A lot has been talked about call center outsourcing.
We have heard and seen how it is changing the lifestyle statement for the young Indians who are now earning a handsome salary and (many of them) living a bohemian lifestyle!
On the other hand there have been voices against it for reasons ranging from cultural differences, inappropriate implementation and job losses.
It is nothing less than a “boom”, similar to that we have seen in the dot-com era. And yes, a “bust” is inevitable. I am not drawing an analogy between sunrise-sunset and boom-bust. But, the reason is more deep rooted.
The model of call center outsourcing needs unprecedented changes in socio cultural changes which cannot take place at a pace businesses expect. This is a fact – even if it brings a sigh of relief or sounds very depressing.
Let us consider the situation at both the ends:-
Hundreds of companies from USA and Europe are outsourcing inbound and outbound call center operations to operators in India. Most of these operators hire young graduates (and sometimes even undergraduates) at attractive pay scale and train them. They are trained in western culture, accent and lifestyle (by showing them TV serials).
Let us see their priorities in brief:-
- Money (live life king size)
- Entertainment
- Friends
- Career!
Yes, the last one was “career”. I have spoken to many call center executives and very few of them consider the current job to be their goal. They understand that their current job does not have enough scope to add value and they need to move up the value chain to make an alternate successful career.
They care about the satisfaction of the person at the other end of the phone line because their job depends on that. It is not a passion! Besides in many cases, even if they want to solve a problem or answer a question, they are unable to do so, since they do not know what should be their reaction in the given situation. The cultural difference is clearly visible when they communicate with the person at the other end.
Now, let us examine what happens at the other end –
A normal call center employee in USA/ Europe will be middle-aged (around 35 or so). He is a graduate (even if he is not a graduate, he is knowledgeable about the subject or have received enough training) and working in a call center for a career. His priorities in life are very different –
- Family
- Career (A stable, safe job)
- Money (House, Car, Mortgage, if any)
- A decent lifestyle
So the priorities are very different here. Therefore the attitude towards work has to be different and much more serious.
This clearly makes a cause of better quality call handling by a person who is from the same cultural background (as much as possible).
So what are we going to see in days to come?Â
1. Call center outsourcing will go down over the next decade. It may not dip immediately, because the problems are not surfacing and even if it is surfacing the cost difference is making the manager turn a blind eye towards the same.
This cost difference will thin down as the Indian economy picks up and per capita spending increases, resulting in further surge of salaries.
2. Call center outsourcing will be selective! People will realize that only “certain type” of communications can be outsourced and managed.
3. Several call centers will find it impossible to meet up to the quality expectation of their clients and may go out of business.
4. Selected call centers will retain their hold by focusing on those selective areas which are feasible for outsourcing. They will have excellent quality process in place and will offer call center jobs as a definite career option. We might even see hiring of middle aged professionals in call centers at that time to bring in further stability.
This consolidation is inevitable. It has happened in the “medical transcription” industry and the generic call centers seem to follow the same route in long run.
5. US/European countries may bring up a special “Do not call” list for people who do not want to be called by overseas call centers to stop the menace of unwanted sales calls. We may even see a blanket ban on outbound call center (making sales call)!
6. Company owned call centers will continue to operate in selective areas.
ConclusionÂ
We know that the bubble will burst. It is just a matter of time. And I really hope that this time it does not take the industry in the state of despair that the dot-com bust did. It is unlikely because now we have much more business than staring at the hoardings with some silly dot-com imprinted on it.
Disclaimer
My comments and analysis of the industry, people profile and their goals are a generalist view I have gathered during my interaction with several people. They are entirely based on my experience and I totally understand that they may be incorrect or wrong or may not apply to a certain segment of people.
.
When would they be accepting calls in Japanese? 😉
You are well aware of my experience which I will repeat here:-
Last year I was contacted by an India based call centre wishing to speak to my father-in-law who had died a year previously. I informed the gentleman that he was not available as he had died. He said that was OK and he would ring back the next day. He was true to his word and did ring back. I again explained that he was dead and he asked me when he would be back!! Although I was very careful to use language he would understand, he did not get the message because a week later he tried again. I asked to speak to his supervisor, which eventually I did, and was told that his understanding of English was minimal. You can image how I felt, and why others do not like this current trend to use non English call centres.
Like you I think the bubble will burst eventually, although I have doubts as to the ability of the UK market to take the work back!
Perhaps it will go to China next!!