Boom for some contact centres as economy slumps

An unfortunate result of the current economic downturn is retrenchments, resulting in increased consumer debt and difficulties for people to make payments. This is having a knock-on effect in the contact centre industry for those that focus on debt collection services. They are experiencing a boom in business.

What is encouraging is that companies have woken up to the fact that it is more beneficial and cheaper in the long run to retain existing customers than to find new ones. They are therefore focusing on 'softer' debt collection strategies where they look to renegotiate terms with customers, rather than taking a hard line on debt.

In keeping with this approach, many businesses are recognising the importance of customer relationships and are taking proactive measures to retain customers. Using outbound call centres, companies are contacting customers with welcome calls, or proactively checking if they are satisfied and/or are having any issues.

In certain sectors of the outbound contact centre industry, therefore, business is booming, but other areas are taking strain. Many companies who previously outsourced opportunistic sales campaigns to call centres are cancelling them to manage down costs, and this is having an impact. And, like most industries facing a recession, some call centre companies are reducing staff levels in an effort to minimise their wage bill.

In some ways, however, this trend to minimise human resource costs is a boon for the outsource contact centre industry. For some time there has been a trend for companies - particularly multinationals - to outsource, and the current economic climate is continuing to encourage this trend.

To survive the current downturn, contact centres face the opportunity to reposition themselves to benefit from boom time in certain sectors. However, it is critical that they get the blend between outbound and inbound business right. Balancing annuity income with higher-margin opportunistic activities is a basic principle that builds a resilient business that can weather the economic storm.