Outsourcing Technical Support – Handling the Setbacks
The previous article discussed the importance of outsourcing technical support services and the many advantages that come with it. Well there are challenges a company can face when outsourcing technical support services to third-party vendors. We will highlight some of them and how you can manage the situation, and others that, well, you just have to live with. There are always prices to pay, however small, when you entrust your technical support department to a third-party vendor.
One of the possible issues you may face is a possible loss of quality control over your company’s (now outsourced) technical support service. Entrusting your business’s technical support services to vendor somewhere gives them with the responsibility of hiring all experienced individuals they think can serve you and gives them all the necessary training they need to be good tech support specialists. First, you are not the direct employer to the technicians so may not have direct influence. Sometimes your loss of control over what your employees do might make you helpless in situations where your customers don’t get the best they deserve.
The solution this however is to ensure you hire a qualified team. Do proper research and interview the vendor to be sure he and his team know their work. You may also want to come to an agreement with the team leader so you can have the authority to fire individual technicians who do not serve your company well. Your focus here should be to ensure your customers are getting the very best in service.
Outsourcing your technical support can also alienate you from your clients to a certain degree. Distance between your business and the clients and customers that drive your business. This does not mean that you will not know what is going on in your technical support department. Of course the contractor will send all data and information and progress reports to show you how your technical support are ensuring clients’ needs are being handled. The issue here is the lack direct insights from your customers, who sometimes need a face to associate with the company.
While you cannot do much about this, making the contractors work “in your name” or “as you” while still keeping their contract freelance status might help matters.
Finally you stand the risk of the contract vendor potentially exposing company secrets or confidential customer data. While the risk for data exposure is possible whether your business keeps tech support in-house or outsources it, you can at least be rest-assured that your company and customers confidential data is more secure as you hold the security of your company’s confidential data. You have no such guarantees with a vendor.
Doing proper documentation with your legal team regarding this can help protect you to an extent. Another solution however is to pay for your data security. There are vendors who have security in their service packages and will keep your data secure, using some of the best data protection services available.
Daven Michaels is a New York Times Best Selling Author and CEO of premiere global outsourcing company, 123Employee. The company employs hundreds of young bright individuals on three continents. His International event, Beyond Marketing Live! Inspires entrepreneurs build & grow their business with revolutionary new theories and systems allowing them to design the business and personal lifestyle of their dreams.
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Outsourcing Technical Support – Handling the Setbacks
The previous article discussed the importance of outsourcing technical support services and the many advantages that come with it. Well there are challenges a company can face when outsourcing technical support services to third-party vendors. We will highlight some of them and how you can manage the situation, and others that, well, you just have to live with. There are always prices to pay, however small, when you entrust your technical support department to a third-party vendor.
One of the possible issues you may face is a possible loss of quality control over your company’s (now outsourced) technical support service. Entrusting your business’s technical support services to vendor somewhere gives them with the responsibility of hiring all experienced individuals they think can serve you and gives them all the necessary training they need to be good tech support specialists. First, you are not the direct employer to the technicians so may not have direct influence. Sometimes your loss of control over what your employees do might make you helpless in situations where your customers don’t get the best they deserve.
The solution this however is to ensure you hire a qualified team. Do proper research and interview the vendor to be sure he and his team know their work. You may also want to come to an agreement with the team leader so you can have the authority to fire individual technicians who do not serve your company well. Your focus here should be to ensure your customers are getting the very best in service.
Outsourcing your technical support can also alienate you from your clients to a certain degree. Distance between your business and the clients and customers that drive your business. This does not mean that you will not know what is going on in your technical support department. Of course the contractor will send all data and information and progress reports to show you how your technical support are ensuring clients’ needs are being handled. The issue here is the lack direct insights from your customers, who sometimes need a face to associate with the company.
While you cannot do much about this, making the contractors work “in your name” or “as you” while still keeping their contract freelance status might help matters.
Finally you stand the risk of the contract vendor potentially exposing company secrets or confidential customer data. While the risk for data exposure is possible whether your business keeps tech support in-house or outsources it, you can at least be rest-assured that your company and customers confidential data is more secure as you hold the security of your company’s confidential data. You have no such guarantees with a vendor.
Doing proper documentation with your legal team regarding this can help protect you to an extent. Another solution however is to pay for your data security. There are vendors who have security in their service packages and will keep your data secure, using some of the best data protection services available.
Daven Michaels is a New York Times Best Selling Author and CEO of premiere global outsourcing company, 123Employee. The company employs hundreds of young bright individuals on three continents. His International event, Beyond Marketing Live! Inspires entrepreneurs build & grow their business with revolutionary new theories and systems allowing them to design the business and personal lifestyle of their dreams.
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