It’s that time of year again. Here’s the definitive guide to where the best call centers are:
The best call center isn’t in India.
The best call center isn’t in the Philippines.
The best call center isn’t in Georgia – neither the state nor the country.
In fact, the best call center isn’t in a specific geographic location.
It also isn’t a call center.
Our man Jeff reconsiders his entire RFP.
Let’s back up.
A long time ago – in the 60s – someone invented the call center. Not long after, call centers went offshore. The race was on.
Here’s how it goes. A call center finds its spot. Other call centers find the same spot. Rents go up. Labor rates go up. The location gets oversaturated. Everyone looks for the next spot. Repeat for sixty years.
That’s why you’re here, right? You don’t want to get stuck. You don’t want to commit to an oversaturated market where costs keep rising and hiring keeps getting harder.
So here’s the tip.
The best call center is globally distributed.
You’ll also hear people call this “remote.” Same idea — with one wrinkle. Hold that thought.
You hire the best person for the job, not the best person in the area code.
You don’t need a building full of cubicles in a faraway country. You need the best technology run by the best people you can find. The technology is already in the cloud — no co-location required.
So where are those experts? Are they all in Mumbai? Are they all within commuting distance of Tbilisi? No.
They’re everywhere. The planet is the largest talent pool there is.
Why settle for one city when you can have the whole world?
And here’s the wrinkle: beware of the hub-and-spoke model.
There’s real remote (a globally distributed team) and fake remote (agents tethered to a physical call center who sometimes work from home). Fake remote inherits all the problems of co-location: oversaturation, single-facility risk, no real business continuity. If the building floods, so does your support operation.
Want to see what real remote looks like? Let’s talk. We’ll show you what the planet has to offer.