Growing and Managing At Home Call Center Agent Programs
Posted by Shannon Cherry on Fri, Nov 06, 2009 @ 08:46 AM
Using agents at home is a strategy in call center operations that you may be currently considering or even already utilizing. The questions you may be facing are how to create a successful program or what best practices will develop your program to best benefit your business.
Knowlagent recently conducted a survey of more than 200 call center executives across a wide range of industries that provides insight into the steps necessary for successfully managing at home call center agents. Important to remember throughout the process is how managing at home agents varies widely from traditional agents. "Current brick and mortar agents are generally full-time agents who are very rigid in their scheduling and are often not really meeting their true efficiency because of that," said Krystal Sautter, CEO of Moving Beyond the Bricks, a consulting firm specializing in home-based workforce implementations. "At-home agents are more flexible. The employees themselves want more flexibility, and it benefits the company because they are better able to meet the customers' needs."
A few steps to consider when planning your at home call center agent initiative:
- Delineate costs & benefits
- Build a project team
- Determine if you’re going for a pilot or full roll-out
- Plan for your transition
Once you have your program in place and you are looking to expand, it is vital to have a strategy around keeping your at-home agents involved. Communication and training delivery will likely differ for at home agents than those in a physical center. Other considerations to be made are selection of the appropriate agents and managing your at home call center agents who are not in a centralized location.
Read this "Building Blocks for a Solid At-Home Agent Program" white paper if you're interested in learning more.