The exploding emergence of web-based software is empowering contact center operations to equip their geographically distributed staff with mature call monitoring and quality optimization tools, which were previously anchored to their centers. 

While the distributed model can be advantageous in expanding the pool of potential workers and reducing the operational cost associated with running an office, not having your entire staff in one location can pose unique challenges for contact center managers. Many challenges, such as productivity assurance, are being solved with a bevy of next-generation web applications which are both full-featured and limitless in functionality.

Forty-year industry veteran Coordinated Systems, Inc. (CSI (News - Alert)) now offers their Virtual Observer call monitoring suite in a web-based interface, providing management and IT departments with an easy deployment strategy: authenticated, remote supervisors can now simply fire up a web browser and have full access to a robust set of quality assurance and monitoring tools which was previously only available in a client-server version.

In the past, remote users were able to use VO by installing the client-server version on their local PCs or on a laptop, as long as proper VPN connectivity was established. Now it is truly as easy as launching a web browser and accessing your company’s web server.

With the new web-based call monitoring system, it is now possible to create actionable intelligence from your entire QA workforce, regardless of location. Remote staff now have the ability to use all of the robust QA features found in Virtual Observer (VO), including scoring, reporting, dashboards, and e-learning regardless of their geographic location. More advanced features, such as Call Insight speech analytics, can also be used remotely within the new web interface. VO’s new dashboard analytics reporting are available as well. The critical members of your management team, from a remote location, will always have access to important metrics and can see real-time updates on the pulse of their contact centers whenever they wish to.

The trend toward a distributed workforce creates big time cost savings for enterprises and even small businesses. This model not only reduces the cost associated with running a facility, but research at Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert) has determined that it can lead to reduced turnover rates. In the study, turnover for at-home operations was nearly 25 percent less than that of brick and mortar locations (10 percent vs. 35 percent). Other studies indicate that the majority of at-home agents are native English speakers, are older and on average have higher levels of education levels than those in brick and mortar operations.

Proper recruitment and training are still essential to the success of any at-home campaign, and as with all call center positions not every candidate will be ideal for your company. But by using a web-based monitoring system like Virtual Observer, managers can justify their hiring decisions and reap the benefits of an at-home operation. The flexibility and granular information that VO provides makes it a smart choice for any call center looking to expand into this quickly developing business model.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2011, taking place Sept. 13-15, 2011, in Austin, Texas. ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations. It's also where service providers learn how to profitably roll out the services their subscribers are clamoring for – and where resellers can learn about new growth opportunities. To register, click here.