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Call centre or Linkers

A seat in a call centre, or a person on your team.

Looking for a BPO alternative? BPO and call centre companies are built for scale: dozens of agents, round-the-clock cover and service levels. Small and growing businesses usually need something different: one or two people who know the business and stay. Here is the honest comparison.

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Short answer
30+ agents, 24/7, several languagesA BPO
High-volume, scripted workA BPO
One to twenty peopleDedicated team
Someone who knows your customersDedicated team
Email, admin and CRM, not just callsDedicated team

If what you need is a large contact centre, we will tell you so.

Side by side

What actually differs.

Both are legitimate ways to outsource. They are built for different sizes of problem.

What matters
A dedicated Linkers team member
A BPO or call centre
Who does the work
The same named person every day, chosen with you
Agents from a shared team, who may change over time
Minimum size
One person, no long contract
Often a minimum number of seats and a fixed term
How you pay
Their salary plus one monthly fee per person
Per seat, per hour or per transaction
Your tools and processes
Works in your helpdesk, CRM and inbox, your way
Usually the provider's systems, scripts and processes
Day-to-day direction
You direct the work; we handle contracts, payments, time off and check-ins
The provider manages the agents to agreed service levels
Large teams and 24/7 cover
Grows one person at a time; night shifts are possible
Built for big teams and round-the-clock cover
Knowledge of your business
Builds up in one person and stays with you
Spread across agents who also serve other clients
If someone is not right
A different team member free of charge in the first three months
Handled inside the provider's team

Based on how BPO and contact centre companies typically describe their services. Terms vary from provider to provider, so check any contract before you decide.

Be honest with yourself

When a BPO is right, and when a dedicated team member is.

Use a BPO

A BPO suits you when

You need 30 or more agents, or 24/7 cover in several languages
The work is high-volume and follows a script
You want to buy an outcome with service levels
You have someone to manage the contract
Use a dedicated team member

A dedicated team member suits you when

You need one to twenty people
The work needs judgement and knowledge of your business
You want the same person every day
You want to direct the work yourself

Some businesses use both: a BPO for overnight overflow, and a dedicated team for everything that needs to know the customer.

The real difference

Capacity, or a colleague.

A BPO sells you capacity: a number of agent hours, managed to a service level. That is exactly right when the volume is large and the work is the same every time.

A dedicated team member gives you a colleague. They learn your products, your customers and your tone, they work in your own tools, and the knowledge they build stays with you. For most small and growing businesses, that is worth more than the lowest price per call.

It also changes how you start. There is no minimum number of seats and no long contract: many of our clients began with one person and added the next when the first was settled.

Questions

BPOs, call centres and dedicated teams: your questions.

A BPO runs a process for you with its own agents, systems and service levels. With Linkers, you get a dedicated team member who works for you in your own tools, while we handle the contracts, payments, time off and check-ins in their country.
Per agent hour it can be, especially at large volumes. For a small team, seat minimums, contract terms and agents shared across clients often change the picture. Build your own estimate on our pricing page and compare like with like.
Yes. Choose the country whose daytime matches the hours you need, or agree a shift pattern. The Philippines and South Africa between them cover most time zones.
You direct the work, as you would with any colleague. We handle everything around it: contracts, NDAs, monthly payments, time off and regular check-ins, with one named account manager for you.
Yes. There is no minimum team size and no multi-year contract.
We assign a different team member free of charge within the first three months and help with the handover.

Not sure whether you need a BPO or a team?

Tell us the work, the volume and the hours. If a BPO suits you better, we will say so.

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Read next

Related reading.

RoleOutsource customer supportSupport agents, call centre staff and helpdesk teams who stay.See the roleComparisonUpwork, or a managed team memberWhy freelance marketplaces struggle with ongoing roles.CompareCompareHow we compare with the alternativesEvery option side by side, including when we are not the right answer.See the comparison