Offshore call centres lead to poor customer satisfaction

Norwich Union have recently announced that they will be sacking 4000 staff and creating 1000 jobs in India - this has led to offshoring being back as a hot topic for call centres. A recent study by Sheffield University revealed that 60% of users of Indian call centres had problems with the operatives' - primarily a lack of understating of their issues, accent and culture.

Consultancy firm - CM Insight made some harsh assessments: 'many insurers are off-shoring for cost savings and are willing to take the hit of poor customer service as a trade off'. It suggested that service quality levels dip 75% when off shored. Insureyourmotor.com has recently come out in support of the British call centre. Insureyourmotor who specialise in non-standard insurance say that their customers expect a high level of interaction due to their non-standard nature, this requires staff who understand and empathise with the client's issues. This can only be achieved by employing staff in the UK (IYM currently have call centres in England and Wales)

Recently the reasoning for offshoring has taken a battering with cost factors being questioned due to higher attrition rates, above average sickness in India and wages are increasing. Despite all this NU employ 7,800 staff offshore. The debate rumbles on..  

Date - 18/10/2006