At Home Agent Program Logistics
Posted by Shannon Cherry on Tue, May 25, 2010 @ 10:13 AM
At home call center agents are a hot topic lately, and increasingly, more companies are becoming interested in this model. We held another webinar around the concept of selecting the right at-home call center agents. During the webinar entitled "Lucky or Good," Michele Rowan, our at-home program expert, answered the following questions around logistics for the at home agent model:
Q: Do companies buy computer and set up phone lines -
or is this up to the work at home agent?
A: Both. Some companies furnish everything including a second phone line and ISP connection along with equipment and furniture, some companies furnish none. The most common practice is for employees to furnish ISP and phone connection, with employers providing PC or thin clients.
Q: Do quality control measures such as productivity and customer experience differ between on site and at home agents?
A: Measures generally don't differ, but results generally do. At-home performance is higher for companies that hire to the at-home demographic that is so prevelant.
Q: Are you aware of instances where work at home inspections are conducted by the parent company to insure proper adherance to policy?
A: Yes, about half the companies I know of conduct inspections for purposes of equipment, ergonomics, and dedicated work space checks. It is never a bad idea; it is usually a matter of priority and resource.
Michele Rowan, CEO of Customer Contact Strategies, specializes in helping call centers move customer contacts home. (See
http://www.gohome.us.com/ for more information).
To access the webinar materials, click here.
Image by bloomsburg.