourcing risks is much easier if you have a trustworthy partner.
We have over a decade of experience in developing high-quality services for all types of businesses. Our customer support, for instance, is available on multiple platforms and in more than 30 languages. That’s more than enough for customers of some of the biggest brands to trust us.
But it’s not always about the customers and the clients, right? We at Open Access BPO value our people. In fact, our diversity and inclusivity practices and safe spaces have become our drawcard for all kinds of job hunters.
You just can’t go wrong with Open Access BPO. Let our outsourcing experts create a program that addresses your needs and designed to help you reach your goals. Contact us today!