First Call Resolution

What is Customer Service Representative?

A customer service representative is an individual who interacts with customers on behalf of the company, usually to address their concerns. They are the front lines of service providers in customer support. They know first-hand how satisfied and dissatisfied customers are with the services they availed. 

A CSR possesses a lot of skills they need to effectively deliver customer service. This includes good communication and problem-solving skills, quick wit, and interpersonal skills. Other terms may include customer service associates, and customer service advisors or consultants.

Their duties depend on what type of customer service they handle, whether inbound or outbound. Inbound CSRs are the ones who handle incoming calls, chats, or emails from customers, attend to their concerns, do basic troubleshooting, and help them navigate a website or app.

Outbound CSRs, meanwhile, deal mostly with lead generation, billing reminders, appointment confirmation, and market surveys. Unlike inbound CSRs, they are the ones who reach out to customers for these concerns either through cold calling or emails.

Outsource Accelerator provides you access to great customer service representatives that you can outsource from the Philippines starting from $6 per hour, where you can save up-to 70% on staffing cost. We have over 3,000 articles, 200+ podcast episodes, and a comprehensive directory with 700+ BPOs… all designed to make it easier for clients to learn about, and engage with customer service outsourcing.

What is Customer Satisfaction Rating (CSAT)?

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a popular key performance indicator that tracks customer satisfaction. The process involves a survey question or a set of questions. The customers answer by indicating their level of satisfaction. The most popular scale is 1 to 10, with 1 being the least satisfied and 10 as the most satisfying level.

The result gives a business the necessary output whether or not to improve customer service right there and then. However, the possible ambiguity might be a disadvantage, especially if a customer is dissatisfied with the service.

CSAT tells a business about how satisfied their customers are with their services. From this, they can also understand the needs of their customers through feedback and comments they give in each survey. 

The best timing to use this methodology is after-sales, before the renewal of subscription, and after customer support. These times are crucial especially for repeat customers. With this, a business should have first-hand knowledge of its customer satisfaction. A simple interview or a feedback form after a sale would do. 

Customer satisfaction score might be the simplest metric but it’s a powerful tool for all businesses. It closes the loop on first customer interaction and helps businesses move on to the next level. 

Computation is quick and easy. You add up all the ratings and divide the total score by the number of respondents. Most likely, you’ll get a percentage. Get your customer satisfaction score a notch higher by outsourcing your customer service team. Check out Outsource Accelerator’s extensive list of outsourcing companies in the Philippines.

What is Escalation?

Escalation is when the first-hand customer service representative was not able to resolve a complaint raised by the customer. Complaints are then raised to tier-2 agents who can give better solutions to the problems. These tier-2 agents have better knowledge about the matter.

The most common recipients of escalations are team supervisors. Therefore, team supervisors are expected to be experts on the processes and procedures of the company that they are representing. Customers tend to be on the verge of their emotions when seeking escalations; thus, the senior agent who will handle the escalation should always be prepared. Professionalism and being courteous are required when dealing with irate customers.

Escalations are expected to be controlled or restrained and are considered essential in the Business Processing Industry (BPO) industry. The best customer service outsourcing companies should be brimming with fully-equipped professionals who can handle complaints, and find immediate resolutions for the client. One should expect to work with people who have been given proper training and handled by experienced team managers who can brush off escalations easily and with highest-level of restraint and professionalism.

Outsource Accelerator has over 3,000 articles, 200+ podcast episodes, and a comprehensive directory with 700+ BPOs… all designed to make it easier for clients to learn more about managing an outsourcing team and ensuring that escalations are handled properly.

What is Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)?

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is the engagement of services from a third-party provider. BPO uses various technology-enabled services to hasten the delivery of services. The business activities could be back-office such as, but not limited to, payroll, accounting, human resources, or front office jobs like customer service, sales, and marketing, etc. In the case of content providers, these business activities could mean hiring writers, remote editors, or virtual assistants.

BPO speeds up processes and enhances efficiency. Companies that outsource some of their business activities use their time on core services and competencies. With this shift in focus, companies improve their current processes that may result in improved customer satisfaction. BPO helps companies divert their resources to more critical business strategies. Often, companies find it impractical to hire a full-time position in-house because of the cost associated with doing so.

When a business engages an external specialist to manage and operate some of its internal processes, it's referred to as business process outsourcing. Such ‘processes’ include customer service, accounting and finance, or sales. It is different from hiring an agency to do specific tasks, as the outsourcing provider (BPO) is more concerned with the ongoing production of labour-intensive tasks, instead of the higher-level strategy and guidance.

Now, business process outsourcing has broadened and is more akin to staff augmentation, or staff leasing.

There are many benefits to outsourcing, as well as some downsides and risks. The common benefits include:

The business process outsourcing sector is a vast industry, generating over $200bn annually, and employing many millions of people worldwide. Some examples include:

Facebook and Uber outsource many of their operational functions, including content moderation for Facebook, and customer service for Uber

A medium business with 50-500 staff might outsource the labour-intensive accounting and finance functions to a team in the Philippines.

It is common for small business owners to have a Virtual Assistant (VA) working for hem full time, remotely from the Philippines.

The type of business process outsourcing can be characterised by their specialisation, location, and size.

Business process outsourcing is in the human resources and professional services sector. However, their services extend across all industries. The majority of BPOs are generalist, in that they offer a full range of professional services, although some specialise in certain verticals (ie accounting, or animation).

Business process outsourcing typically operates form developing nations such as the Philippines, India, and Colombia. They typically have cheaper cost-of-living and bigger populations. Different locations offer different advantages.

The bigger BPOs employ more than 250,000 people. They are huge, global operations. Medium-sized BPOs range from 500-5,000 staff and offer a full range of services. The smaller BPOs might have 1-500 people.

Collectively, business process outsourcing provides any kind of staffing solution. Common functions of BPO include:

A wide range of BPO companies in different parts of the world provide utmost services to their Western and local clients. Many of them have even earned awards and recognitions by award-giving bodies due to their performance on both the roles they take and on their way of taking care of the employees.

Check out the top BPO companies in several outsourcing destinations below:

Outsource Accelerator is the most trusted source for independent information & advisory for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). We have over 4,000 articles, 200+ podcast episodes, and a comprehensive directory with 700+ BPOs… all designed to make it easier for clients to learn about, and engage with, business process outsourcing.