Outsourcing is a touchy subject. When a company decides to farm out part of its business, employees tend to quiver. It can damage morale, too. These two factors – plus a few uglier reasons — have given outsourcing a bad name.

They assume they will wait in a phone queue that rivals their commute, and will sit on hold long enough to pen a novel.

When we answer the phone within two rings, some first-time callers, who perhaps expect the lowest level of service from an outsourcer, are often stunned. They assume they will wait in a phone queue that rivals their commute, and will sit on hold long enough to pen a novel.

And then there’s the issue of personalized support, which we offer to our clients. That is, if ABC Company wants us to answer the phones with “ABC help desk, how may I help you?” that’s what we do. It’s often less jarring to the caller, and can serve to enhance the internal help desk’s reputation.

Apparently, it’s working.

One of our consultants received an e-mail recently informing him that he had been nominated as employee of the month. But not by us. He was nominated by employees of one of our clients, who didn’t realize he wasn’t on the same payroll.

Our goal is to make it as seamless as possible. It seems we are doing something right.

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Jenny Sweeney Customer Service employee of the month, Outsourcing, service level agreements, transparency