Zoopla is to outsource its customer service team in a major change to the way it interacts with agents and homebuyers.

Contact centre specialist company Ventrica is to take over from the in-house customer support team, with staff leaving Zoopla to join the new provider.

The software support currently offered to the Alto, Jupix, and CFP Winman packages will be part of the operation moving to Ventrica.

“Zoopla is embarking on a new partnership to transform its customer support function and improve the support experience it provides for agents, housebuilders and consumers,” the portal said.

Customers will still log their support tickets in the same way via Zoopla’s suite of help centres, phone, email and web chat, but the customer support Zoopla provides “will improve significantly”, it says.

Faster response

New customer support hours will in time shift to “mirror the working hours of customers”, while faster and more consistent response times to support tickets will also be implemented through improved live channel support such as phone and web chat.

Zoopla employees moving to Ventrica (which will take place via a TUPE agreement) will continue to work with Zoopla. It is unclear whether there will be any redundancies.

They will also benefit from improved development and career opportunities, and more efficient operating frameworks which can flex depending on the number of customer support tickets logged, Zoopla says.

Maximum return

Andy Marshall, CCO at Zoopla, said: “We’re always aiming to improve the experience we provide for our customers, and provide maximum return on their investment.

We’re confident that this move will benefit everyone who touches Zoopla’s customer support ecosystem.”

“We’re confident that this move will benefit everyone who touches Zoopla’s customer support ecosystem – be it our customers who will now have access to a better experience with a faster response time – or our customer support employees who will benefit from more career opportunities as a result of the changes.”

Iain Banks, CEO of Ventrica, says: “We’re absolutely delighted to partner with Zoopla to elevate the customer experience they provide to agents, housebuilders and consumers.

“They join some of the UK’s largest and most established property brands which have been working with Ventrica for almost a decade. We look forward to working closely together to ensure a high-quality omnichannel experience across all of Zoopla’s platforms.”