What is call centre outsourcing?
Call centre outsourcing means handing some or all of your customer contact work to a specialist provider. The provider supplies the people, technology, management and premises (or home-based setup), and handles contacts in your organisation’s name, following your processes.
It’s often described as part of business process outsourcing (BPO), the wider practice of contracting out business functions such as payroll, IT support or claims processing. Many large BPO firms run contact centres alongside other services, while specialist contact centre providers focus only on customer interactions.
Although the term “call centre” is still widely used, most outsourced operations now handle email, webchat and social media as well as voice. See call centre vs contact centre.
Why organisations outsource
The reasons usually fall into a few groups:
- Cost. A provider spreads technology, management and idle time across many clients, which can lower your cost per contact.
- Flexibility. Volumes rise and fall; an outsourcer can scale up for peaks, campaigns and emergencies and scale down again.
- Coverage. 24/7, after-hours and overflow call handling are expensive to staff in-house for small volumes.
- Expertise and technology. Specialists bring workforce planning, quality systems, CCaaS platforms and AI that would take years to build internally.
- Resilience. A provider with multiple sites or home-based agents adds business continuity if your own operation is disrupted.
Common outsourcing models
Full vs partial outsourcing
Some organisations outsource everything. Others keep a core in-house team and outsource specific work: after-hours, overflow, surge, a particular channel, or a specialist line such as a utility fault line.
Dedicated vs shared teams
A dedicated team works only on your account. A shared or blended team handles several clients, which lets capacity move to wherever it’s needed.
Onshore, nearshore and offshore
Where the agents are based affects cost, quality, regulation and data handling. Onshore contact centres are in the same country as your customers; offshore centres are in lower-cost countries further away.
Pricing models
Providers commonly charge per seat or per full-time equivalent, per hour, per minute of talk time, or per interaction. Each shifts risk differently: per seat leaves the cost of idle time with you, while per interaction moves it to the provider.
How to choose an outsourcing partner
When comparing providers, look beyond the hourly rate:
- Industry experience. A provider that knows your sector, its regulation and its customers will need less training and make fewer mistakes.
- Location and data residency. Where will agents work, and where will customer data be stored?
- Technology. Does the provider bring its own platform, CRM, reporting and AI, and can it integrate with your systems?
- Scalability. How quickly can they add trained agents, and how?
- Quality and reporting. How is quality assurance done, and what will you see?
- Transition plan. How will they move work across without disrupting customers?