There are many advantages in outsourcing healthcare call center work. Consider these five benefits before you categorically dismiss the idea of outsourcing. You’ll be glad you did.

1) Increase Quality: When you select the right call center outsourcing partner, you can expect an overall increase in service quality. While this may seem counter intuitive, once you examine the situation you’ll discover that it isn’t.

A key to successful outsource call centers is their ability to replicate services. For example, an outsource call center that handles telephone triage will provide that service to several clients. And though they customize their service for each client, the core foundation remains the same. This allows them to pursue excellence on a grand scope, much larger than any one call center could ever realize on its own. As a result, they become very good at handling telephone triage calls. The same applies for virtually any service you ask them to perform. They likely have other clients they do the same thing for and if not, they have most assuredly done it in the past.

Their collective experience results in excellent quality. (Read more about using outsourcing to increase quality.)

2) Reduce Costs: An outsource call center can also help you reduce your call handling expenses. Again, this may seem counter intuitive, but look at how outsource call centers operate. Another key to an outsource call center is their economy of scale.

An outsource call center will enjoy a greater economy of scale than a single healthcare call center could ever achieve. With greater scale comes increased efficiency. And with increased efficiency comes lower operating expenses.

In most all cases, you can expect call center outsourcing to save you money. (Read more about using outsourcing to reduce costs)

3) Counter Labor Issues: A critical issue facing many call centers, especially those in the healthcare arena, is a shortage of labor. And sometimes to attract the few qualified candidates in your area, the compensation expectations become cost-prohibitive. This is where outsourcing shines.

Outsource call centers locate themselves in strategic labor markets were qualified candidates are available at affordable prices. In addition, many outsource call centers have a distributed operation that allows them to tap into multiple labor markets, often in geographically disperse areas. (Read more about how outsourcing can address staff shortages.)

4) Eliminant Management Frustrations: Most call centers have an expanded coverage, starting in the early morning and extending late into the evening. Plus, most call centers operate on weekends and holidays, too. Then add to this the growing trend of 24/7 coverage.

Managing a staff who works more hours than you do provides a unique set of challenges that many accomplished managers struggle with. Add to this meeting performance metrics, planning for ever-growing infrastructure needs, and keeping your operations budget from being cut each year, all conspire to exasperate call center leaders. Outsourcing provides needed relieve from all these pressures. (Read more about how outsourcing can make your life better.)

5) Streamline Operations: While many times healthcare providers opt to outsource all call center functions, complete outsourcing isn’t a requirement. One intriguing option is outsourcing specific functions or tasks, such as expensive activities, difficult procedures, or processes that don’t happen too often.

Another partial outsourcing opportunity is time-of-day or day-of-week outsourcing. You can perhaps send third shift calls or weekend traffic to your outsource partner, while you keep the bulk of the calls inhouse.

A final streamlining consideration is to outsource overflow calls when your staff becomes too busy or if you’re understaffed. (Read more about using outsourcing to streamline operations.)

Don’t dismiss the idea of healthcare call center outsourcing without carefully considering these five benefits.

 

Janet Livingston is the president of Call Center Sales Pro, a premier sales and marketing service provider for the call center industry and who offers a healthcare call center matchmaking service. Contact Janet at contactus@callcenter-salespro.com or call 800-901-7706.

Peter Lyle DeHaan is a freelance writer from Southwest Michigan.