In an era where customer experience drives brand loyalty and commercial success, businesses are increasingly re-evaluating how they manage customer engagement. One of the most significant shifts in recent years has been the rise of outsourced contact centres—not just to offshore providers, but to high-performing, onshore specialists.
To understand this evolution, Contact Centre Magazine spoke with Richard Forrest, Chairman of Forrest Contact, an Australian-based contact centre and business process outsourcing (BPO) provider. Forrest, a recognised expert in B2B lead generation and customer service delivery, shares insights on why more businesses are choosing to outsource contact centre operations and how the onshore model is redefining customer engagement.
Traditionally, outsourcing was viewed through a financial lens. Businesses, particularly those in highly competitive sectors such as retail, finance, and telecommunications, sought to reduce operational costs by relocating customer service functions offshore. But as Richard Forrest explains that narrative is changing.
“Organisations are realising that cutting costs at the expense of customer experience is short-sighted,” he says. “Today, businesses are outsourcing for strategic reasons—not just financial ones. They want to provide better customer experiences, improve flexibility, and scale efficiently without sacrificing quality. That’s where onshore contact centres come in.”
According to Forrest, this shift reflects a broader reorientation toward service excellence. “The difference now is that businesses are asking: how can we deliver a better experience, not just a cheaper one?”
While offshore outsourcing still has a place, renewed interest in onshore providers is driven by tangible benefits. There’s more at stake than geography. Language fluency, cultural familiarity, and time zone alignment directly impact service quality and customer satisfaction.
“Language fluency, cultural understanding, and local market knowledge are non-negotiables when your business is committed to delivering a premium customer experience,” says Forrest. “It’s not just about answering the phone; it’s about understanding the customer’s context, nuance, and expectations.”
Onshore contact centres typically deliver faster resolution times, more empathetic interactions, and better customer satisfaction scores. Forrest notes that today’s customers are less tolerant of scripted, impersonal responses that fail to resolve their issues or reflect their tone.
“The post-pandemic customer values connection. When something goes wrong, they want to speak to someone who understands them—not just their problem.”
A growing area of demand is overflow management. Businesses that operate their own customer support teams often perform well—until they’re stretched beyond their limits. Peaks in demand, seasonal surges, or unexpected events can create sudden pressure that in-house teams aren’t equipped to handle.
“We work with companies that are capable under normal conditions, but they hit a wall when things spike,” says Forrest. “It might be a new product launch, a marketing campaign, a system outage, or even just end-of-quarter service requests. That’s where we provide immediate capacity without compromising quality.”
Beyond overflow, Forrest highlights the role of outsourcing in addressing skillset gaps. Some internal teams don’t have the experience required for outbound lead generation, appointment setting, onboarding calls, or complex sales engagement.
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“Sometimes outsourcing isn’t just a stopgap—it’s a strategic enhancement. We bring expertise, systems, and trained people to functions that a business may never specialise in internally.”
Hybrid models are also on the rise. Many businesses are blending in-house teams with outsourced support to balance control, expertise, and scalability. Forrest Contact increasingly works as an extension of internal customer service and sales teams, handling specific segments such as B2B telemarketing, lead generation and qualification, or product support.
“We’re not replacing their team—we’re augmenting it. That’s the distinction,” Forrest says. “Our role is to deliver specialised support, while allowing businesses to focus on what they do best.”
Modern outsourcing is data-driven. Clients now demand visibility, accountability, and performance insights from their contact centre partners. Forrest Contact provides clients with analytics dashboards, call reports, quality assurance feedback and lead conversion tracking.
“Clients want transparency. They want to see what’s working, what isn’t, and where to adjust. That’s exactly how it should be,” Forrest explains. “We’re not a black box—we’re a partner invested in performance outcomes.”
Importantly, Forrest sees outsourcing not merely as an operational tool but as a growth enabler. Businesses are increasingly bringing contact centre strategy into their broader commercial planning, viewing it as a lever to drive sales, deepen loyalty, and optimise resources.
“Outsourcing is no longer the domain of reactive decision-making. It’s part of the business development strategy,” Forrest notes. “We’ve moved from the cost centre mindset to value creation.”
Despite the widespread adoption of automation and AI tools, Forrest is confident that human interaction remains irreplaceable in the contact centre environment. He sees AI as an enabler, not a substitute.
“AI has a valid role, particularly in back-office and self-service channels. But when it comes to persuasion, empathy, negotiation, and problem-solving, people want to deal with people. That human conversation still matters.”
In fact, he believes that as consumers become increasingly weary of automation, human engagement will become a differentiator.
“We’re already seeing pushback from customers who feel dehumanised by chatbot loops and scripted workflows. When they’re spending money or facing a problem, they want to feel heard.”
As Forrest Contact continues to grow its service offerings and client base, Forrest sees the future of contact centre outsourcing being anchored in three pillars: specialisation, flexibility, and measurable performance. And it’s clear that the businesses embracing these values will be the ones delivering customer experiences that go beyond service to drive long-term loyalty and commercial success.
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