How to Outsource Customer Support to Canada

Outsourcing support services such as customer service has become a popular and cost-effective way to manage company growth within many industries. According to a report by the Aberdeen Group, nearly 11 percent of all United States and Canadian companies with call centers choose Canada as their offshore call center provider. The goal is to strike a balance between cost-cutting and quality customer care when you outsource customer support to Canada.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Call center script
• Lawyer or attorney
• Call center reporting data

Choose a Call Center Service in Canada

1. Look for a company that understands your industry. The account managers in charge of your transaction should be familiar with all concerns and requirements related to the way you do business.
2. Inquire about the firm's reporting standards. Depending on your company's needs, you should be able to specify what data you wish to track as well as the format in which the data should be reported.
3. Determine how the Canadian call center allows your company to monitor the service provided to your customers. Many outsourcing companies will allow you to independently monitor any call in progress without prior notification through a separate phone line. Other companies will require you to make arrangements in advance.
4. Look for a call center service provider with low agent turnover. A lower rate of employee turnover generally means that customer service representatives will be better trained and able to provide consistent service to your customers when they call in.
5. Capitalize on Canada's cultural affinity to the United States. This country's proximity to U.S. borders creates a greater understanding of the level of service expected by American customers when they contact a customer service representative.

Outsource Customer Support to Canada

6. Develop a contract which identifies the levels of customer support relevant to your company. Depending on your business type, you may require only basic customer support such as business location information.
7. Confirm that the Canadian outsourcing company you choose can provide sufficient training for customer support issues which require more specific product expertise.
8. Review existing scripts for customer service call answering which may be provided by your call center. The outsourcing company you choose to work with should be able to customize these scripts to fit the needs of your company by including product specific information as well as branding identifiers.

Tips & Warnings

• You will find that there are very few laws regulating outsourcing transactions in Canada. It is important that you review any agreements to provide outsource services with your own legal adviser.