According to the latest reports by the Center for Disease Control (CDC), call centers have shown an increase in contact volume due to the sharp rise of infections worldwide. As the pandemic continues to paralyze economies, contact centers have been the link between the people locked down in their homes and their service providers.
The Department of Health is “all hands-on” in supporting these contact centers, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office. In other words, the public can breathe a sigh of relief because Contact Centers are here to lend a helping hand.
This is how.
Thinking Outside the Box
New thinking about changing the service industry from the traditional ways to the new modern ways is already being implemented. In an era of massive connectivity, omnichannel service technology provides enormous opportunities to improve customer experience. The pandemic is forcing call centers to rethink their methods and adapt to the times.
The latest trends in business include a shift toward virtual services, offshore outsourcing, and a rethinking of customer service. Online businesses are focusing more on e-commerce and online sales and, as a result, call centers have to evolve as well.
They can no longer just assume that people will know where to go in times of an emergency. In this increasingly competitive environment, call centers are looking for greater ways to help. Outsourcing and virtualization have made it possible to provide superior service and much greater levels of information to those who need it.
A new outlook of solutions has hit the Contact Center industry. Some are more appropriate for the virtual world and others for the real world. Cloud computing and open-source tools are being used by the more traditional call center companies to increase security, efficiency. Cloud computing also helps to reduce the cost of hardware and software and to extend the life of an application.
Educating the Masses
The call center industry provides education about the pandemic and how it can be prevented. Because people are so afraid of Covid-19, call centers have taken it upon themselves to reach out to the masses and are teaching them how to avoid the disease.
Call centers also provide information about other methods of creating a safer environment and centers people can rush to for testing should they suspect that they have been infected.
Job Creation
Due to the pandemic, there has been a rise in job cuts. Many businesses have been forced to make cuts and this has forced them to retrench their employees.
Many organizations, from fast-food chains to giant corporations, have outsourced their call center functions that are either located in the United States or a neighboring country.
The global business community refers to these centers as “fringe companies” because they aren’t subject to the same regulatory rules and compliance requirements as many traditional businesses.
The number of outsourcing centers has quadrupled in recent years and their reach has become much greater. In the United States alone, there are almost three thousand call centers that are operating.
These centers employ nearly five hundred thousand workers. This is a staggering amount, considering that the labor force only constitutes about half of the population. Additionally, many of these call centers are relatively small operations. They don’t often require large investments and can operate with minimal financial overhead.
Increased Efficiency of Service
Many Contact Center critics argue that outsourcing these functions increases worker exploitation and an overall lack of accountability. However, these critics fail to take into account the positive aspects of outsourcing contact center functions.
Namely, by moving most of these functions to the global marketplace, call centers will be able to increase their productivity, which will lead to a significant increase in company profits.
This is because the increased efficiency will reduce the time that workers spend returning phone calls and it will allow call center employees to focus on more important activities. As a result, both client satisfaction and employee satisfaction will increase.
Also, there is a direct benefit to the consumers. Since call centers are mostly localized, they tend to target the communities where they understand the most common language, the majority of which is English.
Because of this, many people can receive assistance from call centers without having to leave home. Furthermore, many people can receive services that others may not.
As a result of globalization, people living abroad can experience greater economic prosperity because these services could not easily be provided within the borders of the United States.
Perhaps the most overlooked benefit of outsourcing call center functions is the impact it will have on the global economy. Outsourcing these functions allows companies to focus their attention on providing goods and services that will be attractive to a global audience.
In effect, outsourcing call center work allows companies to focus their energies on markets where they see a larger consumer base. For example, if consumers in one country are unsatisfied with the services provided by a certain company, companies in that country may choose to outsource the call center functions to another country.
Reduce the Spread by working Remotely
Virtual call centers are excellent for those who wish to work from home. The internet has made it possible for virtually anyone to establish a business from home. Many call center jobs can be performed through online bidding or freelance bidding websites. Besides, most call centers offer flexible work hours, which allow those who wish to work from home to do so.
Cost Effective
The costs involved are less since most of the costs are recovered through services and the profits are also recovered through additional sales. This type of center offers specialization in particular fields like telemarketing.
Telemarketing is considered to be a much cheaper and much effective way of doing business, however, a cold caller is not a telemarketer and the costs involved in the process might be higher.
A call center offers a much cheaper and more targeted solution and this means that the profits involved are much higher and so is the efficiency of the agents.
Conclusion
It is a fact, call centers such as the babelforce cloud communications platform continue to offer their help and services during a time when essential services are needed the most. In addition, they are an excellent way for international companies to reach out to more people who need their help in a short amount of time. Furthermore, outsourcing call center tasks allow consumers to receive high-quality customer service. Call centers are considered a major help in these trying times.
About babelforce
babelforce is a global cloud communications platform focused on No-Code integration and automation. It allows non-technical people to build even the most complex integrated processes for customer-facing teams, particularly in the call center.
