How to outsource customer service in Australia: your options, costs and first steps

You can outsource customer service in three main ways: hand it to a call centre that shares agents across many clients, hire a freelancer by the hour, or hire a full-time offshore representative who works only for your business. For most Australian small and mid-sized businesses that want customers to feel they are talking to the business itself, a dedicated offshore rep is the best fit. In the Philippines that usually costs a salary of A$1,300–1,900 a month plus a recruitment or management fee.

This guide explains how each option works, what it really costs, and the steps to set up your first offshore customer service hire.

What can you outsource, and what should stay with you?

Most of the daily support load can move offshore once it is written down:

• Email and help-desk tickets, answered with your saved replies and tone

• Live chat on your website or app during Australian business hours

• Inbound calls and follow-up calls, logged in your CRM

• Order tracking, returns and refunds within limits you set

• Review replies and social media inbox messages

• Keeping your help articles and saved replies up to date

Keep the decisions that need judgement or authority with your local team: large refunds, formal complaints, anything with legal or regulatory risk, and changes to your policies. A good setup gives the offshore rep clear limits and an easy way to escalate.

Option 1: a call centre or BPO

A call centre or BPO (business process outsourcing) company supplies a team of agents who answer for you, usually alongside other clients. It suits businesses with very high volumes, 24/7 coverage needs or big seasonal spikes, because the provider can add agents quickly.

The trade-off is control and familiarity. Agents are often shared, may change often, and work from scripts rather than deep product knowledge. Pricing is usually per agent hour, per contact or per seat, so check what is included and how quality is measured before you sign.

Option 2: a freelancer

Freelance platforms let you hire someone by the hour for a few hours a week. This works for a small, irregular inbox or a short project such as clearing a backlog. It is harder to rely on for daily cover: freelancers often juggle several clients, may not be available in your hours, and you take on the screening, training and replacement yourself.

Option 3: a dedicated offshore customer service rep

With this option you hire one full-time person, offshore, who works only for your business, in your help desk, during the hours you set. They learn your products and policies over time, which is what makes customers feel they have reached your business rather than a call centre.

This is what Elephant Teams does. We recruit full-time offshore customer service representatives in the Philippines and Sri Lanka, screen them on spoken and written English and on a mock queue, and present a shortlist for you to interview.

Philippines or Sri Lanka for customer service?

Both work, and our fees are the same in both countries.

• The Philippines is 2 hours behind AEST, so a normal local day covers 9:00am to 6:00pm in Sydney or Melbourne. It suits phone and live chat, where customers expect a reply in real time. See hiring in the Philippines.

• Sri Lanka is 4.5 hours behind AEST. Staff usually work an early local shift that overlaps most of your day. It suits email and ticket queues, order processing and back-office support. See hiring in Sri Lanka.

How much does it cost to outsource customer service?

For a dedicated offshore rep there are two parts: the person's monthly salary, which you agree before you commit, and our fee.

• Salary guide for a full-time customer service rep: A$700–1,100 a month in Sri Lanka and A$1,300–1,900 a month in the Philippines. We recruit at the experienced end of the market, so most hires sit in the upper half.

• Ready for You: $5,999 + GST once, then $0 a month if you employ them, or $350 a month if we employ them as Employer of Record. It includes a 3-month replacement guarantee.

• Managed for You: $1,000 a month on a 12-month commitment, with no recruitment fee. We employ and manage your team member, and you get a 5-month guarantee with up to two free replacements in the first 12 months.

As an example, a Philippines-based rep on a A$1,600 salary with Managed for You costs about A$2,600 a month, plus the 13th-month payment that Philippine law requires (roughly one extra month of salary a year, which works out to about A$133 a month). IT options are quoted separately. Our guide to 13th-month pay and super for offshore staff explains the extra payments, and Services compares the plans side by side.

How to set up your first offshore customer service hire

1. List the work. Write the ten most common customer questions and how you answer them. Export your saved replies or start a simple FAQ document.

2. Pick the channels and hours. Decide whether the rep starts on email and chat only, or takes calls too. Most businesses add phone once the person knows the product.

3. Set limits. Agree what they can approve on their own, such as refunds up to a set amount, and what goes to you.

4. Give them their own logins. Add the rep as a user in your help desk, CRM and store platform, with multi-factor authentication. Our IT and security options cover laptops and access.

5. Plan the first 30 days. Week one is shadowing and supervised replies, week two is independent replies with daily review, and by week four they own the queue. Our first offshore hire checklist has the full plan.

Recruitment usually takes 3 to 4 weeks from your briefing to a placement. See how it works.

Which businesses outsource customer service this way?

Online stores are the most common, because order questions, returns and reviews are steady and repeatable. See how we help e-commerce businesses. IT providers also hire offshore reps for first-line support (see IT and managed service providers), and service businesses use them to answer enquiries and book appointments.

FAQ

Will customers know the rep is offshore?

They will be speaking with a member of your team who uses your name, tone and systems. We screen for clear spoken and written English, and many businesses find customers simply notice faster replies.

Can one person cover phone, chat and email?

Yes, at small and medium volumes. Start with one or two channels, measure response times, and add a second rep when the queue grows.

Is outsourcing customer service cheaper than hiring locally?

Usually, yes. The total monthly cost of a dedicated offshore rep is typically well below the salary, super and on-costs of a local full-time hire. Compare the numbers for your role in a free consultation.

What happens if the hire does not work out?

Ready for You includes a 3-month replacement guarantee. Managed for You includes a 5-month guarantee with up to two free replacements in the first 12 months.

Ready to plan your customer service hire? Book a free consultation and we will map the tasks, hours and costs with you.