11/07/2011

By Scott Thompson

Santander's decision to bring its call centres back to the UK has been warmly received by the National Outsourcing Association (NOA). They are being brought back from India in an attempt to reduce complaints from customers.

Martin Hart, Chairman of the NOA, comments: “Santander has listened to its customers’ demands and brought its call centre operations back to the UK. This is not just a matter of rising costs in India, but falling quality.”

“Simple processes can be dealt with by interactive voice recognition – but more complex problems require the operative to have a solid understanding of the caller’s culture. This is what helps good operatives open calls sympathetically, drill down to the heart of the problem, then find solutions,” he adds. “India’s staff attrition rates are at an all time high - people move on very quickly, for just a few rupees more elsewhere. This means there is no time for adequate cultural awareness training, so quality has dropped. NOA has been saying for years that cultural affinity is a must for successful offshoring. Santander’s return to the UK proves how important this is to customer satisfaction. Taking the cheapest option will never be a route to success, if the quality is not up to the mark.”

Hart concludes: “As the costs of doing business in India fall into line with more developed nations, NOA suggests that companies considering outsourcing call centres to India ensure that their suppliers invest (and continue to invest) in intensive programmes of cultural awareness training. That way, they can retain business by competing on quality, not just on cost.”