Work at Home_ a Call Center Option

							?Faced with falling customer satisfaction rates and rising costs, companies in recent
years have been searching for solutions. For some years, companies experimented
with off-shore outsourcing, building call center sites in locations such as India, the
Philippines, and Malaysia, where cheap land and labor, along with a large
English-speaking population were available. However, a new alternative is visible on
the horizon, which may be even more promising than outsourcing. This is the
home-based agent model.

The home-based agent model is one version of a virtual call center, in which agents
take or place calls from their own homes. Equipped with a browser, a PC, and a
telephone, agents are ready to work. While challenges with this model exist, benefits
are attractive, and an increasing number of businesses are piloting programs that use
home-based agents. This article considers the major advantages and challenges
involved in shifting toward this model.

Home-based agents can represent great savings for a company, if proper planning
precedes the shift. Traditionally, the single largest expense in any call-handling model
is agent labor. A recent report from Forrester Research Inc. reports that home-based
agents accept between 5-15% lower rates of pay in exchange for the convenience of
working from their own home. This trade-off is advantageous for both parties, since
agents save on costs related to commute, wardrobe, and other work-related expenses.
In addition, it is easier for home-based agents to accommodate split shifts. In the
traditional model, agents must be scheduled for 3-4 hours at a time. This isn't the case
with home-based agents. Companies can schedule home-based agents during peak
hours only, saving the cost of operation during lower production periods of the day.
Businesses using home-based agents also save on the costs of running a large facility
full-time.

Even more promising are some early reports showing that high-quality agents perform
even better when working from home! Businesses using home-based agents are not
restricted by a geographical area, and can therefore recruit from a larger pool of
candidates. This means they can be more selective when it comes to the quality of
their workforce. This factor has no doubt contributed to the low employee turnover
rate reported with home-based agents. By hiring carefully-screened, proven agents
and monitoring regularly for quality and performance, businesses avoid the challenges
that arise from the lack of regular meetings and physical presence.

Switching to a home-based agent model does involve some risk. Strong policies for
the handling of information become necessary because of the increased exposure to
external breeches. Another potential disadvantage for using home-based agents is that
problems with products and services may take longer to identify, whereas a flood of
incoming calls to one center can command instant attention.

Yet another difficulty encountered by companies adopting the home-based agent
model is in technical support and training. If agents are dispersed over a wide area it
becomes hard to provide training. More subtle tips, hints, and examples usually
shared by employees in the break room are impossible for home-based agents to
access. Therefore, employers should provide a way to exchange communication and
provide training to their home-based employees.

Probably the factor holding back most companies from adopting a full-fledged
home-based agent model is their investment in an existing traditional call center
infrastructure. While new companies may consider this a viable alternative, traditional
companies may do well to initiate smaller pilot programs, starting with five
home-based agents and growing as their operations expand.

About the Author
ob Daniels comments on Call Centers at Call Center Depot and develops content for
Call Center Tools