Absa is in talks with US-based business intelligence and credit rating bureau TransUnion on a contact centre outsourcing deal that should be finalised by the end of next month.
This follows a proof of concept project in which Absa contact centres handled an outgoing call project for the US firm.
Absa Group consultant Ronnie Tonkin, who assisted with putting the TransUnion deal together, says the proof of concept project involved nine Absa call centre agents making 9 000 outgoing calls over a two-week period. The call targets were exceeded by 700%.
"Interestingly, only six of the people who were called actually asked our agents what country they were from," says Tonkin. "So the South African accent made a negligible difference."
TransUnion, which also investigated contact centre options in India and the Philippines, then opted to begin talks on an outsourcing deal. Talks under way at the moment are looking at the services to be offered, with the deal structure to affect the eventual pricing.
The new contact centre outsourcing focus is aimed at reducing the cost base and finding alternative revenue streams. The time difference between SA and the US will also allow Absa to maximise its after-hours contact centre capacity, says Tonkin.
"We currently have around 1 450 seats available, and once we have maximised the use of this capacity, we would like to see this number increase to 5 000 - 10 000 in the next three years. In fact, there are many under-utilised contact centres in SA, and outsourcing to US companies will help them to make the most of SA`s `16 hours of darkness`."
Tonkin says Absa may consider actively promoting its outsourcing business overseas if the deal with TransUnion proves to be worthwhile for Absa shareholders and SA in general.
"We will work with our alliance partners Dimension Data, Telkom and IBM, as well as with the Department of Trade and Industry, to promote our contact centre, so promoting SA as a contact centre outsourcing partner," says Tonkin.
Alfie Naidoo, Absa managing executive of e-channels, says involvement in third-party outsourcing does not mean that Absa is taking its eye off the banking ball.
"For Absa, call centre outsourcing fits with the company`s core strategy of diversifying our income streams and playing a meaningful role in job creation and skills development."
DTI promoting SA contact centres
Speaking at a recent Dimension Data conference, Angelo Manzoni, director of ICT and Electronics at Trade & Investment South Africa, a division of the Department of Trade and Industry, said the potential for business process outsourcing (BPO) globally is growing strongly.
"In 2000, the BPO market was worth almost $115 billion. This is predicted to grow to $178.5 billion by 2005. US companies, which represent the largest BPO market at present with half of the global spend, are expected to spend more than $17.6 billion on offshore outsourcing in 2005. This represents massive growth potential for SA."
Manzoni estimates that the spin-off of such ventures for the country can be translated into 100 000 direct jobs over the next five years. "The multiplier effect from job creation on other sectors of the economy is exponential."
Manzoni cites Absa`s current engagement with TransUnion as a good example of big business leveraging their assets more effectively by providing outsourced call centre services to US and UK organisations.
"Absa`s pilot project addressed issues around telecommunications, staff availability, sales and service orientation and demonstrated that SA is poised to service this market more effectively than ever before.
"Several factors are to our benefit," says Manzoni. "Our favourable exchange rate is a huge advantage. We are politically stable; have a low staff attrition rate of between 5% and 10%; a reliable First World telecommunications and IT infrastructure with high levels of reinforcement in business districts; and a number of proven world-class contact centres such as Absa`s. Another advantage is that SA offers time zone compatibility for Europe and 24/7 availability for the US.
"We also have the capacity," says Manzoni. "There are approximately 79 000 trained employees working in contact centres in this country. This considerable workforce is larger than the total numbers employed at other call centre destinations such as Ireland.
"The average number of seats in a South African call centre is 165, which is greater than that of any EU country but is still only a fraction of the capacity of Absa`s call centre, a 1 450-seater. On average, South African call centres are twice as big as their German counterparts and two-thirds larger than those located in Britain or France. With foreign investment, we expect this capacity to grow substantially."
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