The Advantages and Disadvantages of Help Desk Outsourcing
Help desk outsourcing for customer service or technical support
is an option for many companies, including Internet companies,
who have limited staff or want to provide service and support
twenty-four hours a day.
Small businesses or home-based businesses that have a limited quantity
number of employees or no employees have special
challenges in meeting the needs of its customers and
Expectations.
The complications are aggravated when the nature of the business
is one in which customers expect immediate service and, sometimes,
including twenty-four hour service including weekends and holidays.
A small business operator can literally go crazy
trying to meet demand with limited resources. For business
like these, help desk outsourcing can be a lifesaver.
Large companies can also benefit from help desk outsourcing by
outsourcing of sales, service and technical support.
Outsourcing of such functions to call centers is a growing trend
among large companies.
The main advantage for them is a significant reduction in overheads.
expenses since they are paid by the outsourcing company that has contracted
amount and are not responsible for personal expenses such as
payroll taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, and
benefits for call center employees who provide their
sales, service and support functions.
Companies also save on the cost of equipment, software and
ongoing maintenance expenses associated with help desk services.
As the call center industry grows, competition increases
which is good for both large and small companies because
Competition lowers the costs to the consumer of
standardized services offered through call centers.
Advanced technologies have also improved the quality of service.
which can be done through help desk outsourcing.
As with any emerging service option that has great benefits
for small and large companies, there are some disadvantages to
outsourcing of sales, service and support activities.
For example, when a company outsources its service functions,
the service provided is out of your hands; they trust
the service provider with its sales, service and support
functions that directly impact the level of your customers
satisfaction and relatively, the reputation of the company.
As a result, the quality of the service may decrease by making
outsource more of a burden than a benefit.
When contracting outsourced services, executives must be
certain that there are clauses in the contract that allow them to
terminate the contract is the service provided to them
customers is poor.
Policies and procedures must also be considered.
on the training of helpdesk staff.
The company that outsources its service functions must
make sure that the outsourcing representatives
service provider are properly trained to perform the service
expectations and that the training given to them
representatives is effectively transferred to help desk staff
who actually provides the sales, service, and
customer support.
Before making the critical decision whether or not to do
outsource help desk activities, an initial help desk analysis
support processes, expected service levels, customer expectations
and the costs of subcontracting must be carried out.
Training systems should be developed to ensure that their
expectations of the company regarding the quality of service, policies and
procedures are clearly conveyed to the external provider.
Continuous monitoring of customer satisfaction is also necessary to
that can determine whether the outsourced provider
has selected is to meet the needs of its customers in accordance with
their expectations and their quality standards in the service.
If due attention is paid to these variables, it is likely that
to find that help desk outsourcing is a viable option for your
business. Truly, the decision to outsource can be the best
Or the worst decision you’ve ever made.