Resourcing Outsourcing Answering Service

FIRST... we are NOT suggesting "outsourcing" telephone answering service functions to some foreign country like Ireland, India or the Philippines. Our experience is that for the day-to-day U.S. TAS business... this does NOT work very well.

(We do represent a firm in the Philippines, but this call center application is best for very economical outbound telemarketing purposes. If you would like more information on this topic,

ONE TOPIC THAT IS sure to generate lots of debate in the TAS industry is “outsourcing”. The reality is that cost reduction will always be a major factor when considering outsourcing. However, it is not the only consideration. As the nature of the activities being outsourced becomes more complex, the issues of value, competitive advantage and lifestyle redirection and reaffirmation become more important than cost.

What exactly is "outsourcing"? Simply defined... Outsourcing is work done for a company by another company or people other than the original company's employees. For continuity, I'll continue to use the expression "outsourcing"... however. we prefer the more accurate term... RESOURCING. "Outsourcing" is the process of procuring these services or products from an external service provider with a view to curb costs, replace or amplify in-house capabilities, and allow for substantial internal changes to be accomplished.

You may recall in my past letters and articles that I’ve been writing about “outsourcing”. When you think about it, that’s exactly what YOU are to your clients… an outsourced service provider, offering an array of telephone-related and contact services to your clients. Just as organizations, businesses, and individuals can outsource call processing to telemessaging and teleservice companies, these call centers can in turn outsource certain aspects of their business to other companies.

All Office Support has successfully integrated 20-answering services to utilize this domestic RESOURCE. Outsourcing has emerged as an effective tool to revamp the strategies and benefits of any TAS business in a financially viable and pro-active manner.

Few companies have all the skills and resources necessary to achieve the desired goals of the ownership. This is especially true when the state of the art can change faster than can be assimilated by in-house resources. Organizations that successfully create and leverage outsource development partnerships achieve significant competitive advantage.

Dr. Peter DeHaan, in a recent issue of CONNECTIONS Magazine says… “Though this can take many forms, the main area of call center outsourcing is call processing. This includes call overflow, time-of-day/day-of-week routing, account sharing, and complete 24x7 outsourcing.”

Dr. DeHaan continues by saying… “There are as many reasons to outsource as there are call centers that do so. Sometimes companies outsource to save labor expense or counter a tight local job market. Companies may also outsource to expand the scope of their services or to pool resources to handle larger accounts. Another practical reason is to allow for expansion without investing in additional equipment or software.” Personally… I would also add… to achieve a “lifestyle” change!

The question faced by companies today is no longer "why outsource", but, rather, "why not outsource?" By virtue of the benefits it offers and the range of alternatives that now exist, the desire to outsource will only increase.

In today's high-speed business environment, every organization is out to maximize its profits, enlarge its market share, and above all, put a check on ever-increasing costs. TAS owners are applying every effort re-think and re-adopt new goals and life expectations.

According to the Jericho, NY-based Outsourcing Institute, a consulting firm that advises professional service providers on outsourcing; "Outsourcing is rapidly becoming an accepted management tool for redefining and reenergizing the corporation. It challenges today's executives to rethink the traditional, vertically integrated firm in favor of a more flexible organization structured around core competencies and long term, outside relationships."

Selecting the right outsource development partner is critical. Partnering with the right resource will not only get the job done better-and faster-but it will also set the stage for the development of a long-term relationship that will benefit both parties. Engage with the wrong partner (e.g. inadequate technical skill set, strategic mismatch, etc.) and the result is increased risk and cost. This has implications for both sides of the outsourcing issue.

- How does outsourcing fit into your overall development strategy?
- What exactly are you outsourcing?
- How will you select the outsource development partner?
- How do you manage the process to minimize risk and maximize benefit?

A company such as All Office Support that is competing for traditional answering service and call center outsource clients, recognizes that by engaging with your company, we are entering into a relationship that you expect will result in a competitive advantage that can be leveraged in the marketplace. To that end, we must:

- Possess cutting edge expertise and be a leading edge practitioner.
- Create a framework for customer success.
- Bring credibility to the table: to make ourselves and your company an asset to your clients.
- Provide better service and higher value.

- Accomplish these goals in a fashion that will successfully lead to YOUR BUSINESS OR PERSONAL OBJECTIVES!

Organizations whose business strategy is predicated on competing on cost have fundamentally limited their ability to compete. At best… this is a short-term strategy. All too frequently, it is a "weak hand" and the odds are stacked against you, especially when competing against other local services.

Long-term success requires a different approach. In order to compete, companies must be able to bring more to the table. In addition to being leading edge practitioners that possess cutting edge expertise, they must also provide the highest value. Ultimately, long-term success demands that the outsourcing relationship result in a strategic advantage for the client.

The past decade has seen the loss of tele-services jobs to overseas competitors. What began as a cost-reduction tactic for low-tech work has evolved into a fundamental business strategy for managing high-end technology creation. One trend, which is not at all likely to effect TAS operations, is the emergence of offshore outsourcing and using organizations from developing countries. The barrier of language difficulties and the ability to immediately dispatch a message are in the forefront to make these organizations not at all viable in the U.S. TAS market.

Yes, the market is changing... and the TAS industry has to change with it; that's the bad news. The good news is that the basic rules of “Business 101” still apply. Identify the need in the marketplace and then provide products and services that meet or exceed customer expectations and you can succeed.

The central message is this: it's not cost that's the issue; it's all about value. The successful competitors will be the ones who embrace this message and who are able to offer better service and provide higher value.

Outsourcing can be an extremely complex and complicated undertaking. Each facet of the exercise needs to be carefully considered and properly executed. There is little margin for error if full value is to be obtained.

However, this need should neither be a trauma, nor an adventure of blind exploration. The potential benefits are well documented, and strategic outsourcing is now mature enough for the path to have been taken countless times previously.

Today's TAS owners face several hard realities. In the first place, there is an acute shortage of suitably qualified candidates to fill the available vacant positions. As a matter of fact, at any given time, according to various industry reports, 10 to 15 percent of all TAS positions are un-staffed and the growth rate of job openings exceeds the growth rate of the labor force in the industry. (Even the US government is estimating a shortfall of 1.3 million workers over the next 10 years.)

The second factor involves economics. The cost of acquiring and training operator staff is growing, thereby maintaining consistency in the law of supply and demand.

Curbing costs and saving money has always been the perfect motivator for organizations to consider outsourcing options. The need to cut costs and the increase in the number of ever-demanding clients means that managers must revamp their operations, and thus outsourcing is high on their priority list.

Recent trends clearly indicate that companies are generally avoiding traditional outsourcing risks by forming a deeper relationship with their business outsource partners.

The dedicated “Partner Center” approach developed several years ago by All Office Support devotes all its efforts to the client organization and, to maintain consistence with the organization's standards, it follows their culture and methodologies to produce immediate results.

The All Office Support “Partner Center” enhances overall productivity, and more importantly, it results in considerable long-term cost savings. We have long held that our Partner approach becomes not simply an outsource… but a pure and affordable resource dedicated to the primary principal of complete client and caller satisfaction utilizing the highest technical capabilities to achieve that end. A concept we refer to simply as PARTNERING

Partnering can best be explained as the tactical use of specialized resources to perform core activities which were originally carried out by internal staff and resources. Partnering therefore provides the best available technology, services, and management to optimize network availability, performance, and reliability on a subscription basis.

TAS owners today are faced with increasingly complex technology, dwindling resources, and limited budgets. They are constantly on the lookout for alternative solutions for the success and growth of their business. Perhaps the answer lies in a delicate combination of outsourcing and resourcing, leading to the perfect solution: That being the ultimate objective of every owner… working ON your business…

With All Office Support as your Partnering Mentor, outsourcing has never been so easy or made so much business sense. The question is not "Why outsource?" but rather, "Why not?" As outsourcing becomes more popular, the question expands to "What should I outsource, and to whom?”

The Outsourcing Institute finds, "Outsourcing is rapidly becoming an accepted management tool for redefining and re-energizing the corporation. It challenges today's executives to rethink the traditional, vertically integrated firm in favor of a more flexible organization structured around core competencies and long-term, outside relationships."

It’s the "To whom?" that poses a critical challenge because in the past, the lowest cost provider may have been a justifiable choice. In today's environment, where delivery and execution are backed by performance guarantees, other factors, like experience, integrated services, and market leadership are now just as important to assess when making the decision to outsource.

Any company can outsource, but finding the right fit for diverse needs can be tricky. Some plans are more--or less--complex than others, and it's important to be sure that the outsourcing provider you choose is flexible enough to meet your specific needs.

Believe me… we’ve seen it all when it comes to the different types of outsourcing needs. Over the last 5-years of being an outsource- resource provider, we have worked with many clients with both straightforward plans and complex plans, plus everything in between. When working with a client, our goal is to figure out what works for their situation, providing an opportunity for the client-employer and their core employees to succeed together by leveraging our experience and the experience gleaned from our work with our other Partner clients.

One other point we, as a resource provider, must consider is that not all TAS operations are suitable to utilize our services. We must also be careful to assess the offerings, experience, and demonstrated capabilities of potential clients. We need to maintain an honest and forthright dialogue with the owner. The most critical of these is the basic reason that our potential client has to be considering outsourcing their operations.

“There are as many reasons to outsource as there are call centers that do so.”

Perhaps it is to gain a competitive advantage. Perhaps it may be due to a loss of qualified employees and candidates arising from the arrival of a new business in the area offering higher wages. (A Wal-Mart or similar large employer, for example) Perhaps it may be the realization that the selling price of your business is not suitable for your future plans. Perhaps the reasons are even more fundamental: A desired lifestyle change, or for basic health reasons.

But how do you ensure that the lessons learned by others (sometimes the hard way) are put to good use? How do you ensure that you don't re-invent the wheel repeatedly? How do you manage the whole exercise as effectively and efficiently as possible?

Actually defining your service level requirements is an essential step in the process. This is a pre-written template designed to help ensure that all the necessary issues are covered and covered properly, as you define your organization's service needs.

A quality Service Level Agreement is core to the outsourcing operation. The agreement should include an extensive “blueprint” for a complete service level agreement; each clause can be accepted 'as is' or edited to reflect a specific need.

This balanced document is flexible enough to withstand the inevitable changes that will occur in technology and the marketplace during the length of the outsource agreement. It covers everything from arbitration to support, from costs to responsibilities, and is an excellent basis from which to form a durable and sustainable outsource contract and agreement.

The transition phase is of course critical. This is a comprehensive outsource plan and guide for moving the Partner’s work to the supplier's environment in a timely and efficient manner

What would I gain by using All Office Support as an “outsource” for my accounts?

(In the vast majority of the cost analysis studies done in our industry, these items

alone account for approximately 75 to 85 percent of “cash flow consumption”.)

What services do you perform from which I might be able to gain additional billing?

Ø No Charge for faxing messages either “as received” or in a daily summary form.

Ø No Charge for paging messages. (alpha pager/ digital cell phone/ numeric beeper)

Several of our recent experiences with Partner Accounts has been to relieve that often times “nagging” overnight shift. In some cases, it was to cover the 11pm to 7am period. In other cases it was to cover an “extended” overnight shift (for example 8pm to 8am) and a few to cover the overnight AND weekends!

Just as one example, consider the financial benefits of outsourcing all or part of your overnight operations. Look at the “arithmetic” for just a moment.

To keep the math simple/ allow me to illustrate the outsource of your accounts from 8pm to 6am. That’s 10-hours per day at (say) $10.00 per hour. That’s $100.00 per overnight [times] 5-evenings… equals $500.00 per week.

That’s OVER $2,150.00 per month… in just payroll alone. If you have two-people (or more) on your overnight… then, obviously, the savings increase. Add in electricity, security, etc. and these savings increase even more. Add in weekends… all or partial… and this opportunity becomes VERY appealing!

YES… there is a cost involved. But I’ll bet it would be LESS THAN HALF of what your paying now! And here’s another question… how many ACTUAL calls do you receive on the “overnight”? If you have your seat belt fastened, do the arithmetic on that!

Consider the VALUE to your own peace of mind… not having to cover on those emergencies, call-offs, and actually having quality time in the evenings. Well, o.k./ you can’t really put a “dollar-value” on this… But, when you consider that you’ll have more time to devote to client contact, developing new business and… perhaps for the first time… have “normal” business hours... isn’t it time to invest a little time with us on the telephone to explore the possibilities?

We’ll work with you to answer your questions based upon all of our past experiences with our Partner accounts. We’ll candidly discuss (in FULL CONFIDENCE!) all of the “pros & cons” along with the associated costs (which I assure you will be considerably LESS than your current expenses)

Why not take a few moments right now and jot down your questions. Of course, we’ll also need to know how many accounts you currently service… your average monthly billing... the approximate number of inbound calls each month… if there are any accounts that are “out of the ordinary” such as order taking/ appointment setting/or internet order processing… things like that. Also, if your equipment has the capability to provide any hour-by-hour reports… those would be helpful.

So… whether you’re considering outsourcing possibilities for evenings… weekends… or full-time… please give us a call…

Please ask for either Deborah Gernant or myself (by the way, Deborah has successfully transitioned 20 “partners” from the initial contact through the final cut-over. There is no one in this industry more qualified!)