BPO Interview Questions (With Example Answers)

Updated 22 February 2023

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Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) refers to outsourcing some functions of a company to an external service provider. It is one of the popular industries in India. If you are looking to work in a BPO and do not know where to start the preparation, this article will help you. In this article, we will cover general questions related to BPO, required experience and background other than discussing in-depth BPO interview questions with sample answers and tips on how to prepare for those interview calls.

General BPO Interview Questions

It is very important for an interviewer to have some basic knowledge about you to assess your potential correctly. Below are some general interview questions that will help the interviewer understand your personality and interests:

Tell us something about yourself?
What is a BPO?
What is your weakness and how are you improving it?
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Are you willing to work night shifts?
Why do you think this industry is right for you?
What are your salary expectations?
Are you willing to sign a bond?
Why should we hire you?
Do you have any questions for us?

Questions About Experience And Background

Below are few interview questions the interviewer may ask to assess your background and your interest in the position:

What skills can you bring from your previous job to this role?
You are not from a computer background; how efficiently can you operate a computer?
What is the difference between BPO and a Call Center?
Excellent communication skills is a prerequisite to work in a BPO. Give an example where you showed exceptional communication skills.
What do you understand by the term Outsourcer?
Why do you think companies outsource their work to other service providers?
Why do you think night shifts are important in the BPO industry?
What are the traits one must have to work in the BPO industry?

In-Depth BPO Interview Questions

Below are a few interview questions that an interviewer may ask during the interview to analyse your in-depth knowledge about the BPO industry:

What are you more comfortable with, voice process or web-chat process and why?
How will you handle the customer on a call when you do not have a solution to their problem?
Why is ISO:9000 important for the BPO industry?
What do you understand by nearshore outsourcing?
Explain the difference between front-office and back-office outsourcing.
State some inbound call center services.
State some outbound call center services.
How would you approach a call of an in-bound customer compared to an outbound customer?
According to your understanding, what is more valuable for the BPO industry - customer service or technical support?

BPO Interview Questions With Sample Answers

Here are a few interview questions with sample answers that can help you prepare in a better way:

1. What do you understand about BPO and how does it work?

The interviewer would ask this question to know if you have basic knowledge of the industry for which you are giving an interview. They want to understand how well you are prepared for an interview and if you are a suitable candidate for this role.

You may answer this by explaining your understanding of the BPO sector with some examples.

Example: Business Process Outsourcing is a system in which a company lends its work to another company contractually. The lender may lend either part of its business segment or an entire segment to another company. For example, an American company outsourcing its customer service handle to another company in India. The Indian company now works to provide and improve the customer service experience of the American company.

2. What are the different types of BPOs?

The interviewer may ask this question to understand how much you have researched about this industry. This will reflect your interest in the job and also how well prepared you are.

To answer this question, you can state the different types of BPOs and explain them briefly.

Example: BPO is of two types, front-office and back-office. When a company outsources its customer handling work like addressing customer's grievances or providing tech support to the customer, it is referred as front-office BPO service. When the outsourcing company outsources its internal process like handling finances, purchasing or billing, it is referred to as back-office BPO service.

3. What is the difference between offshore and onshore outsourcing?

Since BPO sector is based on outsourcing work, an interviewer may ask this question to know if you understand the basic terminology of the industry. It is very important that when you prepare for an interview, you read about the basic terms associated with the industry.

You may answer this question by briefly explaining what offshore and onshore outsourcing is. If you can explain with examples, it will reflect your deep understanding of the concept.

Example: If a company outsources its processes to a third-party company located outside the country, it is termed offshore outsourcing. For example, a European company outsources its segment of work to an Indian company.

On other hand, if a company outsources its processes to a third-party company located in the same country, it is termed as onshore outsourcing. For example, a European company outsourcing its processes to another European company.

4. What do you understand by in-bound and out-bound process?

By asking this question, the interviewer is trying to assess your basic knowledge of the processes followed in the industry. It helps them to analyse your appropriateness for the job position.

You can answer this question by explaining these processes with examples. If you have worked on these processes in your past job, it would be great to explain with the help of your experience.

Example: In-bound process means you are handling the customer's incoming calls to provide them the assistance on the service or product they have availed. For example, on-call technical support or complaint registration.

Out-bound process means you are calling the customers from the database you have got from the parent company. The purpose is to create and convert leads to increase the business of the company. For example, calling customers to sell credit cards or marketing new products or services to the customers.

5. What do you understand by voice process and web-chat process?

An interviewer may ask this question to assess your knowledge and may expect you to have a good understanding of these processes. It will help him analyse which process will be best suitable for you as per your skill set.

You can answer this question by explaining the difference between these two processes. It is also a great opportunity for you to pitch the process you are comfortable to work on. For example, you may prefer a web-chat process as you can portray your thoughts in a better way on chat than on a call.

Example: In voice-process, a BPO employee provides support to a customer over a phone call. All the tasks like resolving customer issues, marketing of products and services are done over a phone call. Whereas, in the web-chat process, all communication happens via chat service over the website.

6. Explain the difference between KPO and LPO.

An interviewer may ask this question because they expect the candidate to understand the difference between various outsourcing businesses. They may expect the candidate to know their capabilities and be clear on which sector they should be a part of.

You can answer this question by explaining the difference between KPO and LPO with an example.

Example: Legal Process Outsourcing is when a legal firm outsources its legal work to some other legal firm. On the other hand, Knowledge Process Outsourcing is a subset of Business Process Outsourcing. It includes those activities which require specific skill sets, technical knowledge or expertise in particular areas.

Tips To Prepare For A BPO Interview

Here are some tips which will be helpful for you to prepare for a BPO interview:

Have good knowledge of the industry

If you are a fresher, do your research on industry expectations from the candidate. BPO sector demands flexible working hours and night shifts as well. Thus, prepare yourself accordingly. Also, research about the key skill sets to get through the interview. For example, good communication and listening skills are a must-have for this sector.

Communicate clearly

During the interview at a BPO company, make sure you communicate effectively with the interviewer. Your conversation must be simple and understandable. Avoid using fancy words.

Stay true to your skills

Stay honest with your skills and make sure you highlight them accurately during the interview. Avoid projecting what you are not good at. For example, if you are not very good at verbal communication, be honest. There are other opportunities at BPOs which you may be more suitable for.

Be confident and show eagerness to learn

In BPO, many processes are training specific, thus it is important that you are confident and have eagerness to learn new things. Try to impress your interviewer by reflecting on this attitude in your interview.