Choosing the right outsourcing partner: checklist, selection criteria & overview of providers
Outsourcing customer support can stabilise your service quality, smooth out peaks and take the pressure off your teams. Or it can lead to friction, customer frustration or internal escalations. The impact that outsourcing has on you and your business does not depend on outsourcing itself, but almost always on the choice of partner and proper implementation!
In this article, you’ll learn:
- What outsourcing models are available and when you should choose which one,
- Which criteria really matter when selecting a provider, and
- An overview of some providers to help you get started.
Why choosing the right partner determines success or frustration
Rising call volumes, increasingly frequent peak periods or a protracted recruitment process. This is often precisely the point at which companies decide to outsource certain areas of their business, such as customer service.
A good outsourcing partner offers scalability and controllability. A poor partner leads to a drop in quality, unclear escalation procedures or missed KPIs. That is why it is essential that you find out about the various options and choose the right model and the right partner for your business.
When does outsourcing make sense?
There are a number of typical scenarios in which outsourcing almost always makes sense. Here is a brief overview:
- Increased volume of enquiries or peaks: e.g. due to business growth, during campaigns or product launches, in the event of disruptions, or for seasonal reasons
- Backlogs: tickets are left unresolved, enquiries remain unanswered and incoming enquiries are not processed within the desired timeframe
- Multilingualism or international markets
- Extended service hours that can only be covered at considerable cost through shift patterns or on-call arrangements
- Multichannel requirements
Here you can find more detailed information to help you determine whether outsourcing is the right choice for you and your business: When and why does outsourcing make sense?
Find the right model for your needs
There are various models available to help you achieve the best possible results from outsourcing. Each model has its pros and cons; which one is best for you depends entirely on your company’s requirements. Here is an overview:
Onshore vs. Nearshore vs. Hybrid
|
Model |
Suitable for… |
Potential drawbacks |
|---|---|---|
|
Onshore |
complex topics, high expectations regarding cultural proximity, brand voice |
Often higher costs; scaling is more limited |
|
Nearshore |
Optimising cost-benefit, scaling, multilingualism |
Training and quality management must be carried out effectively, otherwise quality risks may arise |
|
Hybrid |
Core team for complex topics and nearshore for scalability |
Interfaces must be clearly defined |
Internal preparation: objectives, KPIs, scope and data flows
These preparations enable you to compare quotes effectively and measure the success of pilot projects.
Objectives and KPIs:
|
Objective |
KPI |
How do you measure progress? |
|---|---|---|
|
More satisfied customers |
CSAT |
A stable trend in customer satisfaction and fewer complaints |
|
Fewer repeat contacts |
Fewer re-opens and internal escalations |
|
|
More efficient and faster solutions |
AHT / TTR |
Faster handling without compromising quality |
|
Availability |
SLA / ASA |
Peaks are managed and there are fewer spikes in waiting times |
Find out more about KPIs: performance and key figures here
Scope of the planned outsourcing:
- Channels: Voice, written, chat, social media, …
- Hours: Monday to Friday, weekends, public holidays, 24/7, …
- Languages: DACH region, EU, global, …
- Topics: Invoices, contracts, technical support, first- or second-level, …
Data flows:
- Which systems should your future partner work in?
- Permissions and roles, e.g. regarding access to customer data, …
- What would you like to see included in your reports?
Choosing your outsourcing partner: key criteria
|
Quality |
|
|---|---|
|
Scaling and sales |
|
|
Transparency |
|
Always pay close attention to customer satisfaction, response times, efficient processes and, above all, transparent KPI analyses
Questions you should ask every provider
- What is your quality management system like?
- How do you organise training when product changes occur?
- How do you plan capacity?
- How do you ensure brand consistency?
- What raw reporting data will we receive (and how often)?
- How does the escalation process work (point of contact, decision-making pathways)?
- How do you deal with special cases or exceptions?
- What risks do you identify and how do you minimise them?
An overview of different providers
This list is intended to guide you in gaining an initial overview of potential outsourcing partners
|
Provider |
Languages |
Key strengths |
Well suited if… |
|---|---|---|---|
|
over 10 languages, 4 locations in Austria, Turkey, Greece and Croatia, 1,096,000 customer contacts per year |
Customer service with a strong focus on the DACH region; sector focus on telecoms, energy, e-mobility and payments; 18 years’ experience |
you want to set up DACH-oriented multilingual support quickly and reliably, particularly if the focus is on energy, telecoms, e-mobility or payments |
|
|
nearly 100 countries, ~170 markets, ~300 languages/dialects |
very large scale, broad sector coverage, front- and back-office services |
You need to scale globally and require support in many languages and across multiple time zones |
|
|
70 countries, 6 continents, 150+ languages |
Technology/transformation, broad omnichannel coverage |
You want to integrate customer experience and tech processes and deliver them globally |
|
|
45 delivery countries, 60+ languages |
‘Traditional’ outsourcing focus, multilingual |
If you want to quickly build up capacity in several languages |
|
|
50+ languages |
Customer experience + digital/IT, strong language infrastructure |
If you want to combine support with digital/IT components (e.g. technical support) |
|
|
Focus on customer experience management, consultancy and design |
Journey/process design, customer experience management programmes, omnichannel optimisation |
You are looking for CX design/transformation |
|
|
Over 30 languages |
CX + back office + sales, strong presence in Europe |
You require an EU-focused presence and multilingual operations |
|
|
Contact management including customer service, with offshore options available |
Contact centre-focused managed services and flexible models |
You want to manage complex contact centre set-ups |
|
|
Outsourcing partner for dialogue marketing, CX and sales services |
Focus on the DACH region, omnichannel |
If you are strongly DACH-oriented and combine dialogue marketing with service |
|
|
Locations in Germany, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey |
Network of locations, EU nearshore combination |
If you want proximity to the DACH region and scalability via EU locations |
When is XELEO your ideal partner?
XELEO is your Customer Solution Expert and can handle either your entire customer service operation or specific aspects of it. We design our solutions to integrate seamlessly into your processes. We specialise in particular in the telecommunications, energy supply, electric mobility and payments sectors.
Our strength in outsourcing lies in controllability and quality. Through knowledge databases, regular training and transparent reporting, we ensure that your brand voice remains consistent and that improvements are measurable. Thanks to our in-depth WFM expertise (forecasting, shift planning), we can scale reliably: from seasonal peaks to multilingual 24/7 operations.
Through optimised processes, technical expertise and a consistently customer-focused service approach, we reduce waiting times, increase first-call resolution rates and make costs predictable. This turns outsourced support into a competitive advantage: your customers remain satisfied for longer, and your in-house team gains significant time for value-adding tasks.
Let us professionally outsource and specifically improve your customer support.
Contact us via our contact form or by telephone on 02742/28520. We look forward to speaking with you.
