The internet has drastically changed the expectations customers have from businesses. The 24-hour availability of websites and mobile apps has led people to expect a company representative to also be available around-the-clock. Now that companies can easily reach anyone from all around the world, around-the-clock care is important so that people in various time zones can get the help they need. For small to medium businesses, the expense and logistics of making a department of employees available at all times make it seem like an impossible task. The good news is that you do have more than one option for providing around-the-clock customer service.

Provide on-call client service

One option for around-the-clock service is to have an on-call CSR. This is a model commonly used in the medical industry. It can work well for small to medium-sized companies that get occasional calls outside of normal business hours. Typically, several people are put on an ‘on-call rotation’ so no one person has to be available 24 hours a day and 365 days per year. You can provide them with a phone they can take home and forward all calls to that phone number. As an example, if you have seven representatives, they can each have one day per week that they are responsible for the after-hours customer service calls. Or you can structure it so that each person has it for a few days in a row on a rotating basis. You can tailor the details of your on-call schedule to the needs of your business.

Build an in-house customer service team

An in-house CSR team is another method of providing around-the-clock help for your clients. In this model, you will have a “help desk” staff available at your location 24 hours per day. The amount of people you will need to employ depends entirely on the level of your client base’s needs. If you only need one rep available at a time, then theoretically you can be fully staffed with 3-4 people. However, if you have larger needs it could mean hiring a significant number of people in order to continuously field all of your calls. It is sometimes difficult to fully staff an around-the-clock in-house customer care department because you have to find employees who are willing to work the night or early morning shift.

Outsource your customer service needs

Outsourcing is a way to provide around-the-clock customer service without having to hire extra staff. When you choose an outsourcing company to help with this, you will work closely with them to develop a plan based on your needs and standards. Once you have a plan established, the outsourcing company will train their personnel so they can implement your plan, according to your guidelines. The outsourcing company will handle any additional hiring needs that come up to ensure that you have someone available around-the-clock. This frees you from the task of hiring, training, and overseeing an entire department. If your needs ever change, you can work with the outsourcing company to revise the plan to reflect those changes. A top-notch outsourcing agency will have a checks and balances system in place that you can monitor from time to time to ensure that they are providing the level of quality that you require.

The idea of providing 24-hour help is exhausting when you are unaware of all the options. If outsourcing your customer service needs sounds like the best method for your business, then you can get started with that process by requesting a callback from Infinit-O. We have the people and resources available to help you provide the help your client base has come to expect in this tech-savvy, “instant”-obsessed time.

Infinit-O is the trusted customer-centric and sustainable leader in Business Process Optimization to Small and Medium businesses in the Financial Services, Healthcare and Technology sectors by delivering continuous improvement through technology, data and people.