Setting up a Contact Centre in Kenya - Site Selection and Equipment

Site Selection

When selecting the site for your call centre you need to factor in growth. Call Centres grow in spurts and a new account may need 20, 30 or more extra seats. It is important that you have enough space to manage growth without having to move.

Additionally, choose an area that is generally quiet. There is nothing worse than trying to sell or think over loud music, hooting and the like. Make sure that the area has a constant supply of water and very few power interruptions. The cost of running a generator can be quite high.

Care should be taken to ensure that there are sufficient bathrooms for the team. The "Ally MacBeal" bathroom situation does not work very well in call centres. Running water and air freshener is also important to keep the facilities clean and keep your staff comfortable.

Security is also very important seeing as your team will be working 24 hrs a day. Make sure that you have alarm systems in place if need be and security guards as well.

Equipment

When purchasing equipment for your call centre make sure that your desks are of the best quality. Everyone likes a beautiful work area. Old, chipped desks will make the place look shabby and even demoralize the agents. Additionally, give them comfortable seats with adjustable height and back for any build.

Make sure the PCs have the latest software and come fitted with an effective anti virus. For each PC, it is advisable to block all ports that could be used for data transfer devices like flash disks and floppies. This should be part of your data security strategy.

Make sure the server purchased also takes growth into account. There have been situations where the server purchased could not make more than 20 simultaneous calls. This means that should the account need to expand, or another account come on board, a new server will have to be purchased.

Switches, routers, firewalls etc should be of the highest quality and compatible with as many systems as possible.

Headsets should be the noise reducing kind and can be purchased from any plantronics dealer. Plantronics are the the best headsets in the market for call centres. Make sure you understand the intended purpose of each headset. Transcription headsets are different from voice head seats. Also, go for binaural vs monaural

Go for space saving equipment, foldable headsets, stackable switches, TFT screens and the like. This is great for call centre space utilization.

Setting up a Contact Centre in Kenya - Planning and Preparation

As discussed previously, planning and preparation is key in setting up a call centre or BPO operation among others. The old adage is true as many have discovered lately, fail to plan and you plan to fail.

Because of unrealistic expectations, many people are starting contact centers thinking that they will break even in less than 6 months. In reality, you should expect to break even in 3 to 5 years. As such, when planning, finances should be set aside to manage all costs for the next three years.

I have heard many people say that setting up a call centre is easy. All you have to do is put up work stations, get some second hand PC's and get an internet connection. Never mind that the company you are connected too, though cheap, has lousy service. Before you set up a contact centre, ensure you have done the following.

Business Plan

Put a business plan together. Gather your thoughts. Figure out why you are going into this business. Do your research and come up with facts. Many people look at the dollars to be made, convert that into Kenya Shillings and go for it without counting the cost. The result is that halfway through the project, they realize things were not as easy as they thought. A business plan, with the accompanying financials will help you figure out if this is really the venture you should be going into.

Marketing

I have heard noises made about the BPO society not getting the operators work. How would you trust anyone with the engine of your operation? Marketing is the responsibility of each individual company. Now granted, the society has a role to play in turning the eyes of the world towards us, as well as lobbying government for us, but each one of us must source for work for our own organizations.

• Make sure in planning you have a well defined marketing strategy and work it. Your strategy will only work if you work it.
• Find out how the rest of the world is marketing itself and follow suite.
• Make sure that your website is up to date and create web presence for yourself by raising your rank on search engines using Search Engine Optimization Techniques.

Operations

Operational know-how is crucial in outsourcing. Call Centre culture and operations are a whole other ball game. It is essential to have someone guide you on how to run the day to day operations of your accounts.

• Do you have well defined company policies?
• Have you put together specific account operations manuals?
• What are the supervisor : agent, or Quality Analyst : agent ratios?
• What are your employee retention strategies? How will you implement them?
• How will you motivate your agents on a day to day basis?

Having an experienced management team will make things run much smoother on the ground than they would otherwise.

Security

Employee and data security are a very important aspect of your business. Think in terms of:

• Physical Security - You will need an alarm system installed, security guards, identification badges for your staff etc...
  
• Logical Security - How will you keep your company data safe as well as that of your client.
  

Space

• Will you lease or buy. Do you have extra space you can use? Is there a cheaper location? Must you be in the CBD?
  
• Ensure that work stations are spacious enough and Isles have walking space
• Ensure an airy well lit room with proper ventilation and circulation
• If needed get an AC for your workers. Working in a hot room can be miserable.
• For call centers make sure the roof is high enough for sound not to bounce back. The quality of calls will be affected by noise if this is not taken care of.
• A break area for your staff members where they can relax is also important.
  

Contingencies

• You need a reliable internet connection. That means that you need between 97% and 99% guaranteed up time. In addition to that, you need a redundant link in case your main provider fails. Make sure that your two service providers do not in turn share a service provider, because if their service provider fails you will be down for sure.
• You need a generator in case power fails.
• Data backup - onsite and offsite, onshore and offshore.

Take into account your growth strategy and how many accounts you want to start with, employing how many agents. Then do your math diligently anticipating to break even in year 3 at the earliest. This done, you will be in a better position to make it than most.

Setting up a Contact Centre in Kenya - Introduction

It has been in the news lately. The fact that many call centre/ BPO operators are shutting down within months of inception. Of course they blame it on high bandwidth costs among other things, but listening to many contact centre owner/operators I have learned that the following are really the main reasons for shutting down.

• Lack of proper planning and preparation
• Unrealistic Expectations
• Lack of operational know-how

In the next few days, I will attempt to walk you through the steps of setting up a contact centre in Kenya (realistically), in a 4 part series titled: Setting up a Contact Centre in Kenya

• Planning and Preparation
• Site Selection and Equipment
• Legal Matters
• Processes and Procedures

I hope that this series will be beneficial to each one of you out there looking to set up a contact centre in Kenya.

Call Centre Culture

Many call centre operators in Kenya are facing the same challenge. Changing staff mindsets. Gone are the days when one would come to work, hang their coat on the back of their seat and proceed to leave the office for the day, returning in the evening for their coat. The call center industry is especially strict on productivity. No one can make a profit with tardy, absent or indisciplined staff.

Call Center culture is very different from other jobs. Everything hinges on the productivity of the agent. Payment is made per log in hour or per sale made. The same goes for BPO and KPO work. You are paid per transcription hour, per sms sent, record completed, form filled or article written. Everything is based on performance. It goes without saying therefore, that agent time management is monitored closely to ensure the said productivity.

Sadly though, some agents mistake this micromanagement for oppression. They think they are being treated as children and would rather be allowed to self govern. Anything left to itself tends towards entropy. When left to themselves most agents will come from break 5 minutes late, and wrap up a call for an extra 1 or 2 minutes, become unavailable to take calls every now and then and the like. The truth of the matter is that every supervisor wants agents that will self govern. But how many can be trusted to do what they should?

It is then left to call centre operators to teach call centre culture to these agents. No tardiness, no absenteeism, no dilly dallying and definitely no slacking on this job. Without a doubt, there is no hanging your coat on the back of your seat and taking off for the day.

It's a new day working nation!

Selecting an Outsourcing Partner

Outsourcing is the practice of transferring day-to-day business processes to an external service provider like a call center. The driving force behind this strategy is to reduce a company’s labor costs. Additionally, outsourcing is necessitated to give scalability and flexibility to operations. Outsourcing is about creation of successful partnerships. Selecting an outsourcing partner is different from selecting an ordinary supplier. Therefore, investigate your prospective service provider before selecting an outsourcing partner.

As more and more companies join the fray of business process outsourcing, it is obvious that there has been an outstanding increase in the number of outsourcing service providers offering these services. It therefore becomes very necessary that outsourcing for various functions like accounting and article writing be done with utmost care. The most significant point is identifying the appropriate outsourcing partner. The practices and policies that the outsourcing partner follows affect a company’s business directly.

Track records and check credentials. Make confirmations on useful information regarding a company’s experience. Look at the kind of clients the company has catered to and the number of ventures handled as an indicator of their capability. This helps one decide if a service provider is suitable for a project. Demand for the profile of the company’s senior staff and board of directors. This will help one get a clue on the experience and background of the business processes outsourcing organization. Ensuring that the outsourcing partner is financially secure is yet another factor to consider when selecting an outsourcing company.

It is important to judge the quality of a service and the best way to do this is to determine if it measures up to customer standards and expectations. Ask for references from preceding clients as this provides an objective idea of the capability of prospective solution providers outsourcing services. References will address issues such as trustworthiness, responsibility and schedule adherence. Find a service provider that understands the business objectives of your company. This is vital to the smooth implementation of a project. Ensure a business strategy matching your company’s needs exists. Once the partner understands your strategies and objectives, it is easy to converse about targets, standards, updates and changes on performance.

It is necessary to ensure that there is effective communication and understanding of each other’s requirements. This will minimize misunderstandings. Select an outsourcing partner that can be accessed easily. This involves having regular access to a reliable and clear communication link such as phone lines, instant messaging or email.

Ask for samples to get an idea of your partner’s abilities. This will also assist in making practical appraisals of technical expertise and quality standards of a service provider. After establishing the credentials of a company, find out if the service provider is technically competent to handle the requirements of a project such as article writing, customer service, telesales and the like. Finally, ensure that post development support is maintained. The relationship with your service provider should continue even after a project is completed. This is because the success of any work done is best measured after implementation. Outsourcing is the best way to increase productivity and reduce costs. However, it is necessary to understand that not every partner is legitimate. Always be cautious and pursue safety procedures when selecting an outsourcing partner.