Internal call center costs include hardware, software, personnel, training, management, and "hidden costs" such as recruitment, termination, and case management. Outsourcing (BPO) pays by call/hour, without worrying about recruitment and management, but it is difficult to control quality and stick with the brand. The decision depends on the scale, nature of the call, and stage of development. Zenify credits its cloud platform for reducing support costs by 34%.
TL;DR
- Internal: quality control, but costs management + recruitment.
- Outsourcing: cheap on a small scale, but difficult to control.
- Internal hidden costs: recruitment, training, leave, shift management.
- Hidden costs of outsourcing: poor quality, loss of customers.
- Start outsourcing, move internally when large enough.
What does the internal switchboard cost include?
Clause | Cost | Notes
Hardware/transmission | High at first | Servers, wires, devices (if not using cloud)
Switchboard software | By month | Cloud is low (see Cloud contact center)
Employee salary | Biggest | Fixed monthly
Training | At recruitment + periodically | Effortless and time consuming
Case Management | Silently | Scheduling, monitoring (see Workforce management)
Recruitment + leave | Volatility | Employees leave → rehire, retrain
Outsourcing costs (BPO)
Pay per call/employee hour, no worries about salary, recruitment, or training.
Don't invest in software, don't worry about shifts.
Hidden costs: quality is difficult to control, employees do not understand the product deeply, customers perceive "outside" → brand influence.
Quick comparison
Criteria | Internal | Outsourcing (BPO)
Initial cost | High (if hardware) | Low
Monthly costs | Salary + software | By call/hour
Quality Control | Cao | More difficult
Understanding the product | Deep | Shallower
Associated with the brand | Good | Average
Suitable when | Big enough, complicated job | Just starting out, simple work
When to choose internal
The call volume is large enough to make staff salaries "worth the money".
Calls require deep product understanding, consulting, sales, difficult to deliver.
Want to control quality and tight brand experience.
When to choose outsourcing
Just starting out, low call volume, outsourcing is cheaper than doing it yourself.
Simple, repeatable tasks (look up, schedule appointments).
Don't have a team and don't want to invest in management.
Popular strategy: Start BPO → when volume increases and quality needs to be controlled, gradually move internally.
How to calculate real costs
Internal: employee salary + management + software + training + leave rate (20-30% per year usually occurs).
Outsourcing: fee per call × expected number of calls + additional fees (long calls, peak hours).
Compare per call, not total monthly bill, because the models are different.