• Hosted Call Center
• Articles

Why Work From Home Agents Make Call Center Outsourcing Easy

The thought of call center outsourcing does not always create warm and fuzzy feelings with the reader; unless the reader is familiar with the home-based agent platform employed by a number of different organizations. This platform leverages specific technology that enables skilled individuals to work as call center agents from the comfort of their home office.

The concept was highlighted in this recent inContact blog. Some of the perks listed in reference to call center outsourcing leveraging the work from home model include increased productivity, a limitless supply of snacks and the ability to walk the dog at lunchtime. One work from home (WFM) agent mentioned in the piece has been at her job for roughly seven years – quite a bit longer than the average call center agent tenure. The reason for her longevity is based primarily on the location of her desk.

The WFH agent model in call center outsourcing offers specific lifestyle opportunities that are not afforded for the agent working within the traditional call center environment. WFH agents tend to be older, are better educated and are more productive. According to a Frost & Sullivan report, 80 percent of WFH agents have completed some college, compared with 35 percent of on-premise agents. Research from Gartner (News - Alert) shows that the average productivity increases were 40 percent for the WFH agent.

In the call center outsourcing space, companies are often asked to do more with less, which drives the need for WFM agents. In fact, the WFH agent is now being used as a conscious retention tool. In the Problem Solved Tour, Michael Strobel from Recyclebank noted that he has had agents try and resign because they are moving across the country. In response, he simply packed up their headset and sent them to work from home, regardless of the geographic location of home.

This approach to call center outsourcing allows call center agents to keep great agents and build even more loyalty to the company as they have demonstrated they are willing to go the extra mile to meet the needs of the agent.

Oversight is often the primary objective to the WFH agent model. Supervisors often want a tighter rein on their agents than they feel they can achieve with WFH agents. True oversight, however, does not require the supervisor and the agent to be in the same physical location. Simple monitoring and recording tools are used to ensure performance. It still takes a little trust and technology to drive the right results, but the perfect mix really can leverage the benefits in this approach to call center outsourcing.

While the WFH agent model may not be ideal for every call center in operation, there are few who can argue with the benefits it provides. Once you are able to overcome a few simple objections, implementing the platform is a snap.

Susan J. Campbell is a contributing editor for TMCnet and has also written for eastbiz.com. To read more of Susan’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Chris DiMarco