5.16 billion: this is the number of Internet users on the planet. That’s about 64% of the world population. Of these, 4.76 billion are on social media. These numbers alone demonstrate the immense importance of technology and digital services in our lives. For a company, social networks and the internet are important vectors of visibility and marketing. According to a McKinsey Institute study, a company that uses digitalization grows 5 times faster than others. It’s a fact: digitalization drives growth in a company. Why? Find out below:

Retain customers and attract new ones

On the business side, technology has profoundly changed customer relationships. Indeed, digital technology breaks the distance barrier, which revolutionizes customer service for both customers and companies. Exchanges become easier, faster and more personalized. Customers are more satisfied: they no longer have to travel to get an advisor to answer their questions. Moreover, information and news about the company are more accessible (social media, newsletter, etc). The company, too, finds many advantages in digitalization. It can offer its customers personalized support, highlight its products and offers through different tools (videos, photos, stories, tutorials…), share information instantly, be innovative and attract its customers with modern strategies, widen its target audience thanks to an increased visibility and others. Moreover, nowadays, for a company, being present on the Internet is also a way to reassure customers: when this is not the case, the company tends to look shady. Digitalization allows a company to retain its customers, to attract new customers, but also to face the competition by making sure to stand out from the others. This is all essential for the proper functioning and development of a company.

Note: It is recommended that a company responds to negative customer feedback. This shows its involvement and commitment to improving its services and products.

Reduce costs and save time: a perk for the development of your business

Digitalization has many advantages for a company. Among them is cost reduction. Indeed, all investments made on digital media will turn out to be less expensive than via traditional media. A McKinsey study highlights the fact that digitizing information-rich processes can reduce costs by up to 90%. The amount of money spent on corporate communication can also be reduced, as well as operational costs. For example, the cloud is one of the essential digital tools for companies to save money: it allows a company to store its data securely and instantly; there is no need to invest in hardware that takes up space and requires maintenance costs. As you can see, the savings made thanks to digital technology allows a company to invest more money in the development of its activity. Moreover, this mode of operation has the advantage of freeing up time for a company thanks to the automation of actions and processes. This saved time offers the opportunity to a company to focus on other aspects of its business and, thus, to evolve.

Increase your productivity

Digital is a powerful tool requiring minimum effort. Indeed, with just a few taps, it gives you access to a large scale market. There are no more borders: thanks to digital, a company can reach people from all over the world. This naturally leads to more customers and therefore more sales for the company. Innovative solutions such as mobile applications or 3D visualization can be made available to customers. Online payment is also a major innovation: it allows clients to make purchases and sales at any time without leaving their house. For a company, this considerably increases its productivity.

A boost to innovation in a company

Today, to develop a business, traditional methods are no longer enough. Digital is more than necessary to achieve this. In addition to all the advantages stated above, digitalization is also a good way for a company to innovate. Indeed, digital is useful to collect customers’ opinions, to make statistics, to access digital data flows or to be aware of the latest news and new trends. Technology allows a company to analyze the market and to know what works, but also to determine its weak points and the aspects to improve. To put it simply, innovation aims to bring a company better collective intelligence and new internal capabilities. To benefit from this, nothing could be simpler: all you have to do is find all the potential in the data.

Contact us!

Whether it is for web agencies, e-commerce sites, digital marketing specialists, start-ups, pure players, etc., outsourcing can be a difficult decision to make, but by entrusting your image retouching needs to a reliable service provider recognized for the quality of its services, your company will gain a partner it can count on to develop and survive in a highly competitive context.

With several decades of experience, ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to our trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable companies that choose us to gain flexibility and reduce their operating costs, which are currently important in the midst of an economic recession.

To find out more about our services, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

When it comes to recruitment, companies often make the mistake of thinking that there are only two options : internal recruitment process or recruitment via a firm specialized in the field. However, there is another option that is forgotten too often: outsourcing your recruitment process to an external service provider. Whether you are a small, medium or large company, BPO offers many advantages.

Why outsource your recruitment process?

Recruitment within a company is an important task that should not be taken lightly. According to a study by ManPower, HR Voice and Opensourcing, the cost of a failed recruitment process is between €30,000 and €150,000. The recruitment process must therefore be well planned and well executed if the company is to benefit from it. So why should a company outsource this activity?

To free up and save time

One of the first reasons that pushes companies to delegate their recruitment process to an external service provider is the fact that it allows them to save a considerable amount of time. Indeed, this task can eat up most of your time of the day. By choosing to outsource this activity, a company frees up its time and can focus on other functions, sometimes with higher added value.

Overcome challenges faced with internal recruitment

Another reason why companies choose to outsource recruitment is because of the difficulties they face during internal recruitment processes. Too much recruitment volume, low visibility, lack of feedback from candidates, attracting profiles not suitable for the position or the search for profiles that are nowadays hard to find… There are several reasons behind a company’s struggles when carrying out its recruitment internally. To overcome these obstacles, it is interesting to call upon the expertise of an external service provider who, thanks to his experience, will be able to give or restore a breath of air to the recruitment process of a company.

A lack of internal resources

Often, a company will resort to outsourcing an activity because it does not have the necessary internal resources to do so. Within a company, recruitment is a task that can be quite costly. To conduct this activity, it is generally necessary to invest funds to obtain certain resources, resources which are not free and sometimes do not fit into the company’s budget. Outsourcing your recruitment to an external service provider who already has all the necessary resources is a good way to optimize your chances of recruiting.

The benefits of outsourcing your recruitment process

Tailor-made support

Recruitment process outsourcing has many advantages for a company. One of the biggest benefits is that it allows the company to enjoy personalized support. Indeed, the external service provider will take the time to understand the company’s wishes and needs, to become familiar with its values and to precisely determine the profiles it wishes to reach. This type of support helps a company find the best strategy for its recruitment process.

Targeting high potential candidates

As mentioned above, outsourcing their recruitment process is a good way for a company to have access to new resources (paid resume libraries, ad sponsorship, premium account on LinkedIn, etc.). These are very effective and allow the external service provider to find candidates with the ideal profile for the position in question.

Gaining visibility

Another benefit of outsourcing is that it gives more visibility to a company. Indeed, the external service provider has quite an important network where he will spread information about the company. This strategy not only improves the visibility and the image of the company, but also provides an answer to the queries of candidates trying to understand the stakes of the position to be filled and to better know the company where they will eventually apply.

Make savings

Outsourcing is highly valued by companies, especially for its economic advantages. Indeed, it is estimated that the cost of recruitment is four to five times lower when a company outsources this activity. This is largely due to the efficiency of the outsourcing process, which significantly reduces recruitment time. In fact, according to statistics from HR Magazine, outsourcing can reduce lead times by an average of 30% to 50%. This means less time is spent searching for a candidate and therefore less money is needed to invest.

Recruitment Process Outsourcing at ProContact

“We take care of recruitment process outsourcing. The missions related to this are diverse and varied. The one more frequently in demand is helping sort out CVs. More specifically, we help a company sort through the CVs of candidates and retain only those who are in the target”, explains Bénédicte Bathurst, the General Manager of ProContact. However, recruitment process outsourcing does not stop there. It can also involve the following tasks:

• Description of the position and the drafting of the position’s roles and responsibilities and the job offer
• Distribution of the job offer on various networks
• Handling incoming candidates’ resumes
• Evaluation of candidates and/or pre-selection of the best candidates
• Conducting hiring interviews
• Choosing the talent to be recruited

Contact us!

At ProContact, we work closely with you to include recruitment process outsourcing in your business strategy. We can offer you an unprecedented adaptation of your way of working thanks to the arrival of resources located elsewhere, without losing time, money or quality.

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable the companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation and in complete transparency.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services and for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

New rules on cold calling have come into effect since January 1, 2023. One of the biggest changes for call centres is the ban on commercial canvassing from a mobile number. In addition, the use of telephone numbers beginning with the prefixes 06 or 07 is prohibited. These numbers are now “exclusively reserved for the service of interpersonal communications”, announced Arcep, the French regulatory authority for electronic communications, posts and press distribution, in September 2022. The idea behind these restrictions is to better protect people against abuse and fraud. Thus, call centres have been assigned a list of telephone numbers reserved for cold calling.

According to the new national numbering plan produced by Arcep, these numbers must begin with:

• 0162, 0163, 0270, 0271, 0377, 0378, 0424, 0425, 0568, 0569, 0948, 0949 (Metropolitan France)
• 09475 (Guadeloupe, St-Martin and St-Barthélemy)
• 09476 (Guyana)
• 09477 (Martinique)
• 09478, 09479 (Reunion and Mayotte)

In the same way, even in the case of sending messages on behalf of a commercial outlet to its customers, whether it is to establish necessary contact (parcel delivery, announcing the arrival of a delivery driver, automated appointment reminder, etc.), call centres are obliged to use numbers starting with 0937 to 0939.

More changes to come?

By March 1, 2023, the rules will be strengthened again regarding cold calling by limiting it to specific days and times. As of this date, call centres will no longer be able to call or send unsolicited text messages on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. They will be allowed to make calls from Monday to Friday, but only from 10 am to 1 pm and from 2 pm to 8 pm. Outside of these hours and time slots, call centres are only allowed to solicit the prospect if they have obtained his prior consent. In addition to these restrictions, they are not allowed to contact a prospect for commercial prospecting more than 4 times a month.

In the event that the prospect explicitly refuses the canvassing during the conversation, call centres will only be able to renew a call after a period of sixty completed calendar days from the refusal.

It is important to note that any violation of these new laws is punishable by an administrative fine. The maximum amount can reach 75,000 euros for an individual and 375,000 euros for a legal entity.

ProContact’s director is optimistic about the changes

Faced with the new laws and those that will come in the following months, Bénédicte Bathurst, ProContact’s General Manager, is optimistic: “These new rules will not really change our way of working. In the best case, they will allow us to have better results”, she explains with enthusiasm. Indeed, regarding the days and new time slots for cold calling the director firmly states: “Even before these rules appeared, we were already working very ethically. We didn’t make calls on Saturdays and only worked during the week. Where there will be some adjustment for us is in the time between noon and two during which we usually work. Similarly, the fact that we will have to call a prospect no more than four times, or even twice if he asks for it, is completely understandable for us. In fact, even before this regulation, if a prospect asked us not to contact them again, we would automatically put them on the blacklist so that they would not be contacted again” she explains.

Moreover, the prohibition of calling with numbers with 06 and 07 prefixes is not a stumbling block for ProContact: “We used these numbers with very few customers and using numbers dedicated by Arcep henceforth is not a problem for us. We will also soon be allocated verified numbers. In other words, the operators will give us number ranges with which we can continue our activity. The people on the other end of the line who pick up the phone will know that it is a call centre. For us, these verified numbers are a real advantage. Before, our numbers were often blacklisted by the operators. But with these dedicated numbers, we will no longer have this problem and therefore, we will be much more reachable”, says Bénédicte Bathurst.

Nevertheless, the ever-increasing number of new rules concerning cold calling is pushing the director to gradually review her working methods: “We are aware that telephone prospection is going to become increasingly difficult. The future of our profession will be the creation of inbound leads. It will be about calling people who want to be called. To do this, we can, for example, approach prospects on websites where they can indicate whether they want to be contacted. This strategy allows us to have the consumer’s consent and thus, to be in accordance with the law”, she confides.

Contact us!

At ProContact, we work closely with you to include this solution in your business strategy. We can offer you an unprecedented adaptation of your way of working thanks to the arrival of resources located elsewhere, without losing time, money or quality.

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable the companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation and in complete transparency.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services and for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 77 75 04 50.

Establishing a social media strategy is nowadays a must in this Web 2.0 era. Indeed, in France, the digital world has 58 million Internet users, including 39 million social media users, and 82% of the latter use mobile medium. The figures speak for themselves: these new digital spaces hold an important place in our society.

The role of a Community Manager

Needless to say, the use of social media has become essential for a company to promote itself and its identity. In short, social network sites represent the showcase of the company’s products, marketing strategy and image!

Social media management is carried out by a Community Manager and like any job, it should not be taken lightly! It is necessary to have the specific expertise and skills for this role. Being passionate about human interaction, statistics and a sense of detail are considerable assets for a Community Manager. His daily tasks are mainly:

• Being regular in the posts uploaded on social networking sites
• Posting quality content
• Conveying messages that reflect the image of your company
• Implementing a communication strategy aimed at a specific target audience
• Adapting posts to the platform used
• Determining the ideal time to relay information

But the work does not end here. The Community Manager must also successfully build community loyalty, prepare reports, monitor the competition, etc. Community management is a full-fledged job that requires a significant investment of time and energy. What are the advantages for a company to outsource its social media management? More details below:

Target a wider audience

As a real exchange platform, social media is an important lever for the visibility of a company. It is estimated that 74% of Internet users use Facebook for professional purposes. Also, social networking sites are an important source of traffic for your company’s website. Indeed, sharing links via social media helps with search engine optimisation (SEO), prompting more visits on the website. And this, whether at the launch of your site or during its optimisation. Thus, a company that outsources its social media management will have the opportunity, thanks to the expertise of a Community Manager, to benefit from a better link building and SEO, thus reaching more Internet users.

Expertise in the area that optimizes social media management

To be successful on social media, a well-established strategy is necessary. Outsourcing this skill to an expert allows a company to be on the cutting edge of technology. The Internet is in constant evolution. Versatile and constantly on the lookout, the Community Manager is always up to date. He will know how to adapt to changes and new trends while maintaining the brand identity of the company on social networking sites. This web expert will take care of the management of digital platforms in real time and guarantee constant animation and updates. He will be able to show creativity according to the field and the target audience and to find the right tone to adopt in order to make the company’s identity shine through. Thus, from the creation of qualitative content to the follow-up of the editorial calendar, the CM takes care of everything. Outsourcing social media management is also a good way for a company to open up to and access new perspectives. With hindsight, the CM will be able to be innovative.

Word of caution: outsourcing the mission does not mean that the company does not intervene in the process. The external CM is in charge of managing the different platforms by creating content from the information transmitted by the company. This means that the company must provide several elements as raw material such as photos, news, the calendar of upcoming promotions, etc.

Time to focus on the core business

The more a company is present on many digital platforms, the more time it has to spend managing them. Creating posts, sharing them, but also answering private messages and comments under publications are tasks that take up a lot of space in the agenda. Moreover, to create a solid social media influence, it has to be managed full time. This is made possible by outsourcing, which at the same time frees up time for companies to focus on their core business and to invest more seriously in other areas.

To increase profits

The goal of being present and active on social media is of course to increase profit. Outsourcing allows a company to benefit from an increased flexibility and to control its costs by calling upon a Community Manager only when needed. This way of working avoids the need for the company to dedicate a full-time position to this role internally. Goodbye salary and employer’s charges! Secondly, outsourcing social media management will allow a company to increase its turnover indirectly. Better social media management implies a greater impact on a wider audience. And the more the audience feels close to the company, the more it wants to consume its products! This simple logic shows that a company can easily attract a larger number of buyers thanks to the influence of social media.

Contact us!

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation and in complete transparency.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services and for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.

Within the last two years, more and more companies have opted for a better management of their internal resources. This is done by adding outsourcing to their operations. By opting for this strategy, they benefit from knowledge, expertise and skills that are either not available in-house or in local candidates.

Not all companies have the capacity to build in-house teams or the budget to hire additional resources, either in the short or long term. This is where outsourcing comes in. While outsourcing has countless benefits, it requires careful preparation and consideration in every aspect.

In its article “Top Three Mistakes Clients Make When Hiring A Dedicated Software Development Team”, Forbes identifies the three most common mistakes companies make when hiring outsourced, dedicated software development teams. But at ProContact, we’ve found that this pattern is perfectly applicable to any outsourcing project. Here’s how to make your project successful.

Why are companies outsourcing more and more?

Outsourcing certain services and tasks allows companies to quickly and easily recruit trained and skilled people to handle specific needs. This solution is sufficiently well-stocked to allow said companies to choose the positions to be delegated, while adapting the number of resources to their real needs. An added benefit is that this comes at controlled costs, often more interesting than traditional recruitment.

What are the financial benefits of outsourcing?

No company is spared from budget constraints. Compared to traditional recruitment, outsourcing allows you to rationalize your expenses in several ways:

• With controlled costs;
• A concrete reduction of risks;
• A great improvement in efficiency;
• Faster results;
• The possibility to have new development perspectives;
• Quick and efficient access to talent beyond local borders;
• Support from a provider with real expertise.

So, what are the three mistakes to avoid when outsourcing according to Forbes?

It’s a given that recruiting outsourced resources is a quick and easy task to implement. But to achieve this result, organization, transparency, communication and caution are required. There are three main mistakes that can quickly muddy the waters and derail the outsourcing project. These are:

Lack of a concrete plan

The success of an outsourcing project depends on a solid strategy. As a client, the company needs to know its own objectives to be able to develop a powerful strategy and communicate it to its outsourcing provider. Therefore, it must first define its problem(s) in a concrete way, by analyzing each aspect.

Recruiting the first service provider that comes along

The idea is not to work with the first provider that comes along, but to deal with several in order to narrow down the selection. Make a very thorough comparison, not to find yet another supplier, but to find a real partner who will support the company.

The right questions to ask yourself at this stage of the process are:

• What are my requirements for the project?
• What are my objectives?
• Who is the final recipient of my needs?
• What roles should I include in my outsourced team?
• When should the service start?
• Can the cost difference be a deal breaker?

Answer these questions in the form of an outline or even a summary to begin refining the project’s details. The goal of this exercise is to effectively pull your ideas together, thus avoiding confusion, miscommunication or misinterpretation.

Not looking at past performance of potential providers

Today, it is a must to compare everything! This is a very good thing, since this exercise allows you to verify and judge the credibility of a company. Larger investments, such as outsourcing one or more services, warrant such in-depth research. Learn how to evaluate your outsourcing provider!

Her are Forbes’ advice regarding the provider:

• Have they worked in your field or industry before?
• Will they understand the product?
• Do they understand their purpose?
• Do they understand your users?

Failure to identify communication and collaboration channels

As with any type of partnership, a business relationship also requires effective communication. Therefore, from the very beginning of the outsourcing service, it is vital to establish some ground rules for yourself and the team. This is done by asking yourself the following questions, as Forbes reminds us:

• How involved do you want to be throughout the outsourcing process?
• How often do I need to be informed?
• Which team member(s) would I like to have as a point of contact?
• Am I more comfortable with Zoom meetings, Skype calls, emails or text messages?

Contact us!

How can we help your company get through the outsourcing process at ProContact? Outsourcing is our business: count on us and our agents to help you plan, set your objectives and targets! At ProContact, we work closely with you to include this concrete, proven solution in your business strategy. We can offer you an unprecedented adaptation of your way of working thanks to the arrival of resources located elsewhere, without losing time, money or quality…quite the contrary!

ProContact is more than a contact centre. Thanks to trained, qualified, hand-picked and multilingual agents, we enable the companies that choose us to gain credibility and above all to satisfy their customers, regardless of the situation and in complete transparency.

Outsourcing has become a tangible and concrete business strategy for the development of the company. To find out more about our services and for a quality partnership, click on our contact form, send us an e-mail or call us on (+33) 1 84 76 24 03.