The attractiveness of South Africa as offshore destination for call centre services (PDF)

Master's Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: 1.0, , language: English, abstract: This research report is entitled: "An investigation into the attractiveness of South Africa as offshore destination for call centre services to the UK". An important objective of this research report was to investigate the factors and key issues that determine South Africa's attractiveness to deliver offshore call centre services to the UK, largely from the perspective of existing call centre outsourcers with their recent and first-hand experience and expertise in this industry. The ultimate objective was to determine the attractiveness of South Africa for UK call centre offshoring.

To achieve the above, it was determined that a combination of qualitative, investigative research combined with a quantitative approach would be conducted with data gathering. Primary research was done by conducting in-depth interviews with individuals holding management positions with established call centre outsourcers in South Africa to determine the attractiveness of the location.

Overall, it was found that South Africa is averagely attractive for UK call centre service offshoring. Outsourcers highlight that at present offshoring is, because of the global economic climate, a very difficult market to be in. However, if South Africa addresses challenges successfully (e. g. skills shortage in middle management) it can build the right foundation to grow the industry for the future. The location is attractive as it offers cost savings when compared to the UK client market but other locations outperform South Africa in this respect. Therefore, the location is only attractive for a UK niche market as a cheaper but nonetheless premium location that delivers additional benefits relevant to UK business which other locations do not offer. These can be found in service delivery and quality and South Africa's alignment with Western industry standards.