It’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic, as it stretches on, has put a strain on the labor market. Companies are having difficulty finding staff to fill open positions, resulting in shortages that affect all businesses—from retail to healthcare.
Some companies are looking for creative ways to address these shortages in healthcare—all while helping businesses provide top-notch patient care. A call center might be the perfect solution if you find yourself trying to bridge the gap between demand and staff.
Taking advantage of a call center will enhance your operations in the competitive marketplace, provide quality services, and help retain your customers through outsourcing support. And when it comes to outsourcing call services, nearshore outsourcing is one of the most favored among businesses and organizations due to customer-centricity and unmatched benefits.
This blog will go over the different types of call centers and highlight how they will help you address and alleviate staffing shortages.
What are the different types of call centers?
There are a few different types of call centers for your business to choose from:
Nearshore call center
Nearshore call centers are contact centers located outside your country but are still near or even within your time zone. For example, a nearshore call center for a company in the US could be found in countries such as Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and other proximate countries.
Offshore call center
On the other hand, offshore outsourcing is allocating call center services to an overseas company with a different time zone from your country. Countries such as India and China can provide offshoring services to US industries.
Onshore or domestic call center
And unlike offshore and nearshore, onshore or domestic outsourcing is contracting outcall services to a company located within your country.
Ten benefits of choosing a nearshore call center
Unfortunately, the traditional offshore call centers have left customers frustrated as a result of wait and hold times, language concerns, and inflexibility—among other things. So how do you take advantage of a call center while increasing patient satisfaction and bridging a staffing shortage gap?
Nearshore call centers offer the same flexibility as a domestic call center at a fraction of the price while avoiding many of the frustrations that come with an offshore call center.
If you are struggling to fill your in-house staff, here are ten benefits from using a nearshore call center.
1. Cultural alignment
Nearshore call center professionals often stay in the US or at least interact with US natives on a regular basis. This interaction or proximity lends to their cultural understanding. The cultures are closely compatible and align well with each other.
That means nearshore call center personalities will resonate well with your customers. And in the process, avoid culture shock and provide a good customer experience for your patients.
2. Affordable quality services
COVID-19 didn't make it any better for businesses during the economic downturn. A nearshore call center will provide you with a cheaper outsourcing option than in-house or domestic outsourcing. In addition to its cost-effectiveness, you're sure to access a pool of skilled talent easily, unlike today’s labor market.
3. Technological solutions
Without any doubt, technological advancements are changing business operations and general workplace requirements. Nearshore call centers often adopt the latest technology quickly, such as business intelligence and machine learning (ML) to optimize call processes and operations.
For example, let’s say your business is experiencing customer complaints regarding longer hold or wait times. In that case, a tech-savvy nearshore call center would seamlessly integrate your call services with customer-centric omnichannel support services to solve the problem.
4. Similar and extended business hours
The difference in time zones, especially when it comes to offshore call centers, significantly inconvenience or disadvantage your patients and customers. Or you might need to reach out to your call service provider for changes or inquiries, only to come across frustrating differences in time zones.
Nearshore call centers are located in the same—or nearby—time zones and share the same business hours with your customers. Your customers get to enjoy expanded availability; representatives will always be on hand to answer calls from 8 AM Eastern time until 9 PM Pacific time. That's essentially more than three hours of extended availability time.
5. The convenience of bilingual services
With the demand for Spanish-speaking personnel and other languages increasing, you’re faced with an additional staffing barrier: bilingual employees. A nearshore call center will ultimately be a perfect option for a business with a diverse market, such as the US market.
By taking advantage of a nearshore call center, you’ll gain workers who tick all the boxes and can easily help any of your patients. Countries such as the Dominican Republic have a large pool of bilingual workers, which makes it a great location if you are looking for a nearshore call center.
6. Guaranteed flexibility
With CCD Health's nearshore call center, you will have the freedom and access to adjust your services according to your specific customers' needs and demands. You can either scale up or down, depending on the circumstances. The flexibility of services, or in short, the ability to have services tailored according to your specific needs, will get you ahead of your competitors.
7. Stability
With a nearshore call center, you’ll no longer have to worry about current or future labor shortages and you won’t have to frequently hire or fire employees according to demand. Instead, you can stabilize your workforce with the help of staffing analysis and agents. This will also improve your employee experience, reducing their chances of leaving and consequently avoiding turnover costs.
8. Better customer experience
Customers are increasingly valuing their experience with businesses more than anything else. A nearshore call center will provide the ultimate customer experience with significant call center KPIs, such as average handle time, customer satisfaction score regarding reviews/feedback, and net promoter score—among other relevant metrics.
9. Improved infrastructure
With a nearshore call center, you have access to a highly educated workforce plus world-class infrastructure, which means that there will always be easy and seamless communication. You’ll not only be investing in your staffing but gaining access to a wider implementation process that will help revolutionize your business.
10. Geographical proximity
And, of course, with a nearshore call center, you'll enjoy short flights or travel times to the facility due to the close proximity. That means it will be easier to manage and communicate with your call center provider, resulting in minimal to no chances of slip-ups or inaccuracies in service delivery.
Learn more about outsourcing to a nearshore contact center
It's not a secret that customers or patients are increasingly expecting more from organizations regarding good customer experience, regardless of the labor market.
If you want to cut down on operational costs and increase your ROI in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, then a nearshore call center is your ideal option.
A nearshore call center will help you provide your customers with quality services and offer you staffing peace of mind. Contact CCD Health today to learn more about how we can help your business.