Europe made 36 per cent of the outsourcing transactions in the first quarter of 2008, according to a new report on global outsourcing by analyst firm Everest Research.

The financial sector contributed to 14 per cent of the transactions signed during the same period, dominated by a number of large deals signed by banks, brokerage firms and mutual funds.

The credit crisis is causing “increased impetus for offshoring”, noted the report, but also “potentially longer lead times for deal closure”.

New locations are emerging as offshoring destinations, including Thailand, El Salvador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Honduras and the Dominican Republic, the report said.

Meanwhile, the managing director of business process outsourcing firm Convergys, Sukant Srivastava, dispelled problems reported by the British public relating to poor customer service from offshore centres.

The reports are because of poor execution by a number of smaller players that just “jump into” the industry without much experience or a long term agenda, he said.

Srivastava argued that customer service in call centres could only be improving. “Every year operators are better equipped to speak to customers because the Indian industry has been transforming through a rapid growth of cell phones and credit cards,” he said.

Srivastava also pointed to strategies Indian business process outsourcers can employ to ensure good customer service. Firstly, tier three cities that have relatively slow growth, such as Bhuvaneswar and Trivandrum, should not be used for outsourcing voice related processes, only back office functions, argued Srivastava.

Also, customer satisfaction surveys should be ingrained into call centre services, he explained. “For example, we have an independent US team that carries out email surveys and live call surveys to get feedback on what c ustomers like and what opportunities there are to maximise their experience.” he added.

The “after call notes procedure” that tracks customer contact with the call centre can be voice automated so the call centre agent does not waste time typing out notes, said Srivastava, and an analytics technical platform that allows agents to analyse customer information ensures agents provide proactive care