There’s no beating around the bush. “Out-source” is a dirty word that induces fear in the hearts and minds of customer service pros. In fact, more CSRs are concerned about out-sourcing impacting call center and customer support jobs than a robot automating their work.
But is there reason for this fear? According to a recent survey conducted by Nexxt of 2,500 customer service professionals, customer service work is still primarily being managed in-house at companies. When respondents considered the industry as a whole, 81 percent said they don’t see any areas of customer service being out-sourced to companies outside of the U.S.
Still, survey says: the majority of respondents (84%) want to see more in-sourcing of customer service jobs. So what really are the benefits of sourcing in-house talent at call centers? And what are the drawbacks? We break it down for you right here:
Pros
You’ll Rally the Troops
It’s no secret that out-sourcing talent across the country or overseas is bad for employee morale. Imagine putting in years of hard work at your company only to be replaced by a stranger half way around the world. On the flipside, in-sourcing talent, or using an organization’s own employee resources to fill a role or complete a project, gives employees a boost of confidence. When talent is in-sourced, it shows that a company values its staff and is willing to go the extra mile to support their growth in the organization. And the people agree! Three-fourths of survey respondents say in-sourcing gives current employees the opportunity to have more training and movement within the company. The bottom line? More input from the company = more output from employees. A win-win situation for all.
Employees Already Get You
According to Nexxt’s survey, 66 percent of respondents said in-sourcing is beneficial because employees already know the company process and culture. It’s not necessary to train new employees or work through culture and language barriers if jobs are sent overseas. This saves time spent onboarding and allows the company to focus on the things that really matter – like customer service!
Customers Get a Real, Human Touch
Ever talk to a CSR on the phone who feels more like a brand ambassador than a call center agent? That’s the advantage of having customer service in-house. When your employees are in charge of supporting customers, they’re also in charge of your messaging, branding and delivering outstanding service you can hang your hat on.
Cons
You’ll Be Spending the Big Bucks
In-house call centers are difficult to set up and require a lot of expenses at the onset, including infrastructure, talent recruitment, and management once the center is up and running. This can be a tough financial pill to swallow for some businesses who would prefer to send that responsibility overseas. * Insert flying money emoji here *
It’s Hard to Find Top Talent
When a position needs to be filled, it can be tough to find the right fit within the local talent pool at the drop of the hat. As we all know, it takes precious time and resources to identify and recruit the perfect person for that role. On the other hand, when talent is out-sourced, that task is no longer on your plate – someone else is handling it for you!
Less Employees are Driving Business
Customer service is an incredibly important function for a company, but by nature, it’s a support department that doesn’t drive business or create revenue. The more employees that are assigned to customer service, the less there are devoted to core activities. If customer service and support is outsourced, it frees up revenue to hire in-house talent that can drive business goals.
Here’s the good news…
Out-sourcing is a top concern for customer service workers, but here’s the good news: it’s not impacting the industry just yet. Only 11 percent of workers say they’ve been let go from a customer service position because it was out-sourced (inside or outside the U.S.) – a relatively low figure considering the mass hysteria around the issue.
Employers, whether you choose to hire from within your organization, hire locally, or outsource your call center overseas, you can’t make a wrong decision – as long as you put the growth and culture of your company and the happiness of your employees front and center.
For more in-depth statistics and solutions for hiring customer service reps, download the free whitepaper here.
Want to get in front of the millions of qualified customer service professionals? Visit hiring.nexxt.com to learn how we can introduce you to your Nexxt great hire.
Nexxt is a recruitment media company that uses today’s most effective marketing tactics to reach the full spectrum of talent – from active to passive, and everything in between. Learn more about hiring with Nexxt.