When Nearsol launched in 2006, we were focused primarily on building out excellent contact centers for the BPO industry for companies wanting to expand into Latin America. We haven’t forgotten those roots, and we believe that this has given us a real advantage over the years in understanding this process better than other firms who have been focused exclusively on their own needs at any given time. We’ve had the benefit of building out sixteen contact centers for other BPO clients in addition to building out sites to support the needs of cxperts, Nearsol’s full service BPO subsidiary.
Our extensive experience in site selection and build-out means that we know how to think carefully about any new locations – for our own operations or when advising a client. There is probably no other company operating in the contact center environment that has our depth of knowledge about site selection strategies.
There are some basic indicators that any company needs to think of when seeking a new site for a contact center operation, including:
Labor pool
The available supply of talent at present and the projected pipeline, particularly the numbers graduating from nearby universities.
Government support
Are tax-free deals or other incentives available to companies that are investing in new infrastructure and creating jobs?
Language proficiency
For which languages are you recruiting, and are they going to be available?
Infrastructure:
Public transport, internet, office buildings – everything about the physical requirements you need to run your customer service operation.
Costs
Are the local costs acceptable, and are they changing or stable?
Labor and unions
It’s worth understanding local labor laws even if you are going into the project with the aim of hiring people, creating jobs and opportunities. You need to understand any local requirements for managing your workforce in this new location.
These are the criteria you will read about in a book or business magazine. They are the bedrock of a site selection process, but if you are working with our team then there will be many more variables assessed. This blog is too short to give you the full picture, but here is just a sample of some of the additional angles we explore:
Population size inside 45 mins
Defining how many people live within committing distance of the center will be critical and then determining how many of those people are likely candidates – is the talent pool shallow or deep?
Unemployment
What is the local attitude to jobs – are they in short supply or do people have many options locally?
Other Contact Centers
Is the local market saturated with other companies or can we stand out as the first in the region? Alternatively, rivals may provide a source of talent if we are confident that people would prefer to work with us.
Airport
Is the location easily accessible for visiting clients?
Real Estate
What is the local real estate market like? Are there prime office spaces available, or is it preferable to obtain land and build?
Public transport
How easily can employees access the center? Is it in the city center or outside the city and therefore more reliant on regular bus or train services?
Quality of life
how happy are people in general in this location? Will a difficult environment impact on the service that can be provided from a customer service center?
Weather Incidents
Is there a risk of hurricanes or earthquakes? Is the risk acceptable or high?
Stability and Security
Is the government stable and are there security risks or other factors that need to be taken into account?
Once a location has been selected, then the fun begins. With the number of site build-outs Nearsol has done, we truly are experts at understanding fundamentals and best practices of building out a site that will be highly attractive, functional, and with a focus on positive experiences.
We take site selection seriously, and our processes have been refined over the past 15 years. Check out our website by clicking here. You can learn a lot more about our history in real estate and our approach to designing a fantastic employee and customer experience.
Please leave a comment here if you have any questions or get in touch directly via my LinkedIn.
