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Minimum Number of Agents to Outsource

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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  • #17530
    Janica Bowman
    Guest

    Hello,

    I’m doing a very high level assessment on whether or not to outsource one of our call centres (I am specifically considering outsourcing to an off-shore vendor, possibly in India), and I am trying to determine how many seats I need to outsource in order to make it worthwhile. I know I could find this by doing a cost-benefit analysis, which I will need to do eventually, but for now I’m just looking for an approximation. I think I will outsource between 20-80 agents. My sense is that the “breakeven” point occurs somewhere in this range. Obviously there is no definite answer for my specific situation, but I would really like to hear from others who have considered outsourcing small call centres.

    Thanks!
    Janica

    #17531
    Lalit Tyagi
    Guest

    Hello Janica
    Cost analysis can be done.But still first of all it depend on what kind of business you have.what product and what is the product cost to customer.
    We are into outsourcing for call center business from almost 4 years to india and we can help you out in a very good way for it.
    Please let us know what kind of business it is.
    Please tell me your mail id so that we can work out something.
    Regards
    Lalit Tyagi

    #17532
    Omer Ejaz
    Guest

    Hi Janica,

    It all comes down to how much each agent currently costs you compared to the standard costs in different countries. If you outsource here (I am in Pakistan), each agent wil roughly cost you between $4 – $5. This could even go down. Overall Pakistan ia ctually 30% cheaper than India as we enjoy a tax holiday till 2016. You can write back to me for further details.

    Regards,
    Omer Ejaz

    #17533
    Saeed Qadri
    Guest

    HI Janica,

    You are right the eventual yardstick to measure break even in this scenario is only a complete cost benefit analysis. The two minimum inputs that will be required at this point in time to make an approximation will be 1) Your cost of operations ideally broken down on per hour basis and 2) the all inclusive quote that you can receive from a set of vendors. Here are some numbers to work with

    >>> Typical Yearly Salary for a IT Programmer USA $70,000 Pakistan $8,500
    >>> Typical Hourly cost to operate a Call Center USA $ 12.47 Pakistan $4.88

    So you can see that the cost differential is so high that the question of how much to out source is mostly transformed into “How much should I outsource to begin with—and then how much with in 90 days and so on”. In my different assignments with my own company Voxel Communications and previously with Halliburton business units; I have seen that the outsourcing managers tend to opt for a low risk strategy of first trying out a pilot program of 10-20 FTE’s (Full Time Equivalents) in case of call center or other transaction oriented work and in case of IT/SW development the start is with even smaller numbers.

    The problem with pilots are usually related to over exaggerated commitments and then failing expectations. However, they are still a great tool to fine tune SLAs and budgets etc. In a pilot program I would watch for:

    1. Cost Savings in a total cost of ownership (TCO) scenario
    2. One Vendor, One Location versus multiple locations and multiple vendors
    3. Backed up for disaster recovery in-house during pilot and even beyond
    4. Watch for Availability and Retention patterns of customer support agents proficient in English or whatever language
    5. Measurement of effort on training
    6. Airtight Confidentiality Arrangements
    7. Robust Technological Infrastructure for 24/7/365
    8. Continuous improvement in process and quality control

    Outsourcing is fastest, easiest, and most economical way to maximize your IT Development, Call Center, Data Center, and E-Commerce programs. It provides you with the highest quality, experienced IT Software engineers, Pool of call center staff, no iteration issues, at a cost that is generally 50-60% lower than a conventional US based program.

    I would recommend you putting together a RFI/RFP for a few vendors and send it to them for there detailed responses; shortlist them to two/three vendors; have conference calls with them and decide on a pilot phase and then decide the quotient of outsourcing for your organization.

    Regards and Happy outsourcing

    Saeed Qadri

    #17534
    monarc tanjutco
    Guest

    Hi Janica

    basically if you are looking for a much cheaper call center but have a much better quality I can assure you its better to get one in the philippines, we provide a much better english accent and a much better quality assurance that the ones from india or pakistan.

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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