You’re a CX Director of an organization and have 3 potential contact centers vying for the contract. Here are 2 non-negotiable to consider: (1) Agent, Employee, And Client Attrition. 📞 Ask them how many clients they have lost and why. 📞 Ask them how many agents they have lost and why. 📞 Ask them how many employees they have lost and why. If you have the opportunity on-site, have 1:1 sessions with individual agents and team members. (2) Geography As the playing field for talent continues to even out globally, geography isn't as critical as it once was. You can find exceptional levels of English and customer service experience all over the world. Instead, the important questions to ask yourself about geography are: 🌎 What country or markets would I operate in and what impact does that have on my business? 🌎 What are the political, currency and financial risks? 🌎 How easy is it to hire and fire? 🌎 What are the labor regulations in how I structure my shifts, and how easy is it to let someone go or ask them if the peaks of the volume have subsided? 🌎 If I need to reassign them to a different shift, channel, line of business or service type, how easy and fluid is it to do business, contact center wise, in an individual country? Yes you need to look at budget. Yes you need to look at culture. Yes you need to look at results. But agent, employee, and client attrition and geography are 2 crucial factors often overlooked in the decision making process.
Great post! Definitely saving these tips.
Great insights, Neal Topf 👏 I especially love the idea of asking how many clients, agents, and employees they've lost—and why. It’s like speed dating for BPOs: “So… how many breakups have you had, and was it you or them?” 😅 Also totally agree on geography—talent is everywhere, but operational flexibility and risk management are the real differentiators. Appreciate you always bringing the real talk to CX!
Thanks for sharing, Neal
What if they are just starting up
Spot on. Too many CX leaders get dazzled by pricing or tech and overlook the human and operational realities. Attrition tells you more about a partner’s culture than any sales deck ever will, and geography isn’t just about where they are, it’s about how nimble they can be when your business shifts.
Thoughtful post, thanks Neal
I also like to know if they are using employees who have benefits or self contractors. IMHO employees tend to be more vested ie less of an attrition risk.
Great list. Would you add any questions about how they are keeping up with new and developing technology?
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3moThose two are definitely great call outs Neal! I'd expand to also include at least 1/2 of these items as well: - Onboarding - What is the onboarding experience like if selected? - Training - What is the process for ensuring agents are trained? - Process & Procedures - How closely do they work with you regarding process/procedures and improving the processes/procedures? - Feedback - What does the feedback loop look like from the agents back to our team? - Quality Assurance - Do you have a pre-defined Quality Assurance Program and can it be customized to meet the need of our program?