Outsourcing your customer service to a business process outsourcing (BPO) partner is one option that many companies consider. It allows your company to focus on its core competencies while another company handles your customer inquiries, complaints, and support issues. But working with BPOs more often than not comes with a compromise on quality. By choosing instead the right nearshoring or offshoring model—such as staff augmentation—you can maintain control of customer inquiries, complaints, and support issues, ensure your customer service team aligns with your brand values, and deliver an outstanding customer experience.
What is Staff Augmentation?
Staff augmentation with international talent is a nearshore/offshore strategy that enables companies to extend their in-house team with skilled professionals from around the globe. Unlike traditional outsourcing, where an external provider like a BPO takes over your entire customer service business function, staff augmentation embeds top-notch remote international talent directly into your existing team. This approach offers the flexibility to scale your customer service operations as needed with the cost savings of outsourcing, without the long-term commitments of full-time employees on your books or the hassle of figuring out international payments.
For US-based companies, staff augmentation with a partner like Bloom offers compliance with international regulations and simplifies payroll management. This model allows you to access a global talent pool, finding the right expertise to enhance your customer service operations without the administrative burden of international hiring.
How to Hire Abroad Without Sacrificing Quality
When considering international hiring, many CXOs and call center directors worry that nearshoring and offshoring might lead to a drop in service quality. However, with the right strategy and partner, hiring abroad can actually improve your customer service capabilities. Here’s how:
- Partner with a Global Staffing Expert: Collaborating with a company like Bloom, which specializes in international staffing, ensures that you have access to a curated pool of talent with the right skills, US-accredited college education, and experience. Bloom takes care of the complex aspects of hiring abroad and managing international payments, so you can focus on building a high-performing team.
- Hire Multilingual and Culturally Diverse Talent: By hiring customer service representatives who are not only fluent in English but also in other languages, you can better serve a national and global customer base. Multicultural agents bring valuable perspectives that enhance customer interactions, leading to higher satisfaction and loyalty.
- Maintain Direct Control and Oversight: With staff augmentation, you maintain direct oversight of your international team, ensuring that they adhere to your company’s quality standards and operational procedures. This contrasts with traditional outsourcing models where you might lose control over how your customer service is delivered.
- Timely and Seamless Integration: With Bloom’s large pool of qualified talent that is ready to hit the ground running, you can start or scale a customer service or related team in a matter of weeks instead of months. You can pick and choose from top agents that make the best match for your goals and needs.
Outsourcing vs. Staff Augmentation
Choosing between traditional outsourcing and staff augmentation depends on your company’s specific needs and goals. Here’s a comparison to help you make an informed decision:
- Control and Flexibility: Traditional outsourcing often means handing over control of your customer service operations to a third-party provider, which can reduce flexibility. Staff augmentation, on the other hand, allows you to retain control over your processes while benefiting from the cost savings and expertise of global talent.
- Customization: Outsourcing providers typically offer standardized services that may not fully align with your company’s unique needs. Staff augmentation lets you customize your team, choosing team members who fit your company’s culture and objectives.
- Cost Efficiency: Both models offer cost savings, but staff augmentation often provides better value by eliminating the cost of outsourced management, premises and other overhead costs. You pay directly for the talent you need without the additional fees associated with outsourcing providers.
- Quality Assurance: With outsourcing, you may have less control over the quality of service, as it’s typically managed by the provider. Staff augmentation allows you to maintain your own quality standards, ensuring consistent, high-quality customer service.
Conclusion
Outsourcing customer service doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality or control. By choosing staff augmentation, you can build a global team that aligns with your company’s values and standards while enjoying the cost savings and flexibility of international hiring. Bloom specializes in helping US-based companies navigate the complexities of global staffing through its staff augmentation model, providing seamless integration of international talent.
If you’re a customer service leader looking to enhance your operations without the high costs of local hiring or disadvantages of turning to a BPO, consider the benefits of staff augmentation with Bloom. Let us help you find the right talent worldwide to elevate your customer service and keep your business ahead of the competition.
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