Organisations of every type and size – from small businesses and multinational corporations to governments across the world – are increasingly using call centres to manage both inbound and outbound calls. In doing so, companies are seeing this benefits a number of areas – including a reduction in costs; in improvement in efficiency (through the use of IP-based customer interaction networks); a noticeable improvement in response times; and an increase in customer satisfaction.
Many of these call centres are based offshore – along with additional Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) – in locations such as South Africa, India, Egypt, and the Philippines. This offshore outsourcing is often the result of advances in information and communication technologies – such as an improvement in the telecommunications infrastructure. In addition, globalisation and the growth of intercultural communication have made it possible – and highly viable – for organisations to outsource various communication centres, such as call centres, in other countries.
By centralising and outsourcing functions such as the help desk, customer support, lead generation and telemarketing, various benefits are seen – such as cost reductions, improved customer service and greater organisational flexibility. Outsourcing these areas turns fixed resource management costs into a variable cost – which allows key personnel to focus on their core abilities to grow the organisation. Customer perceptions are managed by drawing enquiries into a central location from which consistent responses are issued – which saves time, improves customer communication, and increases efficiency.
For service oriented industries, call centres have become a central resource – one that has become one of the biggest job creation centres in developing countries. For example, in the last decade in India, call centres and other BPO have contributed significantly to economic growth in the country – creating over one million jobs between 1997 and 2007. However, the sector in India is reaching maturation – and African countries are offering stiff competition; with South Africa coming to the fore as a strong competitor.
There are many reasons as to why South Africa has been hailed as an attractive off-shore call centre destination for US and UK enterprises – such as the recent deregulation in the telecommunications sector; a good supply of educated English-speaking manpower; competitive rates on a low cost routing model; cheap electricity; a world-class infrastructure; a relatively stable political and economic climate; and the added benefit of being in the same time zone as Europe.
Regardless, at the core of outsourcing call centres is cost – and is often the biggest factor that organisations will use in their decision-making. According to the DTI, South African call centres cost approximately 30% less than call centres in the US and the UK; and existing call centres have demonstrated low attrition rates – making it a viable and profitable option.
In terms of the growth and the future of call centres in Africa; as more and more enterprises establish their own call centres, South Africa will continue to gain a larger portion of the global outsource call centre service market – creating jobs; boosting the economy; and placing South Africa as a world-leader in outsourced call centre communications.
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