The home-agent model for call centers has been attracting a great deal of attention as of late. Often, new trends such as these are more hype than reality: once the mainstream news media pick up such stories (and they have been picking up the home agent story), it often means that the concept is more flash than reality.

This is not the case with the home agent model, however. Increasingly, companies are expanding their hiring of home agents. As success stories spread throughout the call center industry and the business world at large, combined with the negative press being garnered by offshore outsourcing, more companies are beginning to perk up at the mention of home agents, recognizing it as a viable option to shipping jobs offshore and taking a crapshoot with quality.

Perhaps one of the reasons the work-at-home model is succeeding so well is that it offers benefits to both employer and employee and, done properly, presents no downside. In an era of increasing traffic and awareness of the contributions of auto emissions to bad air quality, the home agent model is quite "green." It also contributes to better productivity, as workers are not wasting up to an hour (or more) per day on a commute. The time saved can be saved for family, or extra work hours. Because it requires no expansion of physical facilities, it keeps capital expenditures down. It also tends to attract a more mature, more stable and better educated caliber of agent.

The newest player to the home agent model is Akron, Ohio-based InfoCision Management Corp., which has been around for two decades and has been named among the top 10 best places to work in Ohio by the state Chamber of Commerce. The company has about 150 people currently on staff at home, and it's looking to expand that number.

InfoCision is having no problems recruiting highly qualified home agents. The company works closely with state and local agencies to identify qualified candidates for the work-at-home program. Its recruitment literature informs potential workers that, "If you have mobility issues that make it difficult for you to work outside the home or are a stay-at-home parent, or if you simply want to work from home, InfoCision's work-at-home program is what you've been looking for. No telemarketing experience is necessary — we provide extensive training and coaching via the Internet."

As for how InfoCision's home agent program stands out against others, Senior VP of Corporate Affairs Steve Brubaker said it's in the way the company treats its home employees. "The difference in our model is that our work at home employees have the same pay, benefits and status as those employees who work for us in our bricks and mortar locations," said Brubaker. "We do not use the approach of independent contractors as many others in the industry."

Indeed, InfoCision's home agents receive full company benefits. Requirements to be a home agent include only high-speed Internet access, a decent computer, up-to-date Windows and Internet Explorer and anti-virus and anti-spyware software.

Given the positive testimonials from both clients of outsourced home agent programs and the home agents themselves, it's hard not be positive about the trend. And as home agent programs expand further, perhaps a few commuters still stuck on the highway will begin to notice a little more breathing room.