Contact centre in Banco Santander Totta : the case study : services insourcing versus outsourcing strategy

Abstract

For many years, the Outsourcing industry gained greater impetus in a worldwide perspective, not only for market leaders’ companies, that were still looking for the optimization of their costs, but also for companies that were underperforming on their organization and costs structure. Following that trend, it was notable a highly increase in the number of outsource providers as well as a growth of services offered by them, which led the firms to change their direction in business strategic thinking. As the Outsourcing industry evolves to meet the needs of a client, many firms started reengineering their way of organizing work and business processes, in order to achieve significant improvements in areas such as quality, service, safety and costs, meaning that operational excellence requires top performance in company’s core competences. At the same time, while there is a greater growth in the outsourcing industry presently, there is also a considerable number of outsourcing clients that started to recognize outsourcing risks, which can lead to failed projects with greater costs and poorer quality than expected. The purpose of the present dissertation is to provide a case study regarding the Contact Centre in Banco Santander Totta, in Portugal, with special incidence on its outsourcing strategy versus insourcing services. It will be developed with higher depth its current outsourcing strategy and why the Contact Centre subject may support or not the choice of insourcing rather than outsourcing. Certainly, this thesis differentiates itself and contributed enormously to my personal growth in its practical experience, not only for its direct contact with bank directors and employees, but also because it is a crucial opportunity to influence and be part of the bank future decision. Therefore, this dissertation aim is to provide a solid and structured conclusion, able to support Banco Santander Totta’ strategic decision. Equally important is the fact that it is a work that will be presented to Santander Top Administration to decide if they should accept or reject the Contact Centre insourcing project.