Is there a market for call centers with limited hours of operation?
Scaling back your hours of operation, greatly lessens your labor liability, but also significantly reduces your perspective market. In today’s market few clients will accept anything less then 24×7 coverage (that is, continuous operation); you will find some clients that will accept scaled back coverage, say 16 to 18 hours a day, but clients needing only daytime coverage are rare. There are two possible strategies that some call centers use to provide 24 hour coverage without staffing 24 hours. The first is to revert to 100% automation for third shift (when the fewest calls are typically received). With today’s modern systems, containing voice mail and automatic dispatching, this is a viable option – assuming that your clients accept it. The other strategy is to outsource your slow times to another call center. There are many outsourcing call centers who can handle your calls for you. Generally, it is good to outsource to someone who uses the same type of equipment you do.
