Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Can Home-Based Agents Ease the Call Center Scheduling Process
In the days of the traditional call center, agents were scheduled according to need and availability. While forecasts could change, the hours and the demands of the job changed little from day to day. One frustrated customer blended into the next and wins in the way of the satisfied caller added a needed boost. Today, virtual call centers permeate the industry, putting a whole new spin on call center scheduling.
There are a number of benefits that drive the argument in favor of the virtual call center. Companies realize significant cost savings when they don’t have a brick and mortar operation to support. Agents working from home, on average, have proven to be much more productive than the typical in-house agent and the virtual environment allows for unlimited scalability.
Call enter scheduling solutions provider, Monet Software, recently published a blog post highlighting the virtues of the virtual call center. While the benefits for the company deploying the strategy are clear, agents also benefit from the practice. They not only eliminate the time and costs associated with driving to work, they also have the opportunity to achieve a better work-life balance. The parent of a small child can work in the other room instead of on the other side of the city.
Thanks to the evolution and adoption of cloud-based solutions, the work-from-home trend is supported with the necessary technology. The agent working from home can log into the system through a web browser and have the same service capabilities of the agent working in the physical center. There is no installation needed, data sharing is secure and managers have better flexibility in call center scheduling as agents have greater availability.
The call center is also no longer limited in its hiring practices to the local geography. Human resource managers can scour the industry and find those individuals with the education, experience and skill-set they need to meet the demands of a dynamic customer base. Such flexibility also means the call center on the East Coast has the opportunity to employ the agent on the West Coast able to cater to customers in the Pacific Time Zone.
Plus, call center managers can have access to the cloud-based workforce management solutions they need to receive detailed reports and real-time information on the performance and activities of their agents, regardless of location. This information includes shift assignments, schedule adherence and other important data that enables them to make informed decisions.
While the home-based agent model may take some getting used to in the transitional period, the tools are available to allow companies to begin to enjoy the benefits. When they are so clearly available – why wait?
Edited by Stefania Viscusi