How do I select the right Call Center?

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We have been fortunate to be in this business for close to 60 years. In our humble opinion, this experience has given us some wisdom.  We have translated that wisdom into criteria we think you should use in your Call Center selection process.  We believe these are wonderful questions that you can ask your potential call center to help you decide if the call center suits your needs.

10 Questions to Help You Hire the Right Call Center

  1. Very IMPORTANT…if you are using cost as the #1 determination factor, expect to get what you pay for, lowest cost providers typically mean longer hold times, limited technology, less training for their agents and higher agent turnover.
  2. Ask about hold times during busy hours, how many rings will it take for my callers to be answered on average?
  3. What are their redundant technology capabilities?
    • What this means is you want to know what processes the call center has in place if there is a natural disaster, a terrible storm or another horrible event.
    • Additionally, what systems / processes do they have in place for simple outages?
  4. What accreditations does the Call Center have?
    • Review Google Reviews.
    • Check out their BBB rating, are they BBB A+ rated?
    • Have they won the ATSI Award for quality (this is a Call Center industry award)?
  5. Does the call center have a live dashboard where you can review your calls?
    • The customer facing dashboards can help solve many of your business needs. Consider demoing the dashboard before you make your call center decision.
  6. Where are they located and where are their agents located?
    • If you value a United States based call center, this question matters.
  7. Check out the experience of the leadership team in the call center industry, check them out on LinkedIn.
    • This is a good question if you value experience.  Understanding the experience of the leadership team will give you a good gauge on if they know what they are doing.
  8. Ask for a client reference.
    • Any call center should be more than happy to give this to you.
  9. How big is their call center?
    • What to look for with this question: the bigger the call center, the more sophistication with systems, processes, and technology.  The smaller the call center, the more simple the systems, looser processes, and little technology.
    • Which do you prefer? Depending on the complexity of your needs is your answer.  If it’s a basic virtual receptionist you seek, sophistication doesn’t matter as much.  If you’re seeking an automated employee call out system, then you want technological sophistication.
  10. How many years have they been in business?
    • This is a good question if you value experience.  Similar to querying the experience of the leadership team, understanding the experience of the call center as a whole will give you a good idea on if they know what they are doing.

We hope this list of 10 questions helps you find the call center that best suits you.  If you reach out to Answer United, we will happily answer these questions.  We want you to learn more about how we can help your business.  Schedule a demo with a team member to learn more today!