Step 7: Managing your outsourced call centre relationship

A partnership, not a purchase

Both parties should see the relationship as constantly evolving. Market conditions, products and customer expectations will change, and a good relationship develops when each side is willing to adapt within agreed boundaries.

Treat the provider as a strategic partner — and expect it to earn that role by adding value: proposing improvements, reducing contact volumes, raising quality and lowering unit costs over time.

Design around outcomes

Effective management starts with clearly defined outcomes. The contact centre should be designed around:

• The service you want to provide — the level that, in your experience, drives loyalty, repeat business and positive outcomes. Compromising on quality is a false economy.
• The budget — ideally set on long-term business value, not only the cost of handling each contact.
• Realistic forecasts — of the number, type, duration and timing of contacts.

Discuss these openly with your provider before the contract and at every major review. Only then can it build and cost a solution that meets your expectations.

Governance cadence

Measure what matters

Good performance metrics measure results, not just activity, and they are kept to a minimum. Productivity measures — calls per hour, handle time — still matter, but they should be subordinate to measures of conversation quality, customer satisfaction and business outcome. Tight scripting or strict call-duration controls can stop agents from understanding and meeting what customers actually need.

The core of a good contact centre is its ability to have good conversations with customers. The outsourced centre is the public face of your brand, so both sides should do everything they can to make every contact a positive experience.

Measure accurately and objectively

Confidence in measurement is what allows you to link pay to performance. Use:

• a shared, documented quality framework;
• representative, random samples of contacts;
• joint calibration sessions;
• customer feedback surveys;
• periodic independent or mystery-shopper checks.

See our guide to measuring call quality.

Continuous improvement

Ask the provider for a quarterly improvement plan based on root-cause analysis of repeat contacts, complaints and failure demand. The best improvements often reduce contacts altogether — through clearer communications, fixed processes or self-service — which benefits both sides if the commercial model rewards it.

Warning signs

• Service reviews that focus on explaining misses rather than fixing causes.
• Rising attrition or frequent changes of account management.
• Reports that arrive late or change format without explanation.
• Your own team spending more time firefighting than improving.

Address these early and openly. Most problems are recoverable when both sides act quickly.