Article by David Taylor
Partner Success Manager
Contact Centre Panel
Following on from my previous article exploring Eastern Europe’s rising popularity as an outsourcing destination of choice, I thought it would be prudent to explore both the known and lesser known countries of the region and lift the lid on what they bring to the outsourcing community. So this time, we explore Kosovo.
Walking in the streets of Pristina, you may be greeted by one of the locals saying “Më vjen mirë që u takuam” – which is “pleased to meet you” in Albanian. If you didn’t know, Albanian is the national language of Kosovo, this is due to 1.8 million Albanians speakers living in Kosovo currently (92.93% of the entire population). However, since the war ended in June 1999, Kosovo has seen the return of many citizens who had fled the country. In turn this has seen the introduction of many Western European languages now spoken in the country, making Kosovo a prime destination for multi-lingual contact centres.
This includes (but is not limited to):
- English (especially spoken by the youth of Kosovo)
- German (widely spoken throughout the country)
- Turkish
- Bosnian
- Serbian
What also makes Kosovo an attractive outsourcing destination is the age of the population, with more than 50% of the population below the age of 25. The improved education system within Kosovo produces thousands of graduates each year, thus providing an adequate resource to power the outsourcing industry. Furthermore, the young population are hungry for employment, with contact centres seen as a stable and prosperous career path.
As we look at our watches, Kosovo is located in the UTC +1 Central European Time Zone, 1 hour ahead of UK time. Whilst this is perfect alignment to UK/European business operating hours, it also means you can access the country in less than 3 hours flight time from London, and less than 2 hours from Berlin. It’s not only the time zone that complements UK/European businesses, but the cultural alignment is clear to see which helps businesses reduce some of the problems from working with companies with different cultural backgrounds.
Final point, attractive pricing. Eastern Europe has become popular not only for its ability to deliver the same quality of service but for half the price in most cases – and this is the same (sometimes better) with Kosovo. As mentioned earlier, this is not cost over quality, due to the availability of a highly educated workforce.
We think you will be hearing more about Kosovo over the next couple of years, with the country looking to rival its neighbours such as Albania and Romania in providing high quality but cost-effective multi-lingual outsourcing solutions – Kosovo might be the next destination for you.
Looking to outsource in Eastern Europe? Get in touch with Contact Centre Panel, we can help you source your next partner free of charge!
