Outsourcing Times

Future Perfect: No More Accents

--By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer

Handling customer calls is a Catch-22 situation for most companies. You have to either lose a major chunk of your resources by continuing with your in-house client handling operations or have the client breathing down your neck when you outsource or have an IVR system in place. Come to think of it, it seems more like a no-win situation. Either you lose money or you lose clients.

Is a call center operation all that simplistic? Actually no. There are a lot of cultural and emotional factors at play here and a company must understand and respect customer sentiment. S/he must also find a cost-effective method of dealing with this problem. First the facts:

Nearly 70 percent of customers would rather deal with an IVR system than talk to an agent with a foreign accent.

Over 92 percent of customers are frustrated with present-day IVR systems. Given these figures, there is probably only one good option left to companies – supercharge their IVR system and avoid outsourcing unless absolutely necessary. Yes, this is a very radical approach. But this is probably the best way to retain clients without losing valuable resources.

In the long term, a strong IVR system can be beneficial to a company. All the system needs to do is provide customers with what they need and when they need it. For instance, an organization could install a personalized automated system that deals with individual needs rather than a generic one. And no, this ideal doesn’t belong to the realm of hi-tech imagination. Software that’s recently been developed helps the IVR become caller-specific; have personalized menus, personalized voices, personalized prompts and even dialogs.

Now, the only problem that may arise is that customers may find this solution too perfect – and to that, probably there is no solution. What’s your opinion?

Painful Problems, Difficult Solutions

Outsourcing is a pretty difficult subject – both for a firm as well as for the customer. For some reason, despite having been around for quite some time now, outsourcing is still viewed upon as a necessary evil by the firm and by the customer as something that is leading to the erosion of his/ her relationship with the firm. Is it really so bad? Well, we don’t need to look into the macro picture because we only want to deal with one issue right now – customer relations and outsourcing.

A recent survey found that an American consumer doesn’t mind dealing with a rude or even condescending customer service agent from the homeland. But s/he definitely doesn’t like one that speaks with a foreign accent. The survey conducted for NetReflector, a provider of customer feedback applications, showed that respondents were not so put off by agent rudeness or even by unnecessary wait time. What they couldn’t stand was the accented English. That makes one think if the problem really is the accent or something deeper, more foreboding.

The problem could lie in the fact that the outsourced rep may not be equipped to solve the customer’s problem. That’s not to say the rep is not qualified for the job, it’s just that s/he doesn’t understand the customer’s problem and hence cannot help the customer. Result – customer dissatisfaction. So how do you solve this simple yet pertinent issue? One thing is to better plan your outsourcing operations right from scratch. It isn’t enough to save money by operating out of a cheaper country. You have to make your reps competent enough to deal with clients.

If your firm has not yet begun outsourcing work, you must do a soul-search and check if you really need to outsource. Is there an absolute need for it and will the firm gain from it are questions that need to be answered.

Visanet and EDS: Outsourcing deal through decades

Over the next ten years, the Plano-based tech company EDS will continue to provide ITO and BPO services to Visanet, a credit card services provider based in Brazil. The new contract is worth $209 million, and is an extension over the existing agreement between the two parties.

What is interesting to note is that the two companies have been associated over the past ten years; this is certainly turning out to be a long-term association. Global Services reports:

In addition to existing services, EDS also will provide call center support to assist Visanet merchants with point-of-sale equipment-technical support. The call center handles more than 450,000 merchant calls per month.

Growth in Contact Center Outsourcing Market

Offshore outsourcing is a global phenomenon that has driven the growth in the contact center outsourcing market in Asia-Pacific. The trend is expected to continue to be the key growth driver. Since the contact center outsourcing market in Asia Pacific continue to witness strong growth, the demand for skilled workers is increasing day by day.

Market research studies revealed that revenues in the Asia Pacific Contact Center Outsourcing Market industry covering 13 major Asia Pacific economies totaled to USD 7.2 billion in 2005. It is estimated to be worth USD 25.1 billion by 2012. Today, many enterprises from the US and the UK have outsourced significant portions of their customer care operations to countries like India, China, Philippines and Malaysia. Recently, I had written a post titled “China to Promote Outsourcing Business” about how China is emerging as one of the hot outsourcing destinations in Asia-Pacific region.

Australian Telecom Outsourcing to India

Despite the protests from unions and public to send back-office and calling center operations to India, a major part of Australia's telecommunication work is being outsourced to India. The government-owned Telstra has recently entered into a major deal with Indian IT giant, Wipro. Another leading Australian company Optus is also negotiating with Indian BPOs to handle its IT development and management operations. Both Telstra and Optus have been under tremendous pressure to cut costs as the telecommunication sector in Australia is showing signs of slowing down.

According to The Hindu -

The inkling of Optus India move has reportedly come from briefing by the management of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) listed company to thousands of its call centre staff about increasing the numbers in India from 500 to 800 on immediate basis.

Egypt looks to divert Call business away from India

When you think of Egypt, it is likely that you will jump to an image of pyramids, the Sphinx, the Nile, and tourism. But in this age of global competition for outsourcing business, Egypt might soon reap the benefits of an educated unemployed population, good English-speaking skills, and a modern telecom system and attract call center business.

Studies have shown that India is nearly at saturation point, and it is likely that Western employers will seek new destinations. Egypt is geography well stationed in relation to the American and European time zones, and at least four BPO/call center providers are already attracting clients to Egypt: C3, Raya, Egyptian Contact Center Operator or Ecco, Tamima Teleseen, and Xceed. Xceed already has customers like Microsoft, GM, Oracle,  and NetOne.

According to Datamonitor, Egypt still has a few barriers to cross before becoming a challenge to countries like India and the Philippines. However, the country is sending the right signals, and proper marketing can push Egypt on to the outsourcing path in a big way.

Communication Dilemma with Indian Call Center Workers

It is a well-known fact that India has become the hot destination of outsourcing business. India and its efficient workers stand high on the global arena. When the outsourcing industry grew further, companies tried to adopt the Western culture and accent and trained their workers to use American and British accents while speaking to customers. However, that perception has witnessed a sea change now. Outsourcing managers are urging Indian call center employees to use direct communication instead of using fake Western accents. Indian workers always become extremely polite and humble while talking to clients or bosses. According to analysts, that may not go well with the customers who are based in the US.

As the opposition to outsourcing jobs to low-wage countries is waning now, companies are trying to get workers to improve the projects, which is a change from the traditional way of completing a simple assignment. While handling back office work, Indian workers are being encouraged to suggest options to improve software programs or simplify procedures. Indian workers are told to take notes and observe customer behavior so that they can report trends and patterns to clients.

Top Global Outsourcing Companies

According to a recent report released by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals, Indian software companies have a strong presence in the top 20 Global Outsourcing 100 list. IBM has topped the list followed by Sodexho Alliance, Accenture, Hewlett Packard and Capgemini. Wipro Technologies bagged seventh spot on the list. Some other Indian companies such as HCL Technologies, Mastek, Genpact and Patni Computer also found themselves in the list.

More Information: Read Here

The 100 firms on the list represent $68.9 billion in 2005 revenues and 1.03 million employees worldwide, providing services to companies such as GM, Ford, Citigroup, Bank of America, ExxonMobil, and Verizon.

Dispute between Sprint and IBM on Outsourcing

When Sprint started business with IBM, it was confident that outsourcing IT jobs to IBM would improve the company's software, increase productivity and ensure cost saving for the company. However, situation has taken an interesting turn with Sprint suing IBM over the loss incurred by the company because of outsourcing to IBM. According to Sprint sources, IBM failed to meet contractual promises for productivity improvements. Kansas City reports:

In its simplest form, Sprint executives contend that IBM owes them for about 119,000 hours of uncompleted work. That is the equivalent of 57 years’ work for a single employee.

Uganda, the new kid to taste the outsourcing pie

InterGlobal Services (IGS), a US call centre operator, is initiating a world class call center that will change the outsourcing landscape of the region. Although the project is behind schedule, it is most likely to be up and running by the end of May.

The call center will provide employment to 450 operators working in three shifts. The government has done its part by providing low cost education geared towards employment in the outsourcing arena. EasyLearning, as the program is known will make life much easier for employees in the outsourcing sector as they will come equipped with the knowledge to handle the demands of such a job. Uganda already has educated but unemployed youth and the outsourcing sector will give them the opportunity to earn a living for themselves. AllAfrica.com reports:

InterGlobal Services (IGS), a U.S. call centre operator in conjunction with the Busoga Kingdom are in the final stages of setting up a 150-seater world-class call centre in Jinja, 80 kilometres east of Kampala.

Lay-Offs to Cut Costs

In an attempt to cut costs and improve productivity, Office Depot Inc., the second-largest office supply retailer in the United States, has either laid off or relocated nearly 900 of its call center employees, as an aftermath of shutting down eight of ten such centers. Their work has been outsourced to third party call centers or to virtual ones where home-based agents take care of customer needs. The company hopes to save $15 million annually through this consolidation process. TMC Net reports:

Employees there say they were never notified about Office Depot's long-range plans to eliminate traditional call centers. They only began to worry that the company was considering layoffs when workers from West Corp., a leading outsourcing company, came to the call center a couple of weeks ago and job-shadowed them.

Is Caller Abuse Worth It?

Contact center workers in India are already subject to various problems at work including having to travel at odd hours, strict supervision, the pressure to perform above standards day after day, and the burnout that comes with working long hours in night shifts. Their cup of woes, which is already full, is now overflowing with the abuse they have to put up with customers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia who are angry that they have to get their problems solved by people who are half a world away.

It's a case of misdirected anger. The rage at the company is being dumped on the hapless call center agents who are only doing their job. Perhaps part of the callers' frustration is the fact that jobs that should have actually gone to their own kind are being carried out by foreigners. Another reason is that agents are often asked to ape the American accent so that people back home will not know where their calls are being redirected. But this tactic does not work too well as callers more often than not identify the tone of a foreigner.

Indian call center workers have the double advantage of good English skills and the ability to work with discipline, which is why India is the most-preferred outsourcing destination for the West. With around 350,000 people currently employed in the call center industry that is generates earnings of $5.1 billion annually, organizations cannot afford to let the problems of their call center employees pass without any action being taken. Failure to do so will result in qualified workers moving on to greener pastures.

Burgers From Afar

Fast food giant McDonald’s is outsourcing a few of its operations to agents who work in a call center. Their job is to take orders and relay them back to the relevant restaurants through the Internet. The Santa Maria-based Bronco Communications handles calls from 40 restaurants scattered around the country, while Illinois-based Verety has hired home-based agents to do the job. The call centers have been in operation for the past 18 months, and have weathered protests ranging from the idea being “bizarre” to low voice quality which results in agents having to repeat questions or customers having to repeat orders.

While McDonald’s claims this system decreases the time between orders by a few seconds, the agents are paid only the minimum wages, and are subjected to constant scrutiny. Their system flashes the number of minutes they were away on a break, and they have to click on a pop-up that appears every now and then in around 1.75 seconds to show that they are on the job.

Philippine BPOs facing dearth of skilled workers

Now it is the turn of Philippines to feel the heat of the BPO boom! What I mean is now call and contact centers coming up there have begun to face a dearth of skilled workers. So much so that Philipino politicians have now started asking the Philippine government to withdraw the incentives that are in place for attracting foreign investment into call and contact centers. Instead the incentives should now be given to those firms which are giving training to Philippinos to become skilled at call center and contact center work. At present Philippine-based call and contact centers are the cheapest compared to those anywhere else in the world, but the big question is how long will they be able to hang on to this advantage?

Read more: Senator challenges govt to rethink incentives for BPO firms

African cos waking up to call center business

African countries such as Nigeria are fast realising the games that can be played in BPO space if you have plenty of  cheap labour. Call and contact centers are fast coming up in that country. Admittedly BPO operators there are still operating very much at the low end. The good thing is if more and more players begin to crowd the low end of the market, competition will force those with more experience - such as players in India - to graduate into higher levels in the value chain. There are benefits for the buyers too. Competition from new destinations such as Nigeria and other African countries will further push down costs of outsourcing call/contact center activity. This once again shows how competition somehow creates a win-win situation for all. For an insight into the Nigerian market:

Read more:  Setting the benchmark for outsourcing contact centers

Dell starts Philippines call center

Dell, the world's largest producer of personal computers, has begun operations at its call center in the Philippines. The call center, which provides customer and technical support to Dell computer users abroad, received its first inquiry from the United States on Monday when its initial 167 employees started work in a suburb of the Philippine capital, a Dell statement said. Dell plans to increase its staff to 700 shortly, it added.business.balita.ph reports:

The company said it chose the Philippines for the center "primarily because of the strong language and communications skills of its work force and a robust telecommunications infrastructure."

The Philippines, with a large, educated, English-speaking population, has emerged as a major location for call centers and business process outsourcing with this sector generating estimated revenues of 1.12 billion dollars last year.

Accent no more on accent

After being at the receiving end of many jokes, Indian BPO companies at last seem to have realised that it does not pay to merely worry about training its call centre recruits to speak with an American, British or Australian accent. Thank god! They have now begun to realise that it would pay more to put the accent on problem solving skills of call centre recruits rather than on the accent with which they speak.

Initially most of these companies were under the belief that their American clients or rather  customes of their American clients would be pleased to be spoken to in their own accents. But research has shown that what customers really want is not some put-on accent but an effective solution to their problems. Now Indian BPO companies are putting their emphasis on training recruits to think on their feet and provide effective solutions when customers want them. The Economic Times reports:

More and more call centres are now shifting focus to getting the job done and queries answered effectively rather than getting the accent right.

Egypt builds infrastructure to attract customer contact outsourcing

In a bid to open Egypt as a leading destination for customer contact outsourcing, the country is gearing up to provide the necessary infrastructure to attract outsourcing contracts. The government is building a subsidized call center training facility, offering free trade zones, and promoting awareness all around of Egypt's preparedness to meet outsourcing requirements from around the world.

The country hopes to project its advantages of multilingual capabilities, neutral accents, and central geographical location vis-à-vis the US, Europe, and Asia. If Egypt succeeds in its bid to attract volumes of outsourcing deals from the West, India will feel the challenge to its dominance in this outsourcing industry. CIO Today reports:

Speaking at the Offshore Customer Management International Conference in Prague last week, Adel Danish, chairman and chief executive of Xceed Contact Center, based in Egypt, stated: "The government is behind the industry as it creates jobs, takes people off the streets, and encourages them to think positively."

Aliant Inc. outsources 129 jobs

Atlantic Canada's dominant telecom company Aliant Inc. will outsource 129 jobs from its call centers' help desks to a non-unionized company. About 100 temporary wrokers are also going to lose their jobs at Aliant. The National Post reports:

Penny Fawcett, a local president with the CEP, said there are concerns Aliant may continue to shift work to the non-unionized call centres to bolster the company's bottom line. Last year, the union was involved in a bitter, five-month-long strike with Aliant, with outsourcing being one of the major issues. 

Outsourcing in the Australian telecommunications sector increases customer complaints: John Pinnock

In releasing the annual report for the telecom industry in Australia, telecommunications industry Ombudsman John Pinnock warned that there is a significant increase in the number of customer complaints in this sector. He attributed this to outsourcing of the call center requirements.

According to Pinnock, outsourcing in the telecommunications sector reduces the control of the telecommunication company over call responses. At the same time, the outsource provider lacks the customer knowledge that is essential in dealing with customer requirements. Pinnock identified the companies where most of the complaints were located. PC Advisor reports:

Pinnock said complaints were consistently much higher in the telecoms industry than in banking, insurance and finance. Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association CEO Graham Chalker said the number of mobile phone subscribers in Australia is nearing 19 million, and argued that the report should be looked at in context.

India-based company SlashSupport opens Call Center in San Jose

SlashSupport, a part of the Cybernet Software Systems Group, has established a call center in San Jose, California. It employs 25 people currently, but this figure is expected to increase to 100 in a year's time. The call center, with the four centers in India and another in Singapore, attends to calls of all levels, with the number of inbound calls going up to 5 million every year.

Its success could mark the start of the trend of "reverse outsourcing,” where the requirements of Americans are met within America through a call center. SlashSupport has already built a client base in the US. Hindustantimes.com reports:

With some 30 clients in the US, and 90 per cent of its business with US companies, [SlashSupport Executive Vice President Sanjiva] Singh said these "highly branded" companies got and gave back more to an in-country call centre. As an on-site company, SlashSupport got to have close interaction on product marketing and engineering with its clients, including interacting closely with the customers of that client.   

Survey by Lloyds TSB employees union indicates opposition to outsourcing among employees

The Lloyds TSB employees union has conducted a survey of nearly 2,000 executives and staff to show that 96 percent of the customers oppose the move by the bank to outsource work to India. According to the survey, most of the customers have also raised their concerns regarding the poor service from the Indian operations. Two-thirds of the participants in the survey perceive more errors and mistakes being committed by the Indian operations. 85 percent of participants felt that the bank is in danger of losing customers.

However, according to a spokesperson of the bank, the call centre in Mumbai that handles the bank's requirements is doing an efficient job and has handled seven million calls within the past year, and customer satisfaction is high on the calls to India. Hindustantimes.com reports:

Meanwhile, telecom firm Colt is planning to move 15 per cent of its business operations to India by the end of the year. It added 71 jobs in India over the last three months, taking its workforce there to 455, and axed 104 jobs in Europe.

The Call Centers Association of India opposes Left call for Unionism

The Call Centers Association of India (CCAI) has reacted strongly against the suggestion made by CPI(M)-backed Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) that the call centers based in India should form unions for their rights. CCAI have opposed the move because the concept of unionism goes against the norms of international business. The concept of unionism would also adversely affect India's position as an attractive destination for IT and ITES investment.

Contrary to this opposition, consultancy firm Gartner indicated that the demand for unionism in the call center industry is a sign of maturity of the BPO sector. Unionism could add a sense of security to the professionals employed in the industry, as there could be a feeling that the union would be able to defend the worker's position in the event of a "battle". However, this view of Gartner is in direct contrast to the view of Wipro BPO Solutions Ltd CEO TK Kurien, who pointed to the decline of unionism the world over. The Indian Express reports:

The Left parties’ call for unionionization in call centres has the $5.2 billion outsourcing industry in a rage. CPI(M)-backed Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) has suggested that workers form unions for their rights in India. The Call Centres Association of India (CCAI) is not pleased with the idea, saying ‘‘international business has no place for such unionism.’’   

Women workforce at Indian call centers face job crisis

The jobs of about 40 percent of the Indian call center workforce, comprising of women, could be in jeopardy. The Haryana state government has recalled the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishment Act 1958 and directed several call centers based in Gurgaon to disallow women from working in night shifts.

Although the law does not cover IT companies, the labour department of the state is maintaining that call centers are not IT concerns, and fall under the law's stipulations. However, the fears may not translate into reality because, the directives of one state government does not apply to any of the other Indian states. CRM Buyer reports:

Although Haryana, and in particular Gurgaon, is a major base for call center outsourcing, there are many others, particularly in the south, where in general the authorities have been far more sympathetic.

Customers react to BT article on Indian call center staffers

BT published an article earlier this month on Indian call centers, labeling customers who abuse call center staff as "bigots". Reacting to this article, readers of Silicon.com have responded sharply. Many readers have registered their disillusionment with BT's offshore call center services. A problem area that has been identified in this reaction is the improper script provided to Indian call center staff, which is not suited to responding in the best possible way to customer calls and queries. There are occasions when a customer requirement falls outside the script, and the call center staff is not able to handle such calls satisfactorily.

One particular customer mentioned that customer service is not the right function to be outsourced. Another Silicon.com reader emphasized that the criticism from Western customers is adding pressure on the Indian call center staff, and many staffers leave the industry only after a brief stint. Silicon.com reports:

Technical architect Michael Carter from London added: "I've experienced problems with overseas call centres, not so much the language problems but just with the fact that they are so far removed from the business they're not empowered to do anything when a problem falls outside their range of scripted scenarios."   

Britain’s mobile service provider Orange to outsource 700 call center jobs to India

India is the target destination for outsourced jobs from Orange, Britain's leading mobile phone service provider. A spokeswoman for the company declared that approximately 700 jobs are going to be outsourced to India by the end of 2005. Most of these jobs will be in the call center industry. The company also clarified that outsourcing of these jobs to India will not have any detrimental effect on the jobs within Britain, which will continue to manage most of the calls for Orange.

The main focus of the company is to extend the best possible service to its customers, whether it is through outsourced jobs or through centers established in Britain. The company expects its new partner centers in India to meet the required industry standards and complement the work done by their counterparts in Britain. As a first step to establishing the call centers in India, Orange is sending a team to India to provide the necessary training and orientation programs. Asia Pulse News reports:

According to the spokeswoman, Orange is recruiting a team of 20 to 30 volunteers, chosen from its British sites, to travel to India to help train staff in the call centers. She said the offshoring of calls would not lead to reduced staffing levels in Britain and that the company had recruited more than 900 workers in this country between May and July.

Read More: Orange Likely to Outsource 700 Jobs to India

GE Capital International Services records growth trends in outsourced work

GE Capital International Services (GECIS) became an independent entity after its parent company General Electric sold its stake in the company to US-based firms. Since the separation, GECIS has expanded its operations out of its base in Gurgaon, India, and has established new centers in China, Romania, Hungary, and Mexico. With an expanding number of new customers, the company has been able to gather orders worth $160 million. With its new name Genpact, the company is aiming at revenues to the tune of $490 million for the year 2005, and a figure of $1 billion by 2007-08.

The company has expansion plans in China and Eastern Europe, and will establish call centers in Latin America. The outsourcing will not harm the job situation in any of the GE operations, as the company is looking to expand for new customers outside the parent company. Tallahassee.com reports:

The company recently acquired Creditek, a U.S.-based outsourcing firm managing revenue cycles for small corporations and health-care organizations. It also struck a partnership with Liberta, one of Britain's leading outsourcing firms with a strong interest in life insurance and pension funds. Both moves have helped Genpact get new clients.

Read More: GE's outsourcing arm wins $160M in orders

Banking institutions outsource call center jobs outside Britain

According to a research conducted by KPMG, most of the banking institutions in Britain have expressed concern over the movement of call center and data processing jobs to offshore facilities in India. The concerns generally stem from a point of view of security. Customers are worried that the details of their records are being transferred to a customer service center outside Britain.

Some customers were inclined to close their accounts if their records were being handled by service providers outside the country. Several large banking institutions have moved to outsourcing call center jobs to India. Others have, however, remained within Britain for such services. The trade Union Amicus believes that there are hidden costs in outsourcing call center jobs to India, besides being a security risk. NewKerala.com reports:

HSBC and Aviva, Britain's largest insurer, have led the way in the effort to cut costs by moving thousands of call centre jobs to India. Other banks and insurers, such as Lloyds TSB and Prudential, have followed suit. However, some have pledged to keep jobs local, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, Legal & General, Alliance & Leicester and the Cooperative Bank.

Read More: Britain's banking customers concerned over outsourcing

Datamonitor report: A quarter of the Outsourced call center jobs in the US will be lost by 2008

Analyst Datamonitor has released a report which is disheartening news for the call center industry in the US: the next three years will see outsourced call center jobs in the US reduce to 291,000 from the 315,000 jobs that are there today. Companies are either compelled to take their jobs to more cost-effective locations (such as Canada, India, and the Philippines), or settle for automated systems.

Another reason for this cut in call center opportunities in the US is the reducing profit margin for the outsourcers, which has already forced some of them to move to the BPO market which yields better returns. This report by Datamonitor is particularly noteworthy, because a report by the Office for National Statistics has discounted fears of call center and IT jobs being hit in the UK. Silicon.com quotes Ri Pierce-Grove, associate analyst at Datamonitor:

The boundaries between US-based contact centre providers and other business process outsourcers are dissolving, and firms are invading each other’s territories. There have been at least eight publicly announced acquisitions since 2003, and Datamonitor expects this trend to continue.

Read More: US call centre jobs worst hit by offshore outsourcing

Office for National Statistics: Call center and IT outsourcing has not affected jobs in the UK

Two major industries which have seen significant outsourcing of projects from the UK to India and other countries are information technology and the call center business. There have been fears that such outsourcing adversely affects the job situation within the UK. However, a recent report published by the Office for National Statistics, UK, indicates that employment has continued on a growth trend in the UK, and redundancy levels have witnessed a steady decline since the year 2001.

The report reveals that jobs in the call center and IT industries in the UK have been increasing at a much higher rate than the overall growth in employment. Summarizing the findings of the report, ZDNetIndia.com also mentions that the report of the Office for National Statistics comes at a time when HCL announced the setting up of its new call center in norther Ireland, generating about 600 jobs. ZDNetIndia.com reports on the outsourcing situation in the UK:

Employment in IT and call center occupations in UK which stood at about 1.05 million had grown by 8.8 percent in the past four years when compared to overall employment growth of 3.2 percent, indicating that the employment data by region for these occupation had not shown major variation from this trend, suggesting that offshoring was having a minimal effect on the employment in the UK job market.

Read More: Outsourcing to India has not hit UK jobs, says report

Sexy Indian Call Centers?!?

Indian call centres are known for providing cheap labor for completing what many consider the most mundane work imaginable.  They have not ever been considered romantic or in the least bit sexy...until now.  In what is perhaps the most entertaining story related to Indian call centres ever, a recent report by the India Times reveals that call centres have become for many workers a place of sexual intimacy.  Citing the long and odd working hours, call centre workers have stated that often their only source of relational intimacy is that attained through the office.  In fact, the India Times took their investigation a bit further by placing hidden cameras in a Mumbai based BPO where they caught a couple having sex in their cubicle, an act which apparently is rather commonplace in such an environment. The Register Reports:

First instances of compromising behaviour (kissing, smooching in the office premises) are let off with a sterm warning as such kind of behaviour to misuse of facilities given by the organisation and is therefore liable for punishment."

Read More: India call centre staff in sex romp shocker

Call Center Crime Leads to BS7799 Certification by Outsourcing Firms

With the western backlash against outsourcing apparently tapering off, outsourcing was poised to see another period of extreme growth.  The recent theft by Indian call center employees of Citibank customers, however, may put that growth into jeopardy.  One of the greates concerns for western companies engaged in outsourcing is the lack of data protection laws.  This has given many customers, and thus companies, cause to fear that their sensitive information may be compromised.  In an attempt to compensate for this, many companies have adopted a certification system including notably, certification BS7799.  Express Computer Reports:

"A BS7799 certification does not ensure security.  It is possible to get the certification in just six hours," says Captain Raghu Raman, CEO, Mahindra Special Services Group.  The problem with such a certification is that the processes that are certified are self-defined by the company.  The result of loosely defined processes can lead to inadequate security systems.

Read More: Call centre theft could burst India's outsourcing bubble

US Political Climate Now Ripe For Offshoring

A study published last week by Datamonitor predicts a resurgence in the US offshoring market due in part to the post-election US political environment, which now offers relief for companies who have been limiting offshoring to try to avoid public relations controversies.  The report predicts that 250,000 new call center positions will be created by 2009 in India and the Philippines alone.  Despite this growth, however, the report also indicates that traditional offshoring sectors like call centers will decline in overall market share as the range of industries which utilize offshoring spreads in coming years.  CeBit Reports:

Datamonitor predicts that more firms are set to follow the likes of British Airways, Citibank, General Electric and HSBC, all of which have spun off a part or all of their operations to India.

Read More: Offshore outsourcing hits the mainstream

Indian Labor Becomes Scarce

After years of taking advantage of the high cost of first world labor through outsourcing, Indian outsourcing firms are now struggling with similar problems with respect to their own labor force.  With some firms reporting employee turnover at 50% annually, the costs of recruitment and training are also playing an increasing role in the cost of english-speaking labor.  The Financial Express Reports:

As the industry clocks up 50 per cent-plus growth, demand for quality personnel is outstripping supply. Employees often hop to new jobs for slightly more money, and many do not view back-office work as a career.

Read More: Indian outsourcing firms battle to retain staff

McDonalds May Outsource Drive-Thrus

In an effort to revitalize sales domestically, the nation's largest fast-food resaurant chain is looking into outsourcing the voice heard at drive up ordering.  The move, which McDonalds hopes will allow them to provide individuals with clear, customer-friendly voices at a reduced cost, is part of a larger effort to revamp the drive-thru aspect of their business.  McDonalds hopes that this effort will continue the recent surge in sales brought about by other developments like the addition of a healthier menu.  CNNMoney Reports:

"If you're in L.A.... and you hear a person with a North Dakota accent taking your order, you'll know what we're up to," McDonald's Chief Executive Jim Skinner told investors during a presentation at the Bear Stearns Retail, Restaurants & Apparel Conference in New York.

Read More: McDonald's Outsourcing drive-thrus?

Call-Center Callers Now More Impatient

A new survey indicates that customers trying to get through to call centers are hanging up faster than ever.  65 seconds of canned music is all the average caller will tolerate, and with the number of abandoned calls rising from 5% in 2003 to 13.3% last year the need for quality call center service is quickly increasing.  This growing impatience comes at a time when the number of calls to call centers is increasing by 20% per year.  For those companies already sending work to offshore call-centers, such data should point to the importance of hiring a quality firm.  For those who have not made the move, this report may indicate that the number of employees necessary to ensure a waiting time of below 65 seconds requires that labor cost-cutting measures like offshoring must be taken. Turkish Weekly Reports:

When automated phone message systems are taken out of the equation, where customers have to pick their way through multiple options and messages, the number of abandoned calls is even higher - a sixth of all callers give up rather than wait.

Read More: Call Center Users 'Lose Patience'

Costa Rica May Offer Outsourcing Alternative

Despite having a population of just 4 million people, a recent outsourcing contract through Hewlett-Packard has elevated Costa Rica's role as a central figure among Central American and Carribean outsourcing nations.  While the nation's outsourcing ventures are still stymied by bureaucratic complications like ICE, Costa Rica's telecommunications monopoly, some managers are starting to view the nation as a growing center for alternative outsourcing.  InformationWeek Reports:

While the country has the obligatory call centers and tech-support operations, it has begun to carry out some imaginative tasks, too. Costa Rica is the land of coffee--they call it "grains of gold." Appropriately, a local IT company has developed a computerized solution for sorting the precious beans. The firm, Xeltron, is now working to develop the solution to sort rice and it sees a potential global market therein.

Read More: The New Outsourcing Kid on the Block: Costa Rica

Do the Math Before You Offshore

The economic benefits of setting up an offshore call-center seem like a given. With talented labor somewhere in the vicinity of $15 domestically, while around $4 internationally, the benefits are clear.  Barney Beal of CRM News argues, however, that there are some situations in which the benefits are less clear-cut. In addition, he recommends that potential call-center outsourcers follow a list of criterion in selecting their outsourcing firm.  CRM News Reports:

Firms really need to look closely at all their costs before moving offshore, Price warns. That means looking at four different areas -- labor, real estate, systems like the Automated Call Distribution, CRM and quality monitoring, and telecommunications costs. All those need to be measured against offshoring.

"It all has to be modeled out pretty carefully," Price said. "A very key thing in this figure is what your annual attrition is, because you have to replace them with agents who are as expensive, if not more."

Read More: Offshoring math 101

Call Center Outsourcing to Latin America

From TMCnet.com:

"Research from independent market analysis firm Datamonitor (DTM.L) concludes that the fear of job losses from the US to Latin America is much ado about nothing.

"According to Datamonitor, the Latin American call center market is the fastest growing region in the world, spearheaded by Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Currently it has over 336,000 agent positions in 5,100 call centers." Read More