Questions to Ask an Outsourcing Provider
The short version — the handful of questions that reveal the most, with the full checklist available for a deeper evaluation.
This is the condensed version. For the complete question set organised by topic, see our full guide on questions to ask an outsourcing company and the downloadable procurement checklist that goes with it.
If you only ask five questions, ask these
- Are agents dedicated to my campaign, or shared across several clients?
- Can I see your actual QA criteria, not just a claim that quality is monitored?
- What happens during agent absence — planned and unplanned?
- Who owns the CRM and system access — you, or the provider?
- What is billed separately from the headline rate?
Why these five
Each one is hard to answer well with a vague response. "Are agents dedicated" gets either a clear yes or a hedge. "Can I see your QA criteria" gets either an actual document or a deflection. Vague answers to any of these five are more informative than the answer itself — they tell you how the rest of the relationship is likely to go.
A quick way to read the answers
| Question | A real answer sounds like | A weak answer sounds like |
|---|---|---|
| Dedicated or shared? | "Dedicated — your agent works only your campaign during their shift." | "Our agents are highly trained professionals." |
| QA criteria? | A named scorecard with actual categories and weighting | "We monitor quality closely." |
| Agent absence? | A specific continuity plan, including its limits | "We handle it internally, don't worry." |
| Who owns access? | "You create the accounts; we work inside them." | "We manage all of that for you." |
| Billed separately? | A specific, itemised list | "It's all included" with no detail |
The full checklist
For a comprehensive evaluation covering agents, quality, reporting, continuity, data, cost, compliance and termination, use the downloadable procurement checklist — useful for evaluating any provider on the same basis, ours included.
This guide reflects how we actually run campaigns and what we see go wrong. We have tried to be useful whether or not you ever work with us — including where that means recommending you do something other than outsource.