7 Top Trends in Outsourcing Work from Home Agents

The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed nearly everything. But most of those changes are just a speed-up of trends already in progress. This is particularly true when you think about how social distancing has affected customer service functions. More importantly, the lockdown has offered a real opportunity to rethink what work is and what it’s not, and develop ways to enhance its outcomes. One thing that stands out, however, is the continued relevancy of customer service and the chance the current global health crisis presents – cultivating deeper, meaningful connections with our customers.

Photo by Nathana Rebouças on Unsplash

Quality customer service is the lifeblood of any successful business. If you doubt that, take a look at these statistics:

A negative customer service experience has prevented 86 percent of customers from purchasing from a brand.
77 percent of customers are likely to recommend a business that offers a positive customer service experience.

The pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for some companies, especially when it comes to customer support. It has caused a dramatic rise in work from home agents, which has redefined the way customer service is provided. This is why we’ll look at 7 key trends in outsourcing you should consider when selecting the best work from home agents for your business.

1. High Demand for Cloud Services

As more businesses are embracing digital transformation, the demand for cloud solutions has skyrocketed. In fact, a recent Gartner study shows that the global public cloud service market will grow by 17 percent. That means it’ll jump from 227.8 billion in 2019 to around $266.4 billion in 2020. Cloud-based services are crucial to business success. They enhance the collaborative potential of companies with remote employees in different countries, thanks to real-time access to data.

2. Transition to Quality-focused Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

Minimizing cost is one of the major objectives and advantages of outsourcing. Companies attempt to realize this objective by optimizing business processes without compromising the quality of service. Note that it is quality products and outstanding services that will help your company grow consistently.

The pandemic has revealed the importance of having a robust business continuity plan in place. Consequently, many companies are focusing on partnering with higher quality, flexible, and agile outsourcing services. Others are even outsourcing their customer service functions to multiple call center services in different geographical locations. This means if one outsourcing partner is unable to operate, there will always be someone competent to take over.

3. Technology is Taking the Center Stage

Although customer expectations are increasing rapidly, budgets are drastically decreasing. With over half of organizations planning to cut the size of their workforce due to the current economic slump, many care support leaders are moving towards technology, rather than headcount, to maximize their efforts. Around 58 percent of care support leaders are planning to dedicate a bigger share of their budget to technology.

4. Video is the Preferred Means of Communication

Video is quickly rising as the preferred means of communication for many consumers. The simple reason is that video calls incorporate a visual aspect into communication. Besides, almost everyone is zooming now and many consumers consider video customer service as engaging and effective. To meet the needs of customers who want this visual option, it’s important to hire work from home agents that provide quality video chat support.

5. A Shift from Reactive to a Proactive Support

The reactive support model involves dealing with every question or issue as they arise and hoping your team can hold up. The biggest downside of this approach is that it subjects agents to a never-ending treadmill of questions and forces your customers to listen to awful hold recordings. Care support leaders are starting to transition from a reactive model to a proactive support model. Proactive support enables businesses to stay on top of common customer questions and concerns before they emerge.

6. More Attention on Cybersecurity

While the Internet has facilitated the growth of many industries across the globe over the past decade, it has also brought one of the greatest challenges that companies of all sizes and types face today: cybercrime. In 2021 and beyond, companies and outsourcing partners will pay attention to cybersecurity and implement effective data security systems and procedures. VPNs also play a key role in cybersecurity. You can check online to learn more about VPNs.

7. Increased Use of Modern Chatbots

Chatbots facilitate quick resolutions to customers’ questions while concurrently saving both time and money for frontline agents. In fact, modern chatbots can automatically prioritize issues, route customers, and resolve routine concerns. Data on Chatbotsmagazine.com shows that 64 percent of companies that already use chatbots resolve issues faster and see a dramatic increase in customer satisfaction scores. This, coupled with the need to improve their team’s efficiency, will see many care support leaders scale their spending in chatbots and other automation technologies.

Conclusion

In today’s world where customers’ loyalty can make or break a business, the importance of excellent customer service can’t be overemphasized. When choosing work from home agents to handle your care support functions, it’s crucial to keep up with the latest trends in the outsourcing industry. It’s also wise to put agile systems in place, so you can adapt to disruptive changes and get the most out of opportunities that emerge.

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7 Top Trends in Outsourcing Work from Home Agents

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