Work at home agents or ‘remote’ agents are call center or help desk employees who work far away from the main office, either full time or part time. This way, retired people, housewives, long-distance individuals as well as people who just prefer to work from home can have a career with call centers.
Using the latest advancements in VoIP and SIP, work at home agents can work together with the office based teams seamlessly. They can also be monitored, adjusted and activated as well as the others. Reports also say that work at home agents are happier, have more job satisfaction and are more productive than others. They are also often more loyal to the company. Consequently, the total costs are lowered and the overall efficiency of the company increased.
Some of the advantages of working from home for the company are:
Less office space; studies prove that a single work at home agent can save the company nearly $12,000 a year in terms of office space, the cost of building and maintaining work stations, furniture, lunchrooms and other additional amenities
Extended business hours
Companies will be able to recruit from lower cost markets such as rural areas
More hands at short notice to cover peak call volumes
Near perfect attendance
Voice communication via the telephone in case of an emergency
The company would be able to hire temporary as well as seasonal staff besides the disabled
Companies which plan to shut down but want to keep their best performing agents can retain them by allowing them to work from home
As there is no long term commitments made on both sides, either party can end the contract any time without much hassle
These are some of the advantages for the agents:
Flexible working hours
No need of a business wardrobe
No need of a daily commute
You are your own boss
Family time around your schedule
Working at home, however, has its own demerits- it means giving up certain traditional benefits like a vacation, sick time as well as medical and dental plans. Work at home agents have less chances of promotion as well. Thus finally, it depends on the agents themselves and their priorities.
So what will it take to make a virtual call center work for you?
Get your work out of the way early whenever possible. Distractions are sure to arise, so make sure you get you work done early, if this is an option. Most people working in a call center need to be at their phone during certain periods, so this may not be an option for everyone.
Have a dedicated office, where you can isolate yourself from family and disruptions. Shutting the door needs to be an option if you want to be effective.
Coordinate your activities whenever possible. If you are able to schedule your own hours, make sure you plan for work, and play.
Have the right equipment, the right office furniture, the right call center technology and software. Most companies will supply these materials, but if they don’t, then do yourself a favor and get them.
