The interest in offshore call centers is on a sharp decline. That is what studies conducted on the BPO sector in the USA would lead us to believe. The experts of the call center industry feel that the growing dissatisfaction among the quality of work done by the offshore destinations is the prime reason why the business firms in USA and Canada are deciding to remain confined to their domestic shores. The studies reveal that 58 calls out of 100 at answering service desks in developing countries were called ‘unsatisfactory’ as opposed to 79 for the domestic units. This startling statistics may ring true for many, but we as offshore BPO service providers, would beg to differ.
Fusion BPO Services has call centers in India and the Philippines. Our call center services have been appreciated and applauded over the years. We agree that the state of BPO service was far from satisfactory till some years back, but the situation has changed considerably. Offshore answering service units are aware than ever that if they are not able to provide a particular quality in the work they do, they don’t have a chance. The business process outsourcing industry is no longer cost driven. Workers in USA and Canada are willing to work at lesser pays than what the agents in India or the Philippines get. With the cost equation out, it’s all about the quality.
Business firms across the developed countries feel that outsourcing their call center work to offshore BPO destinations is the end of the matter. They feel that they have made the best business decision by doing so. But this model of business doesn’t work at all times. Sometimes there is a strong disconnect between the culture and lifestyle between the country of the consumers and the country of the BPO service providers. That is when the telemarketing agents cannot understand the psyche of the buyer. Being able to do that is very important for the telemarketing services. This is the same reason for which call centers in the developing countries are looking at acquisitions in countries like USA and Canada.
Fusion BPO Services has followed the same model. We believe in having our presence among the customers that we are providing telemarketing support to. Our call center presence in these countries is important not just to grab those A-list telemarketing services projects. We are also interested in getting to know the market and how our BPO service can be fine-tuned to cater to these markets in a better way. We like to feel challenged at all times so that we may try out something new. Acquisitions of business process outsourcing units give us that adrenaline rush.
This is the age of acquisitions for the BPO firms. Call center firms across the world are looking at acquiring BPO service firms in the developed countries like UK and Canada. The Philippines is a great destination for setting up a telemarketing unit. But these telemarketing services firms want to get a toe-hold in the cash-rich sectors in the Western countries. Being closer home to the source of answering service projects serve a purpose. You can pitch for the projects actively and the clients are more willing to do business with you as well. Acquisitions also help the acquiring company with the existent client base. These business process outsourcing units that are being acquired love the cash influx that they receive. They were mainly sick units before they are revived.
Fusion BPO Services has taken over the Canadian firm Centennial Marketing Group. This Group is known in the Canadian shores as a premier financial and insurance company. Our aim is to expand our call center services to include the financial projects as well. We have launched the Fusion CMG site recently and we hope to do some quality BPO work there. This is a trend that we are very enthusiastic and hopeful about. We see a lot of progress for the business process outsourcing industry as a whole. These acquisitions challenge the BPO service that one does. We have done little in the financial sector as yet. The CMG project allows us that challenge.
Every industry has a responsibility towards their environment these days. The call center sector is no different. It is our duty as members of the business process outsourcing fraternity to implement ways that can help save and protect the environment. For example, the BPO units we run are conscious about the power consumption. We don’t believe in consuming power just because we can afford to pay the bills! We conduct our telemarketing in a way that reduces the amount of electricity we use. We encourage our employees to switch off monitors when they are taking comfort breaks. We ask them to make judicial use of the lights and air coolers. These are little aspects that make the big difference.
Our call centers are also conscious about the use of paper. Paper is one commodity that we rarely use in our call center services. We believe in digital reports and emails. Nothing is done on paper unless it’s absolutely necessary. Our BPO agents have been conditioned in a way that they can work without making use of papers. Fusion BPO Services appeals to the other BPO service firms to make the same efforts. It’s understood that we are profit-making organizations but at the same time we are inhabitants of this planet. We have a duty towards it.
