5 Offshoring Tips

5 T I P S F O R O F F S H O R I N GA T E L I E R L U M I K H A

You are planning to outsource your campaign to an offshore destination.

The allure of low-cost, performance-based work is all too irresistible.

The good news is that offshore outsourcing is a cost effective way to perform a myriad of back-office tasks.

Many campaigns run year in, year out generating profit or reducing expenses for all concerned.

The bad news is that many fail in deployment due to lack of planning and preparation.

This quick guide provides 5 suggestions for maximum success. 

Strategy 1 : Don’t Fire & Forget

Many outsourcers use a fire and forget method of outsourcing, particularly if they are running a performance-

based campaign.

Sending out an email with training materials and expecting performance isn’t only unrealistic; any back-office provider that doesn’t commit to really understanding your project is

very likely to fail. 

Invest the time to develop your campaign as completely as possible.

Collaborate with your back-office partner.

Strategy 2 : Plan Like Crazy

A tight deadline often drives an unmanaged or poorly managed program launch.

Programs that launch too quickly sacrifice A/B script testing, proper KPI’s, and compensation schedules that incentivize

the right behaviors.

Hasty campaign launches only prove the cliché, “no time to plan adequately, plenty of time for a crisis.” 

Strategy 3 : Customize the Learning

Study after study shows that localized learning is more effective than generic, non-customized learning.

Training for Americans isn’t appropriate for most offshore destinations and may result in confusing calls.

By wrapping certain basic elements of your campaign into the learning and factoring in cultural considerations, your

agents will hit the phone better prepared and therefore perform better. 

We focus on the Philippines so we often contend with outsourcers who presume that since Filipino agents are familiar with American culture they can be trained like

Americans. 

The fact is that many aspects of Filipino culture that we appreciate most signify offshore telemarketer

to the customer.

For example: over using honorifics like “sir” and “ma’am” as well as a tendency toward vague rather than negative

responses on customer service calls are areas that require attention during campaign training. 

Strategy 4 : Have a Deployment Guide

Deployment Guides force you to structure your campaign launch, think through logistics, and ensure your centers are

all working in a coordinated fashion.

• Dialing schedule• Daily shift schedule• Approved holidays• Handshake between opener

and closer centers (for transfer campaigns)

• Dialer configuration• Dispositions• Dialer reporting formats• FTP locations for verification

recordings

• Conversion (sales) definitions• Qualification criteria• Verification criteria• Quality guidelines

• Script and Objections• Script variations • Common objections• Objection responses

• Other• Industry background• Agent screening protocols• Calibration checklists & schedules• Commercial details & schedules

Strategy 5: Drive Continuous Development

Campaign management lends itself to Scrum techniques for continuous improvement.

Anyone who has offshored a campaign knows that the dictums “Inspect & Adapt” and “Fail Fast so You Can Fix

Early” govern the first 30-90 days.

The trick is to pay close attention to the performance intrashift and roll the lessons learned

into your preshift briefing.

Other tools for developing the team are quality calibration calls, diagnostics for areas of weakness and retraining, as well as maintaining an open door for input from the floor.  

Thanks for Your Time! Atelier Lumikha

2/fl Sol y Mar BuildingDumaguete City, Negros

Philippines

lumikha.co