Should You Use U.S.-Based or Offshore Vendors for Call Center Outsourcing?
Cost is one consideration, but there are other factors to think about.
// By Yuriy Kotlyar //
As a health care marketing leader, you always strive to be a careful steward of your provider organization’s resources. Considering whether to outsource various functions in your portfolio is one aspect of being a careful steward.
Marketing leaders should recognize that the initial, easily observable cost is just one measure of good stewardship. When evaluating whether your in-house team should continue to provide a service or whether the service should be outsourced in whole or in part, it’s important to consider other impacts across the health system, even if the original impetus for exploring these options is a concern about cost.
Within that framework, I offer a series of considerations below on outsourcing contact center services at your health system. These considerations offer an approach to examining both U.S.-based and offshore call center vendors. (Full disclosure: My company employs only U.S.-based agents.)
Here are the considerations for evaluating call center vendors I will cover in this article:
- Evaluating the true costs
- Understanding the value proposition
- Securing payments and avoiding cyberattacks
- Safeguarding patient health data
- Impact on patient experience
- Considerations on cultural fit