Varför befinner sig USA:s samhällsmodell i kris?
Under de senaste 2-3 åren har några av USA:s mest respekterade ekonomer, journalister och politiska kommentatorer publicerat böcker med budskapet att den amerikanska samhällsmodellen är i djup kris. Tyler Cowen, Brad deLong, Thomas Friedman, Paul Krugman, Jeffrey Sachs, Joseph Stiglitz och Fareed Zakaria är några av de mera kända (se litteraturlistan).
Det grundläggande budskapet hos alla dessa, låt vara att de har sina speciella vinklingar och ”betoningar”, är att den amerikanska samhällsmodellen under senare decennier har utvecklats i alldeles fel riktning, kort sagt att USA som land håller på att urholka sina förutsättningar att klara sig i den globala konkurrensen. Det investeras för lite i gemensamma resurser, i till exempel utbildning och infrastruktur, och de amerikanska politikerna är inte beredda att fatta de åtstramande och skattehöjande beslut som krävs för att få kontroll över statsskulden (som nu är över 100% av BNP, jfr med Sveriges statskuld på ca 40%). Och inkomstfördelningen har blivit snedare och snedare så till den grad att numera tar den procent av befolkningen som tjänar mest hand om 25% av alla inkomster, och ökar sina relativinkomster för varje år som går, medan det i andra änden av skalan idag finns kring 40 miljoner amerikaner, nästan en av fem, som måste få socialbidrag (”foodstamps”) för allt någorlunda överleva, långt flera än för tio år sedan. Den gemensamma nämnaren för de senaste 2-3 decenniernas utveckling är att det kollektiva, det gemensamma i det amerikanska samhället, har satts på svältkost medan det privata har fått ta för sig alltmera oreglerat, och utan hänsyn till om hela samhället i stort mår bra eller inte. Det är detsamma som att säga att USA idag kännetecknas av mycket stora underinvesteringar i kollektiva nyttigheter, allt från infrastruktur till utbildning, och i hjälp till de svaga i samhället att leva med sitt predikament, i bästa fall ta sig ur det.
Och det är bara den ekonomiska sidan av saken. Till det kommer tecknen på att fler amerikaner än tidigare mår dåligt, att de sociala problemen är större i USA än i något annat västland (som till exempel Wilkinson & Pickett övertygande har dokumenterat i sin bok The Spirit Level), att den omskrutna höga sociala rörligheten, ”arbeta hårt och spara och du kommer att lyckas”, inte längre existerar, i själva verket är det mycket svårare för en amerikan idag att socialt komma loss från sin föräldrageneration än vad som gäller i till exempel Europa, att den självklara politiska auktoritet som ligger i att vara världens största ekonomi håller på att urholkas, Kina kommer högst troligt att ha en större BNP än USA före 2020 etc. Allt detta, och mycket mer, bidrar till att känslan hos många amerikaner är att något är allvarligt fel. ”America today is not healthy”, som Thomas Friedman och Michael Mandelbaum skriver sammanfattningsvis i sin bok That Used to be Us.
Det mest allvarliga är att det inte blir någonting gjort åt situationen. Det i sin tur kokar ner till det politiska systemets handlingsförlamning. Polariseringen i kongressen i Washington DC är mer påtaglig än någonsin. Och att inte kunna komma till beslut i centrala politiska frågor är katastrofalt för landet, särskilt i en situation när andra länder, inte minst Kina, USA:s främsta rival om världshegemonin, arbetar för full maskin för att bli mer konkurrenskraftiga.
Hur har det kunnat bli så här? Varför har USA dessa problem? Ja, jag menar att det är två sammanfallande krafter som har verkat. Det har jag skrivit om i min bok Dagbok från USA. Anteckningar om en samhällsmodell i fritt fall (läs mera här)
”Small government”-strategin har nått vägs ände
För det första har det ekonomisk-politiska paradigm som sjösattes i början av 1980-talet med Ronald Reagan som politisk banérförare varit mycket väsentligt, närmast avgörande, för att det i USA under decennier underinvesterats i utbildning, infrastruktur och andra kollektiva varor. Det var trots allt Reagan som i sitt installationstal 1981 sa att ”government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem”. Denna ”small government-strategy” har dominerat amerikansk politik sedan 1980-talet. Det är inget konstigt med det. Det var säkert motiverat i meningen att regleringarna av marknaderna under de så kallade ”gyllene decennierna”, 1950- och 1960-talen, hade gått för långt, det hade blivit alltför mycket ”government” och alltför lite marknad. Det var rätt att avreglera och hårdare granska de offentliga budgeterna. Men med tiden gick också det här ekonomisk-politiska synsättet för långt. Kring sekelskiftet 2000 fanns det svaga signaler, i dag kan man se dem tydligt, som antydde att det mesta av det nya paradigmets kraft var borta. Det fanns tvärtom allvarliga problem med att släppa marknaderna än mer fria, det gällde framförallt finansmarknaderna. Efter finanskrisen 2008/2009 rådde det ingen tvekan hos många ekonomer, ”Reaganomics” hade nått vägs ände. Men som sagt, under tiden, under snart tre decennier, hade amerikansk politik, och det gäller för både republikaner och demokrater, idémässigt dominerats av ett synsätt där det närmast hade varit en politisk självklarhet, och för många libertarianer en politisk dygd, att det offentliga skall hållas kort. Och det skall tilläggas, att det synsättet, ”small government-strategy”, fortfarande har politisk majoritet i Washington. Det gör inte situationen lättare.
För det andra handlar det om hur det amerikanska politiska systemet, och vi talar då om kongressen, fungerar idag. Ett antal samverkande orsaker har gjort att kongressen har politiskt polariserats. Det har bland annat med historiska omständigheter att göra, till exempel att den starka falang av konservativa sydstatsdemokrater som tidigare fanns i praktiken har gått upp i det republikanska partiet. Eller uttryckt på annat sätt, republikanerna har med tiden blivit det mer renodlat konservativa partiet medan demokraterna har blivit det mer renodlat liberala partiet (där ”liberal” närmast skall tolkas som en blandning av socialliberalism och socialdemokrati i nordisk mening). Det har också påverkats av valtekniska förhållanden. Så kallad ”gerrymandering”, detta att valkretsindelningen anpassas så att respektive partis förutsättningar att vinna maximeras, har fått den, säkert oönskade, konsekvensen att de politiker som väljs har, visavi den politiska mitten, radikaliserats. Polariseringen har också blivit starkare av medias sätt att rapportera om politiken, av att sociala medier spelar en större roll för politiken, och av att de politiska partierna har fått mindre att säga till om relativt hur det var tidigare, med andra ord, den enskilde kongressledamoten har fått mera att säga till om. Eller som Fareed Zakaria uttrycker saken: ”Kongressen idag består av en samling av 535 oberoende politiska entreprenörer som sköter systemet med sina individuella intressen – det vill säga att bli omvalda – i högsätet. Hur man än mäter – i termer av lagförslag, tillägg, förslag om avskaffande av lagar – är systemet långt mer lyhört för varje enskild medlems nycker. Det är också långt mer lyhört för icke-medlemmar.”
Särintresset slår ut allmänintresset
Det senare leder över till det verkligt avgörande, det alla kritiker jag har läst är överens om, att särintressena, lobbyingkrafterna på Capitol Hill, har fått så mycket att säga till om i amerikansk nationell politik att de, med en viss överdrift, själva bestämmer vilka lagförslag som skall bli lag. Det gäller i första hand för de tunga lobbyingbranscherna, Big Oil, Big Health och Wall Street. Jeffrey Sachs redovisar i The Price for Civilization en tabell med hur mycket de stora lobbyingaktörerna satsar i pengar varje år, och konstaterar kärnfullt: ”The list of sectors in lobbying is like a who’s who of bad corporate behavior.”
Men om särintressena har fått mycket att säga till om i Washington DC, och om det verkar alla seriösa iakttagare således vara överens, är det tveklöst samma sak som att säga att allmänintresset har fått stå tillbaka. För särintresset står definitionsmässigt i motsatsställning till allmänintresset.
Det blir tydligt om man konkretiserar. Thomas Friedman skriver i This Used to be Us om en amerikansk småföretagare, Mike Biddle, som han träffade hösten 2010. Biddles företag sysslar med att återvinna gammal plast, “above ground mining” som han uttrycker det, vilket bland annat gjorde honom till vinnare av The Economist’s 2010 Innovations Award for Energy and Environment. Hans företag arbetar i Kina och Europa men inte i USA. Varför det frågar Friedman? Ja, det finns i USA ingen nationell lagstiftning som tvingar företagen att ta hand om sitt plastskrot, och det gör skillnad, det går inte få lönsamhet i verksamheten. Han berättar att han försökt påverka politikerna i Washington men motkrafterna, särskilt Big Oil, säger nej. Biddle avslutar med att säga:”Sometimes I feel like I have lost my country. It is just not that exiting to be an American right now.”
För att sammanfatta. USA har satt sig i ett svårt läge med alltför små investeringar i kollektiva nyttigheter, och med låg sannolikhet att kunna politiskt bli överens om att göra något åt saken. Det har blivit så av väsentligen två skäl. För det första har det ekonomisk-politiska paradigm som behärskat amerikansk politik sedan 1980-talets början (och för övrigt också dominerat många andra västländers politik), och som haft som politisk idé att minimera det gemensamma och det kollektiva, fått härska allt för länge. För det andra har denna ”small government-strategy” också fått näring, och politisk kraft, genom att allmänintresset trängts tillbaka av mycket starka särintressen.
Litteratur:
Cohen, S. S. & DeLong, J. B., 2010, The End of Influence, Basic Books, New York;
Cowen, T., 2011, The Great Stagnation, How America Ate All Low-hanging Fruit of Modern History, Got Sick, and Will (Eventually) Feel Better, Dutton, New York;
Friedman, T., L., & Mandelbaum, M., 2011, That Used to be Us, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York;
Pettersson, K.-H., 2012, Dagbok från USA, Anteckningar om en samhällsmodell i fritt fall, Livrel Publishing, Alingsås (kan laddas ner här)
Sachs, J., D., 2011, The Prize of Civilization, Random House, New York;
Stiglitz, J. E., 2009, Freefall, W. W. Norton & Company, New York;
Wilkinson, R. & Pickett, K., 2009, The Spirit Level, Penguin Books, London;
Zakaria, F., 2009, The Post American World, W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York;
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Top 10 Customer Support Outsourcing Companies in 2023 | Helpware
Outsourcing customer support is a great way to provide affordable but reliable service
to your clients. Whether for voice or non-voice
applications, there are plenty of excellent customer support…
Written by Dana Mahoney
Sunday, Jan 22
Table of Contents
Outsourcing customer support is a great way to provide affordable but reliable
service to your clients. Whether for voice or non-voice applications, there
are plenty of excellent customer support outsourcing companies that fit every requirement.
But then again, why even think about outsourcing? Isn’t local
talent good enough to provide the service needed by a company’s customers?
Plus, wouldn’t it be a disservice to customers if a company farms out its frontline operations to contractors?
What Is Customer Support Outsourcing?
By now, the best customer service companies should know the
value of customer support and why it’s an essential cog in an organization. Like sales and marketing, customer service should already be in play during
a company’s first day, as they are the group that comes into direct contact with clients.
The main goal of customer support is to keep customers happy by attending to their needs and responding to their
questions. However, it’s also a way to instill loyalty and
generate additional sales. To do so, an outsourcing company must have its support team available whenever the customer
needs it. Outsourcing customer support allows companies to maintain an around-the-clock service team managed by industry veterans and experts.
Advantages of Customer Support Outsourcing
Admittedly, not all company startups have leaders
who are experts in every facet of their operations. Given their
many responsibilities, many startup founders accept that they can’t do everything themselves.
Non-core competencies such as customer service can benefit from outsourcing.
Turning the service over to competent experts lets companies benefit from a bigger source of talent from all over
the world. At the same time, companies that outsource customer support enjoy
reduced payroll without sacrificing service quality.
Other benefits of outsourcing include:
More Opportunities to Grow the Business
By assigning customer support to expert outsourcing service providers, leaders can instead turn to scaling the business.
Overseeing the day-to-day operations can already take much
of management’s time, and customer support
is equally demanding. To help executives focus on the big picture, they’ll need to
partner with the best service companies that know what they’re doing.
Enhance Customer Experience
Given the opportunity to communicate and interact with customer service, many customers will express their satisfaction in getting their voices heard.
If customer service companies and their team address customers’
issues in a satisfactory way, they’re more than likely to
remain customers.
A pleasant customer experience will almost always lead to longer retention and a
significantly higher customer lifetime value (CLV).
This isn’t to say a stellar customer experience is only possible through outsourcing.
Rather, the chances of improving customer satisfaction come
with a continuous and consistent level of service. Providing a highly specialized, dedicated
team of professionals from day one is a great way to achieve this
quickly.
Top 10 Customer Support Outsourcing Companies
We’ve narrowed down the list of companies with
great customer service to the top 10 most prominent ones in 2022.
We’ll also provide a brief description and highlight the main strong points of each outsourcing company.
1. Helpware
Helpware started in 2015 with the initial goal of providing support to startup companies.
Over the years, the company has grown big and is confident enough
to provide both enterprise and small business customer
service outsourcing solutions.
Providing back office, technical, and customer support, Helpware specializes in assisting companies in various support areas.
This includes Omnichannel Customer Support,
Technical & IT Support, Content Moderation, CX Consulting Services, Back Office Support, Data Labeling,
Digital Marketing Solutions, and Cyber Security. The
company provides only dedicated agents, in-house training, and equipment to help its clients boost their productivity from
day one. Now it’s one of the top customer service companies in the
US and European markets with numerous awards and positive reviews from
satisfied clients on Clutch and other reputable platforms.
Helpware’s people-focused culture seems very attractive to businesses sharing the same philosophy.
Pros:
Shows outstanding flexibility when providing for clients’ specific needs.
This means its support can scale along with your company’s
growth.
Offers turn-key solutions, so you don’t have to look for either option separately.
Helpware’s focused on developing its people and their skills and it pays off handsomely, especially in customer support outsourcing contracts.
Some global brands are happy to have their customer support outsourced to Helpware.
2. Sykes
U.S.-based Sykes is one of the pioneers of the BPO
industry. Established in 1995, the company trailblazed its way
to the top and was one of the first BPOs to open multiple locations.
In 2021, the Sitel Group acquired Sykes to widen its reach and increase its capacity.
Sykes is one of the top 10 service companies and leading
service providers of demand generation and customer engagement services,
with clients included in the top 2000 companies
worldwide. At the core of Sykes’ business are its staple services: outsourcing,
customer experience, service to sales, digital transformation, and brand extension.
Pros:
Sykes maintains a pool of service agents from its clients’ home countries.
The company is well-versed in matters concerning data privacy.
Specifically, Sykes follows various privacy guidelines, including HIPAA compliance
and Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security certification.
3. Ascensos
Founded in 2013 in the UK, Ascensos is one of those outsourced customer service companies that wanted to change the customer experience by
applying a personal touch to customer care.
The company is now Europe’s number-one customer support outsourcing company,
providing bespoke customer experience solutions to clients around the world.
In addition, its contact center operation locations include the UK, Romania, Turkey, and South Africa.
Pros:
Ascensos is more nearshore than an offshore support center, so location and time zone differences aren’t as pronounced as operations in Asia and South America.
Companies that outsource customer service to Ascensos value the
fact that it supports diversity and inclusivity among staff while focusing on promoting happiness as a key asset among its workforce.
Although there aren’t any published pricing rates, instead, Ascensos
will individually respond to requests for quotes, the prices of this outsourcing customer service company are more than affordable.
4. Teleperformance
With more than 40 years of experience in the BPO
industry, Teleperformance is an established leader in solution design, business optimization strategies, and front-office customer support.
It also offers back-office services such as finance and accounting, collections,
and technical support.
Pros:
Teleperformance is a truly global service provider.
It operates in 80 countries and employs more than 330,000 agents speaking over 265
languages and deservedly belongs to a league of
good customer service companies. You won’t find it difficult to get support in the language and location you require.
Clients also appreciate the company’s expertise in providing omnichannel solutions.
5. VXI
VXI Global Solutions is one of those outsourcing agencies that offer
customer care and customer experience (CX) solutions to some of today’s major global
brands. In addition, the company offers contact center and
BPO services, omnichannel and multilingual support, software development,
CX innovation, quality assurance (QA), and infrastructure outsourcing.
VXI employs more than 35,000 workers in 43 countries throughout
North America, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean.
The company also prides itself on its ability to help clients resolve major CX and employee experience (EX) pain points and take their customer service
systems to the next level. Like any modern BPO, VXI employs omnichannel support services to enhance communication coverage for clients.
Also, VXI provides additional analytics and insights generation services so clients can learn as they go.
Pros:
High CX expertise leads to enhanced customer and employee experience.
VXI displays an uncanny ability to scale up or down to fit its client’s capabilities.
6. InfluX
In its quest to build the world’s first
remote-only CX team, InfluX managed to recruit employees from more than 120 cities worldwide.
This strategy also lets them provide 24-hour customer support
outsourcing solutions within the client’s time zone.
In addition, InfluX creates specialized customer
experiences that reflect the client’s vision, voice, and values.
Pros:
Less dependence on automation and more on human interaction make for a better customer experience.
Having employees in every time zone solves the common offshore problem of mismatched time schedules between clients and outsourcing companies.
Pay-as-go pricing may be attractive to some clients who prefer flexible packages.
7. Skycom
Skycom is also on the list of nearshore outsourcing companies that specialize in multi-continent support services.
The company employs native English contact center agents with experience in multiple industries.
Skycom also offers a full range of services, including business process outsourcing, telemarketing and sales,
customer support, and healthcare. With more than 15 years
of experience, Skycom also employs over 2,000 workers assigned to 35 clients in five countries.
Pros:
Nearshore operations mean fewer problems dealing with time zone and
distance differences.
Skycom covers a wide range of industries, including
healthcare, travel, utilities, IT, finance, retail, and telecommunications.
8. Integra
Integra’s differentiator is its focus on training its workforce in customer psychology.
This means company-provided support agents are more
sensitive in detecting changes in the customer’s voice or tone.
As a result, they can respond to these changes to defuse any tension and lead the customer into a more positive mindset.
Starting with four employees in 2004, Integra currently employs more than 1,
400 workers stationed across four countries. It handles customer
service duties over the phone, email, live chat, or social media.
Pros:
Integra offers some of the most cost-effective solutions in the industry.
Sales psychology is also an incredible asset to have if you work
in a customer support outsourcing company.
9. Telus
Telus International is one of the world’s leading digital
CX innovators. In particular, it designs and produces next-generation digital solutions for brands all over the world.
This is one of the Canadian top IT outsourcing companies that provide IT services and multilingual customer service to industries such as technology, media, communications, eCommerce,
financial technology, travel, hospitality, automotive, healthcare,
and games.
Pros:
Telus International is a premium multilingual contact center.
It is one of those IT support outsourcing companies that offer
top-tier customer support services in various countries and more
than 50 languages.
Telus is famous among IT services outsourcing companies for
organizing an annual charitable initiative called “Telus Days of Giving.” In particular, the company taps 225,000 volunteers from its offices to complete various service projects
across its many host countries.
10. Arise
Arise is a 25-year-old United States-based company that specializes in providing support outsourcing services
across the USA. It employs more than 60,000 remote agents in the U.S., Canada, and the United
Kingdom. Unlike a traditional BPO, Arise utilizes a network of service partners to provide the needed customer service experiences.
In addition, the Arise Platform helps companies lower expenses.
As a result, Arise clients report an average 25% reduction in contact center service
total costs, which is why clients want to outsource
customer service small business really needs.
Pros:
Arise deploys a tiered security approach in its communications with clients.
This ensures they preserve the confidentiality of documents or files sent
over. It also means Arise conforms to widely accepted
data privacy regulations such as HIPAA, CCPA, and others.
Arise also focuses its employment on local talent, hiring residents
of the U.S., UK, and Canada. This means stable employment for the company and an easier method of hiring
or replacing staff members.
Choose the Best Outsourcing Companies That Fit Your Needs
Deciding which outsourcing providers to contact for your customer support outsourcing needs?
Perform the necessary research before settling on your choice.
For instance, some customer service outsource companies on our list might command a pricing structure
higher than what your budget holds.
In addition, consider your company’s specific requirements and areas for improvement.
Do you need a customer support team focused on CX?
Or, do you prefer having sales psychology-trained outbound callers who can close deals?
Finally, does the appeal of higher-cost nearshoring resonate better than offshore talents
a few time zones away?
No one-size-fits-all solution exists when it comes to customer support outsourcing.
However, if you want a highly flexible and secure customer service solution that utilizes modern technology throughout the various stages, try
the best companies for customer service. These largest outsourcing companies not
only supply the best talent, but also the best equipment and training to prepare them.
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