If you already run an internal call center, you are aware of the difficult task of estimating call center expenditures while managing the natural peaks and troughs of call volume.
When presenting a business plan that includes the expenditures of an outsourced contact center, it’s important to break down the statistics logically. The various elements that affect the call center cost comparison are examined below.
Agent Time: Productive vs. Non-Productive
When you hire and train an insourcing team, you’re paying for every second of their presence in addition to the agent recruiting expense. As soon as they walk into the office, they spend their time getting settled for the day, accepting calls, taking breaks, and participating in coaching and training activities. The cost is impacted by each minute.
In stark contrast, you will only pay for productive agent time when determining your outsourced contact center charges. Typically, you may project an expected 85% productivity rate, which allows you to reduce your hourly expenditures by roughly 15% instead of paying 100% of your agent’s work hour. That is a considerable savings straight away.
Call center agent supervision
You’ll need to hire team program managers as well as front line managers or coaches when staffing your internal call center. You’ve just increased the budget for your call center by another line by doing this.
In contrast, program management expenditures (including those for the frontline supervisors) have to be directly included in the agent rate when your call center is outsourced.
Reporting for Call Centers
Any call center that wants to be successful must keep a painfully tight watch on quality assurance. The metrics generate a ton of data on variables such as first-call resolution, reaction times, average handling times, customer happiness, service quality, and more.
A top-notch call center reporting team will do more than just collect data; they’ll also provide added-value analysis to help you make decisions. To properly utilize the data you consume every day, a call center needs information management specialists supported by the appropriate tools and technology. Your internal call center needs at least two extra budget lines at this point. On the other hand, this expense is typically already included in the agent charge when you think about outsourcing your call center.
Infrastructure for call centers
With internal call centers, you are responsible for every part of the auxiliary system. These overhead expenses cover things like your office space, phone service, workstations, and any IT personnel you might need to engage for technical support.
Every three to five years, you’ll start thinking about upgrading, so this is a cost that won’t go away. Significant systems upgrades are expensive in terms of both direct costs and the time and attention of your internal tech personnel.
Again, in an outsourcing agreement, your call center partner will be responsible for paying the hard and soft costs associated with systems, upkeep, and upgrades.
Customer Service HR Support
Don’t overlook the essential expenditures of managing benefits, payroll and taxes, and hiring when calculating your insourced call center costs. Furthermore, these expenses may change based on your turnover rate. You also need to account for the HR team members themselves in your calculations.
HR costs are automatically included within your outsourced per minute or fixed rate, just like all the other considerations mentioned above.
Other Factors
Finally, there are certain benefits to outsourcing that will increase the return on your investment and might not be attained through internal efforts. These elements lead to an improvement in the possibility of a successful call center as a whole. Among them are
- Modern call center technology for effective call routing.
- Cross-training to increase staffing for call volume peaks and valleys.
- Possibilities for shared pools during slower operation hours.
- Deep knowledge of forecasting for maximum effectiveness.
- Risk reduction in resource management, both for people and for technology.
Conclusion
For businesses with limited resources or no internal expertise, outsourcing business operations can be a suitable choice. But before you make a choice, be sure that everything is in order. If you need to outsource your call center operations, look no further. EmpireOne Contact Center has got you covered. We have a team of professionals that will handle your customer base in order to keep your customers happy. Contact us today to get started.
