More than salary
When you hire a customer service employee, you usually look at gross salary first. But a lot comes on top: holiday pay (at least 8 percent in the Netherlands), employer contributions for social insurance and pension, a workstation with hardware and software licences, and a manager's time. In the Netherlands you also keep paying at least 70 percent of salary for up to two years of sickness.
Worked example (Netherlands)
An example with assumptions many companies will recognise. Your own figures may be higher or lower.
| Gross salary per month | €2,800 |
|---|---|
| Holiday pay (8%) | €224 |
| Employer contributions and pension (approx. 25%) | €756 |
| Workstation, hardware and software | €250 |
| Recruitment and onboarding (€3,000 over 2 years) | €125 |
| Share of management and QA | €300 |
| Total per month | approx. €4,455 |
Look at productive hours
A full-time contract is 2,080 hours a year. Holidays, public holidays, sickness, training and meetings come off that. Realistically about 1,600 to 1,650 hours remain in which someone actually helps customers. Divide the annual cost by those hours and in this example you get roughly €32 to €34 per productive hour.
And if you outsource?
When you outsource, you pay only for the hours worked for you. Recruitment, training, cover for sickness, a team lead and quality control are included in the rate. With a nearshore partner that all-in hourly rate is usually below the full cost of an in-house employee, without permanent contracts or notice periods.
When is in-house still better?
When the work is closely tied to other departments, or when you want to keep knowledge that sits with one person in-house. Many companies therefore choose a mix: a small core in-house and a flexible team for volume, languages and evenings.
Want the numbers for your situation? Book a call and we'll put your costs next to our rate.