24/7 & After hours Call Centre Answering Service
A list of call centre outsourcers and service providers that provide 24/7 call answering solutions including answering phone calls, emails and live chat services.
In these modern times, the traditional 9 am to 5 pm opening times for most businesses are no longer enough to service their customers. Society is now becoming used to the high availability of businesses and if you're not open, the next business they contact will be the competitor who is.
But running a 24/7 operations is expensive, especially in Australia where we have high labour costs and penalty rates for late-night workers.
Types of After Hours Call Answering Services
For larger businesses, it may simply be a matter of continuing to offer the same level of service offered during the day and extending that across a 24/7 period. For large volumes, this can be achieved with full-time dedicated staff or for lower volumes, your calls may be combined with other campaigns to save you money.
But it's not always required to provide the full level of service. Many businesses just operate a message taking service enabling the call to be answered with a live agent who takes a message and relays that to the day shift team for follow up the next day.
Ultimately there is no "one size fits all" solution - most of the providers have flexible models to help you achieve the right solution for your business.
Search suppliers who specialise in Virtual Reception and Message Taking services.
How to choose the right after hours provider
Engaging any business to handle your customers is a big decision. If you are looking to engage a provider to answer your after-hours calls some of the questions you can ask include:
- Are they currently handling any after-hours campaigns for other clients?
- How many staff work on the night shift?
- What level of security is available at the centre?
- Do they have experience in your industry vertical?
- Do they specialise in B2B or B2C?
- Can they offer offshore solutions?
- What type of technology do they have?
- Can they handle more than just telephone calls? Many providers now offer social media and live chat support 24/7.
- How do they relay messages for further actioning?
- How do they charge?
- Are calls recorded?
The providers listed below all provide 24/7 solutions and will be happy to answer your enquiries so just reach out and contact them directly. If you need some help, you may want to engage a contact centre consultant who can help you define your requirements and ensure you have the right framework in place for success.
Where to learn more
We have lots of free resources on our CX Central website including:
- The Complete Guide to Call Centre Outsourcing
- The Real Cost Guide to Outsourcing Your Call Centre
- Call Centre Calculator (how to calculate how many staff you need to meet Service Levels)
- Articles on Call Centre Outsourcing