Making the decision to leverage a BPO for customer support isn’t easy.
First, leaders have to decide whether they want to outsource all of their support, or some of their support, and if only some, what “some” gets handed-off.
Then they have to decide where they want to outsource support. Domestically? Nearshore? Offshore? What region? There’s no shortage of options!
Then there’s the evaluation of potential partners. Leaders need to identify which vendor is most aligned with their company values and support philosophy, while also meeting their departmental budget. There are meetings, scorecards, reference checks, and maybe even a visit to a contact center or two.
All of these steps contribute to the foundation of a successful BPO partnership, however, one frequently overlooked step is planning for how the relationship will be managed long-term for sustained success.
A plan for BPO management is essential
Because leaders may not explore BPO relationship management as deeply as some of the other aspects of the initiative, sometimes the transition to the contact center is executed with ease, but success is short-lived. The service team never hits proficiency, or it takes much longer to hit proficiency than expected. In some situations, service performance may go down compared to performance at launch.
Leaders who experience these issues become frustrated. They may assume they chose the wrong partner or service agents or that outsourcing their support simply doesn’t work.
Businesses unable to recognize when there’s a problem with their relationship management, risk experiencing the exact same challenges with a new partner, costing the business time, money, and loyal customers.
Step 1 - Understand BPO support levels
Creating a strong BPO management strategy begins early - when leaders are evaluating potential partners. It’s essential to understand the different levels of service available through outsourcing solutions, and what each potential partner is willing to provide.
How involved a BPO is in your support operations can vary widely, and will have significant implications for what relationship management will look like for your internal team.
Low Involvement
Some outsourcing solutions are low-cost - and low involvement. Resources from the BPO may be limited to a program manager and service agents. The program manager will facilitate agent interviews and handle employment-related matters, while onboarding, training, coaching, and day-to-day communications remain the responsibility of the client.
Low involvement from the BPO will require high involvement from the client to be successful.
Partial Involvement
More commonly, BPOs will have a more active role in the success of the support team. There may be a hiring manager who recruits service members, a trainer who facilitates onboarding, and team leads who handle escalations throughout the day. A program manager will share performance on a regular cadence.
With this type of BPO structure, the client is fully responsible for the customer service strategy but is getting some help with the execution. They may still create their own training materials, participate in collaboration calls, respond to escalated questions, and more!
High Involvement
Some BPOs will take their level of involvement in their client’s support operations a step further, offering a full-service customer experience suite. In addition to what most BPOs offer, they may share best practices in the industry, present cost-saving solutions, make system and platform recommendations, share voice of customer insights, and offer the strategic guidance of a fractional Chief Experience Officer.
BPOs with a high level of involvement will allow clients to take the greatest step back from day-to-day operations, while also gaining direction in their overall experience strategy.
Step 2 - Evaluate your internal resources
The second step to creating a strong BPO management strategy is, to be honest about the resources available internally to dedicate to support management.
Once the implementation phase has ended, and several months have gone by, leaders need to consider who will be involved in ensuring the success of the partner. They should consider the internal comfort level of managing a support operation, as well as the time available to manage it.
A business with a dedicated and experienced CX leader in place won’t have the same needs as a business whose support leader is shared with one or two other departments.
Step 3 - Design a manageable partnership
When leaders have a clear understanding of what resources they’re able to provide internally, and what services they’re able to obtain through a BPO, they can choose a vendor and design a partnership with an appropriate and realistic level of involvement on each side.
This will prevent a gap in what the BPO is expecting from the client, and what the client can realistically deliver, in order to effectively create a positive experience for customers.
In other words, the organization that doesn’t have time to create SOPs to train their outsourced team members will have more success if they make it a point to partner with a vendor that is willing to help with that, rather than go without SOP creation, which can limit success.
Step 4 - Identify a BPO Relationship Manager
A reputable BPO partner that’s aligned with the client’s brand can bring huge benefits to the client’s organization through quality interactions, cost savings, best practices, and more!
But regardless of how involved the BPO is in the support function, maintaining a healthy relationship will still require more than attendance in a weekly business review. It requires day-to-day involvement from at least one dedicated member of the internal team.
Consider this: Every organization changes a little every day. New products are released. Stock runs out. Sales are launched. Processes evolve. Technology gets introduced. Without someone who can regularly and timely share these ongoings with the team, the information agents communicate to customers becomes inaccurate, and the quality and efficiency of service interactions go down. Lack of timely information from the client also weakens outsourced team member morale; they want to help the customer, but without the right knowledge and tools in place, they are unable to succeed.
Simultaneously, while these changes are taking place within the client’s organization, changes are happening with the BPO partner. Service team members will move on to new opportunities - though hopefully not too many. Program managers will be promoted. The initial onboarding is no longer a shared experience. Without the client’s presence to convey the “brand magic” the passion for the product won’t be alive the way it could be.
An effective BPO management strategy requires someone who can nurture the BPO partner and represent the brand on a day-to-day basis.
Step 5 - Make your BPO an extension of your brand
The closer an organization brings its BPO into the day-to-day operations, the better the BPO’s performance will be.
As the outsourced team becomes intertwined with the brand, they become more invested; alerting the client when issues arise, sharing valuable insights and proactive solutions, becoming experts in the product, communicating in the brand voice, and most importantly, treating customers the way the client would want them to be treated. Oftentimes, even better!
How can organizations get their BPO relationship to this level?
- Take time to learn about your team’s culture, if it is different than your own.
- Learn your team members’ names and regularly interact with them.
- Give your outsourced team the opportunity to experience your product firsthand.
- Let team members in on company achievements, goals and milestones.
- Provide avenues for team members to share feedback and ideas.
- Collaborate with your outsourced team on problem-solving.
- Celebrate your outsourced team member successes.
- Offer detailed information on upcoming launches and promotions before its relevant
- Share updates that may generate customer questions or impact their day
Success depends on more than selecting the right partner. By understanding varying support levels, evaluating internal resources, designing a balanced partnership, appointing a dedicated relationship manager, and fostering a strong brand connection, you can set your BPO up for sustained success.
About the author: Kristen is a seasoned CX Director with experience leading customer experience strategies for small to medium-sized e-commerce businesses. She has worked with diverse teams and specializes in customer service strategy, employee experience, system improvements, and scaling operations
