Most comparisons of service providers are based on the hourly rate. It’s the easiest part to compare, but it says the least about how the service will perform by the sixth month.
What sets a serious proposal apart from one that falls short isn’t on the first page of the budget.
What should you ask before signing?
These six questions can be answered in a single phone call. If any of them go unanswered, you’ll already know something important.
Which collective bargaining agreement do you follow, and how did you calculate it?
That’s the most revealing question. If the service is voice-based, the framework is the Third National Contact Center Agreement, published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) on March 6, 2026, with a 3.4% annual raise and a base salary of €1,224.26 per month at Level 10. A provider that doesn’t know how to position itself within that framework hasn’t done the math.
What level of service do you sign up for?
A verbal agreement is not sufficient. Service level, time window, abandonment threshold, and replacement deadline must be specified in the contract.
Who has access to my data?
Ask for the details: what permissions each profile has, whether access is granted on an individual basis, and whether any records remain available for review. In processes involving personal data, this is no longer a matter of preference but a requirement.
Five red flags
None of them is disqualifying on its own. Two or three of them together, however, are.
- A price well below the applicable collective bargaining agreement, with no explanation of where the margin comes from.
- The service level is listed in the sales presentation but not in the contract.
- There is no written deadline for replacing someone who leaves or is terminated.
- The reports are delivered in PDF format, and there is no way to view the data in its source system.
- The opt-out clause does not mention anything about the return of your data or the transfer.
Which model is right for each situation?
There is no single “best” model in the abstract. It depends on how much control you need and which profiles are hard for you to find.
- Our own staff. Total control, higher cost, eight to twelve weeks per opening. It makes sense when the process is your competitive edge.
- Hybrid nearshore. Management is based in Spain, and the team is located where the right candidates are available. This is how we work: an Account Manager here and teams in the Philippines and Colombia.
- Pure offshore. The lowest cost and the greatest difference in time and context. It works well in highly standardized processes.
How does this break down by city?
The agreement is statewide, so the base salary is the same in Madrid and Málaga. What varies is the local market: competition for bilingual candidates, the time it takes to fill vacancies, and turnover. We’ve broken it down city by city:
- Madrid and Bilbao for administrative back-office positions.
- Seville for call centers and Málaga for multilingual customer service.
- Zaragoza and Valencia for logistics.
- The complete map is in the ” Locations” section.
And if you want a breakdown of the costs before comparing proposals, check out how much it costs to outsource customer service in Spain.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I look for in a BPO proposal besides the price?
The applicable collective bargaining agreement. If your job involves customer service over the phone, the Third National Contact Center Collective Bargaining Agreement sets a base salary of €1,224.26 per month for Level 10, paid in fourteen installments, plus bonuses for language skills, night shifts, and work on holidays. A rate that doesn’t meet this minimum either includes costs the provider hasn’t accounted for, or will cut corners somewhere down the line.
What should the written SLA include?
At a minimum, the service level with its time window, the maximum drop rate (if it is a voice service), the timeframe for replacing a person, and the reporting frequency. If it appears in the sales presentation but not in the contract, it does not exist.
How can I verify that the data they’re showing me is accurate?
Request read access to the system that generates them, not just the report. If satisfaction is measured solely by the number of successfully closed cases, that number goes up without anything actually improving. Direct access settles the debate.
What is the difference between nearshore, offshore, and hiring staff in-house?
With in-house staffing, you have total control but the highest cost, with eight to twelve weeks to fill each position. Offshore staffing is the cheapest option but the most distant in terms of time zone and context. The hybrid model places management in Spain and the team where the right talent is available—which is how we operate.
How long does it take to get the service up and running?
With us, it takes less than three weeks from diagnosis to having the system up and running with your workflows. If a vendor promises you 48 hours for a complex service without having seen your processes, ask them how they plan to train anyone in that timeframe.
What should the exit clause say?
Notice periods, what happens to your data, and how operational knowledge is transferred. Terminating a contract where your processes exist solely within the provider’s tool can be costly, and that’s something you negotiate when you sign the contract, not when you leave.
How to Finalize the Decision
List the proposals in a table with four columns: agreement and justification, written SLA, data access, and exit clause. The price goes in the fifth column. You’ll find that the cheapest proposal is rarely the one that best meets the criteria in the first four columns.
If you’d like us to review your case based on your figures, let’s talk.
Regulatory reference: Third National Collective Bargaining Agreement for the Contact Center Sector, tables 2026 published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) No. 58 of March 6, 2026 (BOE-A-2026-5300).
