Don't overlook Germany as a CX outsourcing destination

With a population of approximately 84 million people and several generations of multilingual, well-educated and tech-savvy residents, Germany is a premier destination for customer experience (CX) outsourcing that you can't afford to ignore.

With strong infrastructure and significant investment, Germany is a European economic powerhouse. According to the website

7,000 German contact centers generate about 21 billion Euros in revenue each year and employ over 500,000 people. What's more, in 2022, the German government ⁠— the ⁠— said it would invest upwards of $31 billion into its homegrown start-up industry, and infuse even more cash into enticing international science and technology businesses to set up shop within its borders.

These financial commitments have made Germany a compelling contender in the global shared services and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries.

Companies looking to outsource their back office or customer experience operations would do well to consider these reasons for outsourcing their CX in Germany.

Germany has a stable, pluralistic society

As the second most populous country in Europe, Germany's socioeconomic conditions are appealing to companies looking to outsource.

The country is widely seen to have a welcoming and progressive culture, with robust transit infrastructure, affordable housing laws and a stable rental market. Overall, stability is a key characteristic, as Germany has strong institutions that its inhabitants have come to rely upon.

These conditions and facets lead to a generally high quality of life, and play a key role in making Germany an attractive destination for students and workers. As a result, companies outsourcing to Germany have access to a stable supply of dynamic talent. That is particularly the case in Berlin — a capital city with an exciting arts scene, rich history, dozens of post-secondary institutions and a diverse, multilingual population.

Germany has a skilled, diverse workforce

The workforce in Germany is bursting with skilled talent.

According to the country's

(BMBF), Germany has more than 1,000 publicly funded research institutes and hundreds of post-secondary education institutions, plus free university tuition and hefty government investments in R&D (currently 3% of national GDP, per BMBF). Further, in early 2022, it unveiled a three-year plan designed to fuel a "digital awakening" and turbocharge the nation's IT know-how, as reported by European news outlet Euractiv.

Accomplishing at least part of that vision depends on promoting migration to, and diversity in, Germany. Every year, skilled workers from around the world relocate to the Central European nation. Newly loosened immigration rules aimed at bringing in 400,000 people annually mean many more people will likely make the move in the coming years. New residents bring with them diverse cultures and languages that make them ideal candidates for international outsourcing work. At present, 20% of people in Germany are foreign-born, yet 95% of the German population speaks German — according to an article by the Migration Policy Institute. That is a testament to a strong culture of social and economic integration.

As well, Germany is one of the most English-proficient countries in the non-native-speaking world, meaning that companies outsourcing CX support to Germany can benefit from multilingual talent that speaks both German and English.

Germany's geographical advantages

In the heart of Europe and halfway between North America and Asia, Germany is ideally situated to serve global companies looking for help with a range of customer service and back office operations.

Thanks to its well-established transportation infrastructure, Germany is convenient to travel to, and within. Plus, its Central European time zone means it is easy enough to maintain alignment with locations elsewhere. Already, TELUS Digital operates nine CX delivery centers in Germany and counts 4,000 team members across sites in Aachen, Berlin, Dortmund, Dresden, Duisburg, Essen and Leipzig.

As the capital of Germany, and its biggest city, Berlin has international appeal. Home to 3.5 million Berliners, the famously vibrant, cosmopolitan city is an ideal locale for tech start-ups and established industry players looking to tap into youthful energy. In fact, interviewing founders from 29 European countries,

found that 39% chose Berlin as their ideal launchpad. TELUS Digital's Berlin office is centrally located near the edge of the iconic river Spree, across the bridge from the trendy Kreuzberg neighborhood.

Germany as a leader in content moderation

The German government is also building a global reputation for creating, and following, the rules.

Its

— also known by the shorthand name — demands that social network companies work faster and harder to remove hateful content and other criminal material from their platforms, or face steep fines. It's an important regulation, and one that will have lasting effects well beyond the nation's borders. You can expect Germany to play an important role in developing similar regulations in the future.

The nation's thought leadership on topics like user-generated content (UGC) and related regulation, as well as the multilingualism and tech aptitude of its workforce, make it an ideal outsourcing destination for companies looking for help with content moderation.

Germany as an ecommerce hub

Germany is one of the most powerful economies in the world, and thus it carries a considerable amount of influence in global economics and politics. It has well-established trade relationships across Europe, and has a longstanding reputation for efficiency and high-quality engineering.

In particular, the country holds a lot of potential for serving global ecommerce companies because of its diversity, multilingualism and economic positioning. According to

, the German ecommerce market is expected to hit $141 billion in revenue by the end of 2022, with a CAGR of 11.5% through to 2025. In lockstep, the number of German ecommerce shoppers is anticipated to reach 68 million users by 2025, with an ecommerce penetration rate of 82%. All told, Germany has the second-largest ecommerce market in Europe, eclipsed only by the U.K.

Online shopping's ubiquitous presence in Germany and the growth of the corresponding CX industry make ecommerce a magnet for government, institutional and private investment. That magnetic pull benefits businesses both from within and outside of Germany looking to get customer experience support, as those investments ultimately facilitate the development of — and access to — state-of-the-art solutions.

Access what Germany has to offer

Altogether, Germany's social institutions and stability, its diverse and talented population and its central location make it an outsourcing destination worthy of any company's attention. Contact our team to take your first steps in expanding your presence to Germany.