I was recently invited to appear as a guest on the CX Files podcast to talk about an article I wrote right here on Customer Think in August! The podcast invitation felt like a great honor as this podcast features in the top 5% of all podcasts globally and it is often recommended as one of the leading customer experience focused podcasts.
The hosts are CX analysts Mark Hillary and Peter Ryan. They introduced the discussion around Albania and BPO that I had written about in the article and Mark interviewed me one-on-one to ask about the themes of the article in more detail.
It was interesting to me that Mark and Peter both talked about Albania stepping away from the typical model of BPO promotion. Usually regions will present a list of stats detailing infrastructure, number of graduates, and other hard facts, but it is clear from what the analysts said that almost all these variables are now just table stakes – attracting investment needs something extra.
Peter Ryan said: “…this is a destination [Albania] that brings not just some of the usual table stakes stuff that we hear about, but has an extra level of depth to it, which is why there seems to be more interest from large enterprises and BPOs.”
The theme of my earlier article, and what led to the podcast, was that we were not trying to pitch Albania against other popular BPO locations in Europe. The real idea was to suggest that companies offshoring services to India, the Philippines, or South Africa, may consider that a European location – that can offer similar prices – would be preferable.
I believe that there is real potential to compete with established BPO hubs like South Africa and the Philippines because the software and services needed to deliver an effective BPO service are now well understood. Similar services can be delivered from almost anywhere, so why not explore somewhere in Europe rather than the other side of the world?
Albania excels with multilingual BPO and has a strong cultural alignment with European neighbors – many local entrepreneurs have spent time living in Greece, Italy, Germany, or the UK.
It’s true that Albania needs to develop more BPO visibility. Organizations such as BPESA in South Africa or NASSCOM in India do a fantastic job of educating B2B buyers in markets such as the US. Executives get a general understanding of the opportunities from these trade associations and then they can talk to individual companies about potential contracts and partnerships.
Albania needs this type of coordinated promotion so we can expand the presence of Albanian partners with companies in the US and Europe.
Mark Hillary said on the podcast that he thought the Customer Think article had: “…created an interesting reframing of the whole argument around where do you go for your BPO?”
When Peter Ryan closed his introduction and introduced the main interview he introduced Albania as a “…hidden gem.”
It’s clear that when experienced CX analysts read more about Albania, they find their eyes are opened to the opportunities. I will continue to write articles such as this – and appear on more podcasts – as I truly believe there is an opportunity for many more companies to be locating their BPO processes in Europe – rather than a 14-hour flight away.
This important market education about how BPO is changing is happening right here in the pages of Customer Think.
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