The Call Center Comes Home as More Agents Work Remotely

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc on many parts of the economy, but has also afforded new opportunities for some in the call center space. Teladoc, a company that specializes in providing medical advice and support online and via the phone, has experienced a massive surge in calls since the coronavirus first hit the US.

The company told CNBC that it previously hired support representatives solely on site, but quickly needed to transition to a work-from-home model when COVID-19 hit. With no experience managing remote reps, the company hired NexRep to help with its needs.

NexRep specializes in hiring remote contractors for call centers throughout the country. The company enabled Teladoc to quickly and efficiently expand its call center staff by 40 percent or more, depending on weekly call volume.

Business has been booming for NexRep, as the company has helped call centers in a variety of markets beef up their staff using remote representatives. Instacart needed to quickly increase its customer care team as the company has experienced unprecedented demand for its grocery delivery services during the pandemic. With help from NexRep, Instacart increased its team 15-fold, hiring experienced agents from companies like Hertz and Hilton.

NexRep is providing much needed job opportunities for people who would prefer to work from home while COVID-19 cases continue to spike throughout the country.

Full-time public school teacher Tamara Gordon told CNBC that she had been working overnight shifts at an Amazon warehouse three nights a week to supplement her income when the coronavirus struck. The job included a 45-minute commute each way to Amazon's warehouse along with difficult physical labor that left her exhausted.

When she learned about NexRep she jumped at the chance to change jobs, even though it meant a pay cut from Amazon's $15-18 per hour to $10 per hour. Gordon, who works for Instacart handling calls and text chats, enjoys choosing her own hours and being able to work from anywhere.

“I was leaving my kids home at night while going to Amazon and was super tired working during the day,” she said. “I really like the flexibility of NexRep. It supplements my teacher income, which I need to do.”

According to Teddy Liaw, CEO of NexRep, its workers average $12-14 per hour. The company added 4,000 positions in three months after COVID-19 struck. The company uses Five9 (News - Alert)'s cloud-based contact center software to power its agents.  One of the benefits of the Five9 platform is it allows NexRep to very rapidly scale up to meet evolving need, like the recent increase in demand for wt-home agents.


Edited by Erik Linask