Call Center Outsourcing
Why, What, and How?
Making the decision to hire a call center provider can be difficult. In this guide, we’ll take you through everything you need to know in order to make the right choice based on your needs, budget, and more.
What you’ll learn
- What is call center outsourcing?
- How to Know if I Should Hire a Call Center Outside of the USA?
- How to choose the best outsourced contact center
- Pros of outsourcing your callcenter service
- Cons of outsourcing your call center service
- Why Choose Callzilla as your near shore call center?
- Personal experiences of Callzilla’s team
- In summary
What is call center outsourcing?
Call center outsourcing involves delegating your company’s customer service operations to a third-party provider. These providers can be located domestically, offshore, or nearshore, depending on your organization’s strategic objectives. In recent years, outsourcing has become a strategic move for businesses aiming to enhance service quality, reduce operational costs, and focus on core competencies. At Callzilla, we recognize that each business has unique requirements, and we customize our call center outsourcing solutions to ensure exceptional customer satisfaction.
When partnering with an outsourced center, they will hire, train, and manage all resources on your behalf. With an internal customer service department, you may need to manage an internal center full of trainers, quality monitors, agents, etc., but you will likely only need one point of contact with an outsourced center, who will relay your expectations to the rest of their team.
If you are looking to add additional channels of communication to your existing operation, outsourcing is also a great way to go. Outsourcers often have existing clients using other channels of communication, and it’s a simple plug and play to assist you in extending your business. Whether you’re expanding into live chat, SMS, social media, or tech support, an experienced outsourced provider can help streamline the process.
If you were to add live chat, for example, to your in-house center that is only equipped for phone and email, you would have a lot to consider in terms of systems, training, compatibility, and compliance. Tech support and omnichannel solutions require specific expertise and infrastructure. An outsourced center would make that transition easy for you, from the systems to the people using them.
How to Know if I Should Hire a Call Center Outside of the USA?
There are three main options when it comes to call center outsourcing: onshore (within the U.S.), offshore (overseas), and nearshore (in nearby countries like Mexico, Colombia, or the Dominican Republic). Each option has its own pros and cons in terms of cost, location, language, and infrastructure.
Onshore Call Centers
Choosing an onshore partner for call center outsourcing offers proximity, cultural alignment, and native English speakers, making communication smoother and travel easier. However, it also comes with the highest costs. Onshore options are ideal if your operation requires frequent visits, high-touch training, or close collaboration.
Offshore Call Centers
Offshore call center outsourcing is typically the most cost-effective option. Providers in countries like the Philippines or India can offer 24/7 service and multilingual support at significantly lower rates. However, time zone differences, cultural gaps, and less flexibility in conversational service may be a challenge for some U.S.-based businesses.
Nearshore Call Centers
Nearshore call center outsourcing is often the perfect middle ground. Countries like Colombia offer bilingual talent, affordable costs, and easier travel logistics. This option is ideal for companies looking to balance quality, cultural proximity, and price. Bogotá, for example, has a strong pool of English-speaking professionals and a neutral Spanish accent, making it ideal for diverse customer bases.
Which Call Center Outsourcing Option is Right for You?
It all depends on your business needs. If cost is your main driver, offshore may work. If you need cultural alignment and flexibility, onshore or nearshore may be better. No option is universally “best”, it’s about finding the right call center outsourcing strategy that fits your goals, budget, and customer expectations.
With the right call center outsourcing partner, you gain access to scalable teams, multilingual support, and technology infrastructure, without having to build it all in-house.
How to choose the best outsourced contact center
Selecting the right outsourced contact center requires careful evaluation. Begin by assessing your business needs, do you require an inbound call center, an outbound call center, or a hybrid model? Start by identifying your priorities, whether it’s location, language, or cost. The best outsourced contact center provider will act as a true extension of your brand.
Next, evaluate potential partners based on their experience, technological capabilities, scalability, and approach to quality assurance. Create a clear Request for Proposal (RFP). Outline your expectations and ask targeted questions about quality assurance, reporting, and performance metrics. This step is crucial in any customer service outsourcing process.
Request historical data like CSAT and NPS scores, and review case studies to evaluate their client success stories. Finally, experience the culture. Transparency, cultural alignment, and effective communication are crucial factors to consider. At Callzilla, we prioritize these elements to provide an outsourcing solution that integrates seamlessly with your operations.
Pros of outsourcing your callcenter service
Outsourcing your call center services offers numerous advantages that can significantly impact your business’s efficiency and customer satisfaction.
1. Laser Focus on Your Core Business
By outsourcing your call center operations, your team can concentrate on core competencies such as product innovation, brand development, logistics, or sales. Outsourcing frees up internal resources, allowing your company to excel in its primary areas without being sidetracked by customer service operations.
2. Access to Advanced Technology and Scalable Infrastructure
Outsourcing grants instant access to cutting-edge customer experience technology without the associated overhead. Top-tier BPOs like Callzilla provide platforms, automation tools, and analytics systems optimized for performance, eliminating the need for substantial investments in software, hardware, or IT support.
3. Labor Expertise & Efficient Workforce Management
Outsourcers specialize in workforce management, handling recruitment, onboarding, training, and performance monitoring efficiently and at scale. This access to trained professionals experienced in customer care reduces ramp-up time and enhances service quality from day one.
4. Improved Customer Experience & Performance Metrics
A dedicated customer care partner can significantly improve key performance indicators (KPIs) such as First Contact Resolution (FCR), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), and Average Handle Time (AHT). Outsourcing enhances the quality of each interaction, ensuring faster solutions, greater empathy, and overall customer satisfaction.
5. Built-In Continuous Improvement & Flexibility
Collaborating with an expert outsourcing team provides access to ongoing improvement initiatives. These teams continuously analyze processes, collect feedback, and optimize for better results. Outsourcers are also highly adaptable, making it easier to scale operations, launch new channels, or pivot quickly during peak seasons or business changes.
6. Cost Efficiency Without Compromising Quality
Outsourcing is cost-effective. By leveraging economies of scale, outsourcing companies can deliver high-quality service at a lower cost than building and maintaining an in-house team. More importantly, it allows businesses to reinvest those savings into strategic growth initiatives.
7. Easier Access to Talent – Anytime, Anywhere
Recruiting can be a slow and costly process, especially when seeking skilled agents across multiple languages or geographies. Outsourcing removes that burden. Providers maintain pipelines of multilingual, experienced agents ready to go, which is particularly important for businesses expanding into new markets or requiring 24/7 global support.
8. Risk Mitigation and Business Continuity
Outsourcing can serve as a safeguard against disruption. Reputable providers maintain robust disaster recovery plans, redundant systems, and global delivery networks that ensure business continuity during unforeseen events. Callzilla’s commitment to operational excellence includes full business continuity protocols to keep your customer operations running no matter what.
9. Multilingual and Multichannel Expertise
Customer expectations continue to evolve, and businesses must keep pace. Outsourcing with a partner like Callzilla means you gain agents trained in delivering support across voice, chat, email, SMS, and social channels in multiple languages. This ensures brand consistency and responsiveness on the platforms your customers use most.
10. Data-Driven Decision Making
Outsourcing partners often provide comprehensive reporting and business intelligence dashboards, giving you real-time insight into customer behavior and operational performance. Callzilla uses advanced analytics and voice of the customer (VoC) feedback to identify trends and opportunities for continuous improvement.
Cons of outsourcing your call center service
While outsourcing your call center services offers numerous benefits, it’s essential to consider potential challenges to make an informed decision.
1. Time to Ramp Up and Achieve Results
Building a strong, high-performing partnership takes time. Outsourcers need time to learn your systems, align with your processes, and meet your expectations. Companies expecting immediate results may be disappointed if they don’t plan for a ramp-up period.
2. Cultural Alignment and Brand Voice Can Be Hard to Replicate
Your brand has a unique tone, culture, and way of interacting with customers, which can be challenging to replicate. While outsourcing partners strive to adapt, fully aligning with your internal brand voice and emotional tone requires time and effort. Misalignment can lead to inconsistent experiences that might affect customer perception. Selecting a partner that understands or shares your values is crucial.
3. Finding the Right Fit Takes Work
A successful outsourcing relationship depends on finding a provider that matches your company’s mission, vision, and communication style. Thorough vetting, asking the right questions, and ensuring the outsourcer has the capabilities and willingness to build and replicate your desired culture are essential. Rushing this process can lead to mismatches that are difficult to rectify later.
4. Expectation Gaps Can Derail the Relationship
Setting clear expectations from the outset is vital. Without alignment on goals, KPIs, service levels, and reporting protocols, miscommunications can arise. Open collaboration and transparency are key to creating a strong foundation for long-term success.
5. Perceived Loss of Control
Some companies fear they will lose control over customer interactions when outsourcing. This concern can be mitigated with the right governance model. At Callzilla, we ensure close partnership with our clients, including shared dashboards, routine business reviews, and collaborative decision-making to maintain visibility and influence over your outsourced team.
Why Choose Callzilla as your near shore call center?
As one of the Top Call Center Outsourcing Companies, Callzilla stands out for its ability to handle customer interactions with quality, flexibility, and cultural alignment.
Located in Bogotá, just a short flight from South Florida, we offer nearshore advantages like cost-efficiency, bilingual talent (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese), and a highly educated workforce.
We’re PCI, HIPAA, and ISO 9001:2015 certified, ensuring security, compliance, and consistent quality across industries, including healthcare.
Our omni-channel capabilities span voice, chat, email, social care, and automation. During COVID-19, we transitioned over 600 agents to remote work, a model we’ve embraced moving forward.
At Callzilla, we value innovation and culture, creating meaningful client partnerships centered on performance, empathy, and results. Selecting the right nearshore call center partner is a pivotal decision that can significantly influence your company’s customer experience and operational efficiency. Callzilla distinguishes itself in the nearshore outsourcing landscape through a combination of strategic location, multilingual capabilities, advanced technology, and an unwavering commitment to employee satisfaction.
Strategic Location and Cultural Affinity
Callzilla’s operational hubs are strategically situated in Bogotá, Colombia, a city that has emerged as an ideal destination for nearshore call centers. Bogotá offers a unique blend of geographical proximity to the United States and a workforce that shares cultural similarities with North American customers. This cultural alignment facilitates smoother communication and a better understanding of customer expectations, leading to enhanced customer satisfaction. Moreover, Bogotá’s location minimizes the risk of natural disasters, ensuring uninterrupted service delivery.
Multilingual Capabilities
In today’s globalized market, the ability to provide support in multiple languages is invaluable. Callzilla stands out by offering services in four languages: English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. This multilingual proficiency enables businesses to cater to a diverse customer base without the need to engage multiple service providers. Notably, only 3% of Colombian contact centers offer more than three languages, positioning Callzilla as a leader in multilingual support.
Advanced Technological Infrastructure
Staying abreast of technological advancements is crucial in delivering superior customer service. Callzilla has invested in cutting-edge technologies to enhance service delivery. The implementation of automation services, including AI-driven ChatBots and Speech Analytics, has streamlined operations and improved customer interactions. These technologies not only increase efficiency but also provide valuable insights into customer behavior, enabling continuous improvement in service quality.
Commitment to Employee Satisfaction
A satisfied and motivated workforce is the backbone of exceptional customer service. Callzilla places a strong emphasis on creating a positive work environment, offering competitive salaries, incentives, and opportunities for professional growth. This commitment is reflected in the company’s low attrition rate of less than 10% in 2020. Furthermore, Callzilla has been officially recognized as a Great Place to Work, underscoring its dedication to employee well-being and satisfaction.
Personal experiences of Callzilla’s team
The true measure of a company’s culture and effectiveness lies in the experiences of its employees. At Callzilla, team members’ testimonials provide valuable insights into the organization’s work environment and operational excellence.
Employee Engagement and Development
Callzilla has implemented various initiatives to foster employee engagement and professional development. The introduction of a book club, for instance, has facilitated knowledge sharing and continuous learning among team members. Starting with “Heels to Deals” by Heidi Solomon-Orlick, the book club has provided inspiration and practical insights, contributing to personal and professional growth. Such initiatives reflect Callzilla’s commitment to creating a culture of continuous improvement and employee empowerment.
Team Bonding and Support Activities
Recognizing the importance of a cohesive team, Callzilla has organized various activities aimed at fostering team bonding and providing support. Engagement activities such as holiday parties, virtual group activities, and employee recognition programs have contributed to a positive work environment. Additionally, support activities including counseling sessions and health and safety initiatives demonstrate Callzilla’s holistic approach to employee well-being.
In summary
Outsourcing your call center operations is a strategic decision that can yield significant benefits when aligned with the right partner. Callzilla offers a compelling nearshore outsourcing solution characterized by strategic location, multilingual capabilities, advanced technology, and a steadfast commitment to employee satisfaction. By choosing Callzilla, businesses can enhance their customer experience, achieve operational efficiency, and foster a partnership built on trust and mutual growth.
As you consider the future of your customer service operations, reflect on the potential of a partnership with Callzilla. Our dedication to excellence, innovation, and people-centric values positions us as more than just a service provider, we are a partner invested in your success. Let’s embark on this journey together, transforming customer experiences and driving business growth.
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