SA call centre agents ‘most costly'
BY IAIN SCOTT, ITWEB FINANCE EDITOR
[Johannesburg, 18 August 2005] - SA is the highest-cost location for call centre agents in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and one of the most expensive in the world, according to a study by market analyst group Datamonitor.
The report, “The Global Offshore Cost Assessment”, analyses costs in major offshore and nearshore markets including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Egypt, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, Singapore and SA.
Its findings indicate that Latin America provides the lowest offshore agent price, while Canada and SA provide the most costly on a per agent basis.
However, call centre and customer relationship management analyst Peter Ryan, who authored the report, says this is not all bad news for Canada and SA.
“Considering the legacy of contact centre offshoring in Canada and SA, investors will pay a higher price per agent. However, they will generally be guaranteed an excellent quality of labour as well as technology that is second to none.”
The report explains that the costs in SA are driven by agent sophistication and the appreciation of the rand.
Egypt is the most price-competitive market in EMEA because of its scalability and relative immaturity, while India and the Philippines are the most cost-competitive locations in the Asia Pacific region.
Sign up with Google