Outsourcing customer service is a means of providing quality services to clients in a bid to lower costs and increase efficiency. This is mainly done by big companies that are desperate to boost their productivity. Companies that are experiencing speedy growth and an expanded customer base are usually tempted to turn to this. As they grow big, the customer services they handle increase, hence outsourcing becomes an alternative way of handling them regardless of the pros and cons of outsourcing.

Despite outsourcing being a way of cutting costs, some unexpected losses that are not initially anticipated by the company may arise. This is why one has to be wary of the pros and cons of outsourcing. On the positive side, outsourcing customer service exposes the company to cheap labor this goes down well with the company since it will result in cost cutting.

Payment aside, outsourced labor is far cheaper than when the company performs this task internally. This brings down the operating costs, as it offers an opportunity for the negotiation of lower salaries for employees from the hired company. Other pros and cons of outsourcing is that the company gains access to the latest technology in the market which it has not yet acquired. The nature of the work performed by outsourcing companies allows it to be conversant with the latest technology; hence this technological expertise will be brought in to your company.

Outsourcing shields the company from incurring extra overheads in training its employees. As such, it is cheaper to hire employees through the outsourced company than train its own and later incur expenses through paying their salaries. Also among the pros and cons of outsourcing, the company is able to record improved growth since workers get a chance to work in shifts that fit their schedule. Nobody feels oppressed. The company is also able to concentrate on its main activities after outsourcing other jobs to a qualified service provider.

The negative impacts of outsourcing include employees  feeling insecure once some jobs begin being outsourced. This may result in lowered morale among the workers affecting the company’s productivity. Others may even opt to leave. When the outsourced workers do a shoddy job, customers start losing faith in the company and may turn their back on its services. There is also the risk of leaking out customer information since it’s not under the control of the management but “outsiders”. The management may also lose total control of the company since it is under another party hence the need to consider both the pros and cons of outsourcing.

Daven Michaels Author of the book Outsource This!