The Dangers Involved with Outsourcing
When large businesses start talks about outsourcing some or all of their jobs, the CEO and its board members try to keep it top secret. Why? Because if word gets out that a certain well-known company is deciding whether or not to keep its business here on American soil or go elsewhere outside the country, the public tends to get a bit upset, and that is putting it mildly.
No company has ever outsourced its jobs and came out on the other end smelling like roses. Handing over the responsibility to service providers is a high risk. The fear of losing control is all too real for managers who have handed the reigns over to service providers that are located halfway across the Earth. Handing an outsourced job over to a foreign service department does not really relieve any stress, in fact, it actually creates new problems.
Loyal customers have complained in the past that jobs and service that have been outsourced do not have the same level of commitment to meet the requirements for good, quality service. There is a language barrier that is difficult to overcome. Customers get so frustrated when they talk to a service representative who is difficult to understand. Customers feel the difference between an outsourcer and an internal staffer. The motivation and attitude can be felt through contacting these outsourcers and it's obvious they do not have the same set goals as internal employees. A main concern that customers have brought up is that they are afraid that these large businesses will eventually leave them stranded. Meaning, when these customers are looking for critical help it will not be available to them because these businesses will eventually close up shop and move on. This will leave customers holding the bag with nowhere to go and with nobody to help them.
The reasons why these large companies fail at outsourcing are because of three reasons. The first reason is that they have outsourced to people with poor management skills, and not being able to handle a normal workload on a daily or regular basis. The second reason is not enough funding. The money runs out because the quality in service is not there. The moment some of these large businesses start outsourcing, sales start a gradual decrease. The third and most disturbing reason is employee dishonesty and/or misdeeds. Customers can tell that if an employee of a service department is sincere or is just taking up their time. Nothing frustrates a customer more than to feel unimportant. Or feel like they are bothering the service representative, being hurried and rushed off the phone, so they can give the next customer the same unsatisfactory service to them as well.
Usually, when a large company realizes that they made the mistake to outsource jobs, the damage is too great to come back from. The reputation that they have placed on themselves is so great, which most of these companies will go to great lengths, even take a great deal of loss to bounce back. They will merge with another, more successful company or change their name to make customers think that they have turned over a new leaf.