Introduction
Now that you’ve created the right outsourcing strategy and integrated your outsourced support team, it’s time for the third part of the process: managing your outsourced customer support team.
Successful customer service outsourcing requires continuous monitoring and support. If you think you can manage the performance of your outsourced team just by looking at the reports, you are on the wrong path. When you outsource customer care, you are hiring a specialized team to help you achieve your goals. At the same time, you must stay on top of the team to get the desired results. If you don’t take charge and manage the team, you will likely not see the results you expect.
Below is a checklist to help you do that more effectively.
Your Easy Checklist for Managing Your Outsourced Customer Support Team
- Know the SOW completely and hold the outsourcer accountable for the terms.
- Review and manage to the daily, weekly, and monthly metric reports and dashboards.
- Ensure reports accurately reflect the actual performance.
- Work with your customer support outsourcer to adjust the program as needed. A good SOW will enable adjustments. If yours doesn’t, your SOW needs to be amended
- Participate in quality assurance calibrations, which are essential to a good support experience. Don’t miss this opportunity to ensure quality.
- Provide the best forecasting data possible. This means actively working with your company’s marketing and operations to ensure customer support isn’t caught by surprise when there’s a new software release or marketing campaign
- Be an available escalation point. The outsourcer should notify you anytime there’s a problem, whether it’s a staffing issue or a bad customer interaction.
- Actively participate in quarterly and other business reviews.
- Clear roadblocks for support and resolving conflicts.
- Be an advocate for the support operation. Don’t let disrespect or scapegoating hinder the outsourced team members. BTW, this includes taking responsibility, fixing problems, and celebrating victories.
- Visit the outsourcer’s place of operations regularly. It’s not unusual for a vendor manger to spend a significant amount of time onsite with the outsourcer throughout the engagement. This interaction is essential. A lot can be done remotely for small engagements, but significant engagements deserve the attention that being onsite affords.
- Actively manage the customer service knowledgebase. A stale or bloated knowledgebase will work against a good customer experience.
- Always be aware of your customers’ pulse so you can always give good direction to your customer care team and meet customer expectations.
Now You Are Ready for Outsourced Customer Care Success!
If you follow the steps in this checklist, you will be doing an excellent job of managing your outsourced customer support team. Moreover, your customers will be happy with the excellent care they are receiving, making them want to come back to do business with you time and again. For more information, email us at info@glowtouch.com
