Earlier this week I attended the CX Outsourcers event in Windsor. It was billed as a mindshare event where many people from different parts of the customer experience (CX) industry would get together and discuss common challenges and strategies.

The event was organised by Peter Ryan, the Principal analyst at Ryan Strategic Advisory. Peter’s company has recently put together research on the most favoured location for companies engaged in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and other forms of CX services. For the 2019 Front-Office BPO Omnibus Survey he polled over 500 decision-makers, so the poll is a great indication of which countries are improving and which are in decline.

Naturally to get the complete research you need to buy it from Peter’s company, however he presented information about the top five results during the conference and he simultaneously released a podcast too.

The poll results were exciting news for the team at Webhelp because South Africa and India – which were joint second place – are two very important locations for our delivery teams. To see them both ranked so highly is an important sign that executives making decisions about their CX globally see these locations as highly trusted.

In a blog post on his website Peter Ryan explained why South Africa and India did so well in his research: “South Africa maintains its second-place ranking in the 2019 offshore favourability rankings, albeit in a tie with India.  In the case of South Africa, the country’s outsourcing stakeholders have made efforts at courting new investment that are clearly paying off. Buyers in the US, Canada and Australia are affirming their confidence in South Africa. As for India, its history as a quality customer experience management delivery points cannot be understated, nor can its emergence as a go-to point for many buyers from the perspective of non-voice, digital channel management.”

The entire CX industry is facing a wave of digital disruption at present as companies explore how some brand-to-customer interactions can be automated. This was also a key feature of the CXO conference that I will follow up on in a separate comment, however it’s worth noting that I believe the real answer is to only use automated tools and AI where it improves the customer experience. Getting this blend of digital and human service is now an important part of the planning process when considering how to deliver great CX. In fact, we are releasing a paper on AI and Automation, so be sure to sign up for it now.

Back to South Africa and human contact… In South Africa we use a strategy known as Impact Sourcing, working with an organisation called Harambee. This partnership helps our team to find unemployed young people who would not usually have an opportunity to enter formal employment without the training Harambee provides. Not only is this great for the local community, but because of the investment Webhelp and Harambee makes  in helping these people get a job you simply cannot find greater loyalty and dedication. These young people love coming to work because they can remember when they didn’t have a job and it was almost impossible to find one – good for the community and also good for business too. You can get a flavour of the calibre of our Impact Sourcing colleagues, as well as the impact rewarding employment is having on their lives, by reading their stories: Celine Walters and Morgan Wagner

It’s these innovative ideas and an agile approach to customer service in both South Africa and India that sets our team apart in these locations. In conclusion, it was a pleasure to be at the CXO conference this week and we all felt great pride hearing just how valued South Africa and India are in the wider CX community.

In case you haven’t registered yet, Sign up to receive fresh insights and invitations to exec events with our Webhelp Disruptor Series campaign: https://www.go.webhelp.com/disruptorseries

If you’d like to find out more about Webhelp or ask Craig a question, email: craig.gibson@uk.webhelp.com

 

Craig Gibson

CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER – WEBHELP UK, INDIA & SOUTH AFRICA