Now that the industry is seeing a stronger preference from clients for Nearshore location solutions it is important to understand why, and what is next. While the rate of outsourcing to offshore locations such as the Philippines has slightly slowed, nearshore outsourcing has been growing at a tremendous rate.
Why is this happening?
As the US population continues to diversify and the growth of the Hispanic Market remains strong, Nearshore solutions like Colombia, are well positioned to support this growing US customer market segment. The idea of being able to have 100% of your Agents be Bilingual is an enticing one for clients as it basically removes the operational complexities of managing separate language environments.
One thing that 2020 taught us was that Business Continuity is even more critical then ever and risk assessment must be a part of the Geographic Region/BPO selection process. Particular Nearshore countries such as Colombia are great options as the region is not prone to the Natural Disasters (Hurricanes, Typhoons, Earthquakes etc.) that are experienced in other regions. With COVID-19 proving to be a huge challenge for everyone and one which has led to a large population of Agents working from home internationally, the country location you are considering must have the infrastructure in place to meet the increased demand.
Ease of travel/access to the operation is another theme we are hearing from clients and prospects when discussing the benefits of Nearshoring. Most Nearshore Operations are easily accessible from the US and are typically based in US time zones.
While there are many options, it is important to note that all Nearshore Locations are not created equal. You must determine what is important to you as a client, and what type of experience your customer will have. We go into detail on how to determine which outsourcer is right for you in our Complete Call Center Outsourcing Guide, but below we’ll dive into what makes Bogotá stand out from the rest.
Stability
Given it’s stability in various categories, Colombia and more specifically Bogotá, has emerged as a preferred nearshore location. It checks all of the boxes of what many clients are looking for in a nearshore location including a country that is stable politically as well as economically and in it’s infrastructure.
Quality and Scalable Workforce
Bogota, with close to 8,000,000 residents is almost the same size as New York City, giving BPOs access to a very deep and well-educated labor pool. When considering outsourcing to Colombia, it is important to consider that approximately 71% of the country’s Bilingual Speaking Residents reside in Bogotá. As for the quality of Spanish, Bogotá residents are known to speak what is widely considered the most accent neutral and formal Spanish, enabling those agents to be able to effectively communicate with Spanish speakers from other countries with different dialects.
With approximately 61% of all call center seats in Colombia located in Bogotá, BPOs can easily recruit quality experienced Agents and mid-level Operations Management who have experience supporting the North American Market.
Business Continuity
When selecting a nearshore option, clients must conduct threat assessments from potential natural disasters that may impact their business. Unlike many other Nearshore countries, Colombia does not experience natural disasters such as Hurricanes, Earthquakes or Volcanic activity. The country is positioned outside of the hurricane belt and Bogotá is located well above sea level in the central part of the country far from the coast.
What’s next:
Given Bogotá’s increasing popularity, proximity to the US, and huge labor pool, it is reasonable to expect that the current growth trend will continue for the foreseeable future. The stability of the country, the successful track record of BPOs supporting North American clients and their customers along with the ability to provide multilingual solutions at a competitive rate are all additional benefits of this region that will continue to entice companies to include Bogotá as part of their outsourcing strategy. Bogotá is the Gem of Nearshore.
For a deeper dive into Bogotá as your nearshore call center destination, download our What’s the Buzz About Bogotá white paper. Get to know Callzilla, a company that provides call center services putting quality first. We provide outsourced call-center services for all types of industries, achieving excellent results.
About the Author: Neal Topf
