Gartner Says Customer Satisfaction is Key When Determining Offshore Outsourcing Options

Outsourcing Trends to be Discussed at Upcoming Gartner Outsourcing & Vendor Management Summit, May 19-21 in Washington D.C

STAMFORD, Conn., May 5, 2008 —

Outsourcing help desk services to an offshore location may yield as much as 30 to 40 percent cost savings, but customer satisfaction must be a key factor when making this decision, according to Gartner, Inc.

“Although offshoring an IT help desk may produce significant cost savings, IT management needs to determine whether that decision is right for the enterprise,” said Richard Matlus, research vice president for Gartner. “For most IT organizations, the help desk is the primary end-user-facing organization, so if end users are not satisfied with it, then it will have a negative effect on the IT organization.”

Based on informal client interviews, Gartner analysts found that offshore help desk service voice support services have experienced problems, particularly those located in India. The problems are focused on poor quality that can lead to significant customer dissatisfaction.

Four factors have been identified as the main contributors to the customer dissatisfaction:

• Client knowledge – When a help desk is internal, the client has its own employees supporting the help desk. These employees have access to internal communications which enable them to clearly understand their business and, therefore, support end users. When the help desk is outsourced, the service provider tries to capture the information into a knowledge database, but the information is not always kept up to date or easily understood.
• High turnover – A recent Gartner survey for all IT services showed that the worldwide attrition rate was 14.7 percent and offshore it was 22.1 percent. Although this can be a problem anywhere in the world, it can be extremely prevalent in low-cost countries where many IT job opportunities exist and many IT help desk agents will switch jobs for a small salary increase.
• Cultural differences – If a client has a problem, he or she will relate the problem over the phone, but because of cultural differences, the help desk agent may not interpret the problem and react in the most appropriate manner. For example, a client employee may have a problem on a PC and want to know how to fix it. Instead of explaining how to fix the problem, the offshore agent may take control of the employee’s PC and change the image without explaining how this was accomplished because the agent doesn’t want to insult the client. However, the client employee may be dissatisfied because he or she doesn’t learn what was wrong or how to fix the problem resulting in a need to call the help desk again in the future.
• Language dialects – Although Indian-based providers’ agents speak English, they are generally trained in U.K. English and may use British words or a more formal context, format, tone and enunciation. Because many clients are from North America, this adds to oral communication problems. This can cause frustration for the client and the agent, and lead to dissatisfaction with the help desk experience. However, when a help desk problem is sent via e-mail or on a Web chat site, this language problem is not a factor, and customer satisfaction is positive.

“Although quality in the first year of offshoring is likely to be poorer than domestic help desk solutions, if an enterprise can be patient, quality and customer satisfaction can reach acceptable levels that are on par with domestic service,” said Mr. Matlus. “This occurs more rapidly with global clients that have a multinational presence. If a client has perseverance and end users are tolerant, then an offshore help desk can be successful.”

Gartner offered key recommendations for enterprises to help ensure the success of an offshore help desk service:

• Assess and validate whether the offshore provider’s services can meet requirements.
• Review the service provider’s offshore practice for building and updating its knowledge database.
• Review the provider’s offshore service for cultural understanding, language proficiencies and employee turnover ratios.
• Talk to references using offshore help desk resources and ask what issues they may have encountered.
• Understand that the help desk may be the first line of IT support to your end users, so offshoring should not just be a cost decision.
• Evaluate low-cost onshore alternatives as well. The savings available from low-cost onshore and “nearshore” alternatives may negate the desire to go offshore.

Additional information is available in the Gartner report “Help Desk Outsourcing: Offshore Issues.” The report is available on Gartner’s Web site at http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=653218&subref=simplesearch.

Gartner analysts will further discuss outsourcing trends at the Gartner Outsourcing & Vendor Management Summit, taking place May 19-21 in Washington D.C. The Gartner Outsourcing & Vendor Management Summit is the only event that provides a comprehensive view of the entire outsourcing market — infrastructure, application and business process outsourcing, global delivery and the use of offshore providers, as well as issues and trends about new delivery models, such as software as a service. Many of the more than 50 content sessions will feature case studies and panel discussions presented by end users and industry professionals. For complete event details, please visit the Gartner Outsourcing & Vendor Management Summit Web site www.gartner.com/us/outsourcing.

Members of the media can register by contacting Christy Pettey at christy.pettey@gartner.com.

 

Contact:


Christy Pettey
Gartner
+1 408 468 8312
christy.pettey@gartner.com


About Gartner:
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the indispensable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 80 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.