2013 was a remarkable year for WNS Global Services South Africa. Not only did we see significant growth in company revenue, but we also saw a large number of new dynamic staff members join our team. The year was strewn with a number of awards and accolades, and, looking back, we can only build on this great success.
When looking forward, 2014 holds a great year for not only the company, but the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry as a whole. It is not short of any challenges, but exciting developments are likely to shape the industry. Here are a few examples of current trends within the BPO Industry:
Engaging with customers via social media in contact centres
Humans have not become obsolete (yet) and will continue to play a crucial role in customer service. When the needs of a customer have not been met after trying out all of the self-service options available to them, they are likely to require the assistance of an actual person by speaking to them via a particular communication channel. With the rise of social media and increased mobile connectivity, the number of these communication platforms has increased and customer engagement via multiple channels is becoming increasingly necessary. In addition to communication via telephone, customer representatives are likely to communicate through web chat windows, by email and through social media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
The rise of industry-specific service offerings
Over the years, BPO companies have helped clients beat their competitors by giving them smart solutions and interacting with their customers. Over this time, invaluable knowledge was gathered, which now gives BPO companies a better understanding of their clients’ industries and its customers. This knowledge can be shared with clients operating in various to help improve their business. For the same purpose of business improvement, clients want access to a particular function carried out by a team specialised in their respective industry. This shift makes it necessary for BPO companies to restructure the service offering model and ultimately create many specialised teams for each sector leading to the rise in new opportunities for internal employee development.
Big data, analytics and transformation
Customer contact centres gather vast amounts of data on customers engaged with. When analysed, this data can be used to provide clients with transformational insights and help them improve their products and processes. Today, the mining of big data and undertaking of analytics is what clients expect from BPO companies. This client expectation and industry norm places great value on the credibility of data obtained and analysed by BPO companies, but at the same time it has the potential to see the continuous growth of its Research and Analytics divisions.
From a local perspective
Thanks to the rise in cloud computing and the decrease in its cost, BPO companies are able to now to adapt their pricing models and offer more competitive pricing. This is further boosted by the weak Rand, making South Africa very appealing for international companies as an extension of their enterprise.
When all of this is taken into consideration, together with other trends in the industry, it presents a positive outlook into the remainder of the year and first half of next year. However, challenges such as disruptive technology, political instability, tough economic conditions and the ever-changing behavioural patterns of customers places client organisations under pressure, but with a good value proposition and excellent service delivery these threatening factors can be offset.
When looking forward, 2014 holds a great year for not only the company, but the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry as a whole. It is not short of any challenges, but exciting developments are likely to shape the industry. Here are a few examples of current trends within the BPO Industry:
Engaging with customers via social media in contact centres
Humans have not become obsolete (yet) and will continue to play a crucial role in customer service. When the needs of a customer have not been met after trying out all of the self-service options available to them, they are likely to require the assistance of an actual person by speaking to them via a particular communication channel. With the rise of social media and increased mobile connectivity, the number of these communication platforms has increased and customer engagement via multiple channels is becoming increasingly necessary. In addition to communication via telephone, customer representatives are likely to communicate through web chat windows, by email and through social media such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
The rise of industry-specific service offerings
Over the years, BPO companies have helped clients beat their competitors by giving them smart solutions and interacting with their customers. Over this time, invaluable knowledge was gathered, which now gives BPO companies a better understanding of their clients’ industries and its customers. This knowledge can be shared with clients operating in various to help improve their business. For the same purpose of business improvement, clients want access to a particular function carried out by a team specialised in their respective industry. This shift makes it necessary for BPO companies to restructure the service offering model and ultimately create many specialised teams for each sector leading to the rise in new opportunities for internal employee development.
Big data, analytics and transformation
Customer contact centres gather vast amounts of data on customers engaged with. When analysed, this data can be used to provide clients with transformational insights and help them improve their products and processes. Today, the mining of big data and undertaking of analytics is what clients expect from BPO companies. This client expectation and industry norm places great value on the credibility of data obtained and analysed by BPO companies, but at the same time it has the potential to see the continuous growth of its Research and Analytics divisions.
From a local perspective
Thanks to the rise in cloud computing and the decrease in its cost, BPO companies are able to now to adapt their pricing models and offer more competitive pricing. This is further boosted by the weak Rand, making South Africa very appealing for international companies as an extension of their enterprise.
When all of this is taken into consideration, together with other trends in the industry, it presents a positive outlook into the remainder of the year and first half of next year. However, challenges such as disruptive technology, political instability, tough economic conditions and the ever-changing behavioural patterns of customers places client organisations under pressure, but with a good value proposition and excellent service delivery these threatening factors can be offset.
