Momentum seems to be building for a return to ‘UK call centres for UK Plcs’. The BBC has learnt that high street bank Santander is now bringing back its call centres to the UK, because, according to CE Ana Botin, it was "the most important factor in terms of the satisfaction with the bank”. Santander is now going to hire 500 people in the UK instead. Earlier this week telecoms company New Call Telecom announced the same, moving its call centre from Mumbai to Burnley in Lancashire.
There are a number of important factors at play here. Firstly, the average wage for a call centre worker in a lower cost region in the UK is now ‘almost parity’ with those seen in India. Secondly, offshoring call centres has often resulted in reduced customer service quality, and latterly increased customer attrition as other providers now offer ‘UK-only call centres’. This has become a real differentiator in the UK retail banking and mobile telecoms sector. Thirdly, and as important in the current economic climate, it is very good PR to be investing in the UK economy at a time of real economic hardship and high unemployment. To be seen to be ‘putting something back in’, rather than to be ‘taking something out’ is likely to be a strong selling point for a brand.
Offshore BPO providers that operate in the UK have been changing their strategies recently to respond to this. Firstsource for instance (see UK growth shines at Firstsource), won a contact centre deal with Barclaycard last October that sees it take on 700 Barclaycard employees in Stockton. Some back office work will go offshore, but the customer service work remains onshore. However for UK Plc, the true offshore call centre model now looks increasingly past its sell-by-date.