The Future of Business Operations: Why Outsourcing to Remote Contact Centres Is the Way to Go

Workplaces are going through a rapid change, mostly driven by technological advancements and altered employee attitudes towards flexibility. Most businesses worldwide are gradually shifting towards remote contact centres. However, this shift comes with both opportunities and challenges.

If you have an outsourced contact centre team to handle business operations like customer service, customer engagement etc., you need to stay updated on the impact, benefits and challenges for the future. To stay relevant and in tune with the industry changes, consider teaming up with a contact centre like Forrest Contact who operate in a fully remote set up. Let us explore how this shift to remote work can be beneficial for businesses across industries.

The Rise of Remote Work

In Australia and New Zealand, remote work in contact centres has increased significantly. In Australia, a recent survey found that 68% of contact centre employees now work remotely, at least part-time; while in New Zealand, this number stands at 72%. These shifts are linked to a desire for better work-life balance, increased productivity and the ability to tap into a wider talent pool.

Benefits of Remote Work in Contact Centres – The Case of Forrest Contact

Contact centres, once known for their centralised, on-site teams, are now adapting to remote work as an alternative to traditional workplace set-ups. With the right tools and strategies, remote work has helped contact centres like Forrest Contact attract top talent, reduce overhead costs and provide the flexibility that today’s fast-paced industries demand.

Increased Flexibility: Remote work offers our agents the flexibility to work from anywhere, allowing them to achieve better work-life balance and removing the stress of commuting.

Expanded Talent Pool: By removing geographical constraints, we now tap into a much broader talent pool, accessing skilled agents from multiple locations across the country.

Saving Costs: Remote work leads to more cost savings for us by reducing overhead expenses associated with maintaining physical office spaces.

Improved Agent Satisfaction: Remote work arrangements have greatly increased our agent morale and job satisfaction. This, in turn, has led to higher retention rates and increased productivity.

Challenges of Outsourcing to Remote Contact Centres

While outsourcing your customer service and other business operations to contact centres is a wise move, you must carefully consider the challenges of doing so as well.

Technology Infrastructure: Ensuring reliable internet connectivity and access to necessary software tools is a very important aspect for remote agents to perform their tasks efficiently. Does the contact centre of your choice have the necessary kind of tech integration to make sure they handle your requirements effectively?

Security Concerns: Protecting sensitive customer data and maintaining compliance with data privacy regulations becomes a lot more challenging in a remote work setup. Are you aware of the exact security measures your contact centre partner has in place to make sure sensitive information about your business stays protected?

Communication and Collaboration: Maintaining effective communication and collaboration among remote teams requires extra efforts in terms of communication tools and clear protocols. Does your chosen contact centre partner have preset communication protocols to ensure uninterrupted communication between their agents and your customers at all times?

Monitoring Performance: Monitoring agent performance and providing feedback can be more challenging in a remote setting, requiring innovative solutions for performance management, along with software that tracks and reports on agent activity. Are you aware of the measures and standardised processes your outsourced contact centre partner follows when it comes to evaluation of performance?

Switching to Forrest Contact as Your Contact Centre Partner – The Benefits

Here are four reasons why you should consider teaming up with us when it comes to outsourcing your business operations to a remote contact centre.

Investing in Tech: We have the latest remote work setup with advanced technology and the software solutions. As part of our recruitment process, we make sure that all candidates have access to reliable and fast internet connections, as well as a dedicated workspace and computer. They use our cloud-based technology, so they don’t have to install software on their systems. With secure logins and collaboration tool, we keep our remote team connected and efficient at all times.

Handling Security Concerns: We take data protection very seriously. Our agents have restricted access to data, only seeing the information relating to the campaign or project they are working on, with all users requiring a two-factor authentication to log in to our systems. With advanced firewall and state-of-the-art security measures, we ensure that the sensitive business information of our clients remains protected and always secured.

Setting Clear Communication Protocols: We have clear guidelines for our agents engaged in remote work in terms of availability expectations, communication protocols and security measures to keep everyone on the same page. Moreover, with regular training and continuous support, we help them acquire the skills and resources they need to excel in their roles from anywhere.

Tracking Performance: Our systems keep us updated about our team's performance with defined metrics and monitoring tools. Regular feedback sessions make sure that everyone stays on track and performs at their best. We cultivate a remote-friendly culture that values trust, open communication and collaboration.

As workplaces undergo changes due to advancements in technology and shifting employee preferences, remote work in contact centres is rapidly on the rise. Businesses that partner with a future-ready contact centre like Forrest Contact, which operates fully remotely, set themselves apart by gaining an extra edge early on. At Forrest Contact, we are equipped with the latest technology, strict security measures, clear communication protocols and stringent performance tracking procedures to run our remote operations smoothly. Partnering with us ensures increased efficiency and a consistent, high service quality for your business operations at all fronts.