Nationwide snubs Indian call centres in favour of UK

The Indian offshoring backlash has begun, with major 'British and proud of it' financial institutions declaring they won't move call centres abroad.

Nationwide, which is seen as a technology innovator in banking circles, is one of the first to nail its colours to the mast, with CEO Philip Williamson claiming there are too many risks associated with moving call centres to offshore locations such as India.

Williamson said the company will instead invest in its UK call centre operations because of its ties to local communities, the service they can offer and concerns over offshore data protection for consumers.

"Nationwide is a mutual with strong links to the communities in which we operate, and we have no plans to desert these local communities in favour of overseas call centres," he said in a statement. "Call centres abroad may suit some of our competitors, but they are not the right option for Nationwide and we are aware of some commentators' concerns that some countries may not have the same level of data protection for consumers that exists in the UK."

Nationwide will open a new call centre in Sheffield, along with investment in the major refurbishment of existing call centres in Swindon and Northampton, which employ around 800 people.

In an interview with the FT, Northern Rock COO David Baker said his organisation's ties to the community are more than just sentimentality.

"For us, the cost savings of moving to India would be relatively modest compared with the risk of not being able to control these operations," he told the paper.

Back in December, Steve Morrell, principal analyst at ContactBabel, warned of a customer backlash against firms who move jobs to India resulting in a trend of 'British and proud of it' companies trying to take advantage.

He said that the moves by Nationwide and Northern Rock are the first signs that this backlash has begun.

"This is the first of many. There is plenty of political capital to be gained as there is a big groundswell of public opinion, and Nationwide is gambling on this," he told silicon.com. "It will be interesting to see over the next year how these 'British and proud of it' companies will do compared to the likes of Lloyds TSB."

Recent research by ContactBabel showed that while Indian call centre agents work faster than their UK peers, UK workers deal with 25 per cent more calls each hour and resolve 17 per cent more first time.