Choosing Between Onshore and Nearshore Call Center Outsourcing

Outsourcing services are ideal for businesses that want to save time and money while enhancing the customer experience. The Harvard Business Review states that companies can reduce costs by 20%–30% by outsourcing their business processes.

By partnering with an outsourcing provider that boasts highly trained customer service agents, your in-house team can focus on other important daily tasks. However, your results may differ slightly depending on whether you choose a nearshore or domestic outsourcing partner.

At Radius Global Solutions, we offer onshore, nearshore, and offshore outsourcing services. This allows our clients to choose the option that best suits their unique needs. But which solution is right for your organization? Read on to find out.

What is Onshore/Domestic Outsourcing?

An onshore or domestic contact center outsourcing provider delivers services in the same country as your company. But the onshore outsourcing service provider may not be located in the same state or even time zone as your business. For example, your company in New York may work with our onshore call center in Texas.

Onshore options appeal to many business owners because it’s close to home. That means less potential friction with customers as a result of accents and time zone differences. However, it’s worth noting that cultural differences rarely pose an issue for Radius customers regardless of our agents’ locations.

It can also be easier to collaborate with domestic call centers since they’re not far away from your company. This is ideal for business owners who prefer a partner that they can potentially meet with in person. But in the age of video calls, regular check-ins are streamlined for both domestic and nearshore customers.

Advantages of Onshore BPO Services

Thinking an onshore outsourced customer care team is the right choice for you? Here are just a few advantages of a domestic BPO partnership:

• Convenient travel for training or collaboration
• Easy communication due to the same or close time zones
• No risk of confusion resulting from accents or cultural differences
• Customers and agents can easily relate to each other, allowing for maximized customer satisfaction

With all of these benefits, you may be wondering why a company in the United States wouldn’t choose an onshore provider. The main reason is that domestic outsourced services are typically more expensive than nearshore or offshore options.

Labor costs are higher for domestic employees, leading to a higher overall outsourcing price tag. Concerned about keeping costs down? Nearshore outsourcing may be the better option for you.

What is Nearshore Outsourcing?

A nearshore outsourcing partner is not in the same country as your business, but they’re very close by. Nearshore providers for companies in the United States are often located in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, or Jamaica.

Depending on where your business is located, these nearshore providers may be in the same time zone. For example, if your organization is in Kansas City, a call center in Panama City will be in the same time zone as your in-house team.

Nearshore contact center agents typically speak fluent English as well as Spanish or French depending on their location. Although they may not live in the United States, they often have either lived there before or traveled there more than once. This means that they’re likely to understand American references without any trouble.

Advantages of Nearshore Outsourcing Services

Outsourcing your essential business processes to a nearshore location has many benefits, including:

• Location is potentially closer to your business than onshore (depending on your proximity to the border)
• Less expensive labor costs compared to onshore
• Nearshore agents are often familiar with American culture or even from the U.S., reducing language/cultural barriers
• Agents are often bilingual or multilingual
• Customers experience little to no issues understanding agents’ accents

Nearshore contact centers also provide a better environment for recruiting. Call center jobs in many countries outside the US are considered long-term careers, resulting in a more stable workforce.

The more familiar your customers are with your agents, the better their relationships will be. And better relationships = higher quality customer experiences = improved retention.

One of the key advantages of nearshore outsourcing is the ease of integrating technology across borders. Utilizing cloud-based platforms and unified communication tools can bridge the physical distance, ensuring seamless operations and real-time collaboration between your home office and nearshore teams.

This technology integration supports consistent training, quality assurance, and management oversight, enhancing the overall efficiency of customer service operations.

Which Outsourcing Solution is Best for Your Business?

As we’ve discussed, both nearshore and domestic outsourcing have their benefits and challenges. Many businesses prefer to outsource their business processes to an onshore operation to avoid potential cultural or language differences.

Onboarding can also potentially be more efficient with an onshore option. The further away from home you go, the fewer face-to-face interactions you may have. But if this is not a priority for your company, nearshore outsourcing services can drive quality results as well while keeping costs down.

Nearshore facilities are an excellent option. Cost savings are a primary reason that businesses choose nearshore outsourcing. Additionally, nearshore agents are often more likely to speak multiple languages. This can allow your brand to serve a wider audience.

When choosing between onshore and nearshore outsourcing, it’s crucial to consider the potential impact on customer satisfaction. Conducting regular customer feedback surveys can help gauge the effectiveness of each model in terms of service quality and customer experience. These insights can guide strategic adjustments to your outsourcing practices, ensuring alignment with customer expectations and business objectives.

Either option can be instrumental in your efforts to build a more streamlined, customer-centric, profitable business for years to come.

Your Global Business Process Outsourcing Partner

Still not sure which outsourcing solution is right for you? Radius Global Solutions is a trusted global outsourcing provider with onshore, nearshore, and offshore locations. All of our contact center agents are extensively trained to deliver personalized customer care for multiple industries.

We tailor our services to help ensure that your business goals are met while adhering to local rules and regulations. Reach out to us today to discuss the best strategy for your organization.