BPO Relationships Must Start with Questions, Not Solutions

The UK contact centre outsourcing market is in the midst of another period of major change, thanks to a mixture of geopolitical uncertainties, new delivery models and, of course, the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

Crucially, this means a shifting landscape for BPO buyers, who are rethinking long-held assumptions about cost, scale and location. A growing number of organisations are stepping back to ask themselves the fundamental question – what should outsourcing be delivering us, and how should we be approaching it?

Outcomes as a Starting Point

As discussed at our most recent BPO Briefing event in Leeds on 2 June, too often, the BPO buying process can begin with a solution. It might be a decision to move to a specific location, a desire to rapidly deploy AI, or a preferred partner already in mind before the process actually starts.

But one of the most common points of failure in outsourcing isn’t partner selection, it’s ‘problem definition’, i.e. when buyers start with an assumed answer, they risk invertedly scaling the very issues they set out to solve.

The most effective buyers and outsourcing partners are reframing the process. Rather than asking “who can deliver this solution?”, they’re asking more searching questions. What outcomes are we trying to improve? Where are the real friction points in the customer journeys? What capabilities are missing and what should stay in-house?

This matters because, as outlined in our UK Contact Centre Outsourcing Report 2026, outsourcing is moving away from a model built on labour arbitrage and towards one defined by quality, adaptability and measurable outcomes. Problems that appear to be about cost are increasingly rooted in process design, data fragmentation or technology integration. Without diagnosing those issues first, outsourcing can end up being a case of just moving the problems somewhere else.

The Changing Relationship

What was made evident in our BPO Briefing was that the message from buyers to BPOs is becoming clear. Strong partnerships are built on trust, not early-stage pitching, and trust is earned through transparency about what can be delivered today, what sits on a future roadmap and where there are limitations.

In an environment where AI can often be overpromised and underdelivered, trust has become a real differentiator. Having a partnership in which both sides are willing to acknowledge there are future unknowns as well as certainties is important.

Buyers are also placing more weight on experience over presentation. They want to meet teams, see operations in action and understand how a partner actually delivers, not just what they say they can do. Relationships are shifting from transactional procurement to something much closer to a shared operating model.

A Clear Understanding

Outcome-based commercial models, AI-enabled delivery and multi-partner ecosystems all introduce new layers of dependency. They demand more data sharing, more aligned incentives and a deeper level of collaboration than traditional outsourcing ever required.

These are by no means easy challenges to overcome, on both sides of the relationship. But without a clear understanding of the problem at the outset, the associated complexity can easily become a barrier in a short space of time.

The implication for buyers is simple but significant. In a market that’s grappling with great change, it’s the quality of the questions asked at the beginning of the journey that matter more than the solutions presented at the end.

Chris Ward, Head of Content, CCMA

As content and communications manager, Chris works closely with the CCMA team and the contact centre community to ensure members receive the most relevant, timely and engaging content about their industry. Prior to working with the CCMA, Chris was a seasoned business journalist – this included nine years writing about trends in the CX and contact centre space for former industry publication, MyCustomer.