Press

Oct 2003: Call Center Magazine

There's No Place Like Home

By Brendan B. Read
Call Center Magazine
10/06/2003

Call center agents are knowledge workers. Their tasks involve manipulating information: from customers on the phone and on-line with the help of computers. Most knowledge workers do not physically interact with customers and colleagues.

With phones in most homes and with computers and Internet access in a majority of residences, what is the point of requiring knowledge workers like agents to commute to other locations to work on phones and computers?

Had call center agents and other knowledge workers been working at home when the August 14 blackout struck the eastern US and Ontario, Canada, they would not have been stuck on elevators, in subways and in standstill traffic.

New York and Toronto would not have faced as huge evacuations that strained emergency crews and caused traffic jams. If the workforce was spread out, businesses would have continued, albeit at less capacity; many areas still had power.

Chances are there would have been less electricity consumed. That could have shortened the blackout spread and duration.

There is also no place like home to cope with another disaster felt by call centers worldwide: the inability to attract and retain quality staff. Turnover rates are 75% to 100% and higher depending on the centers.

Little wonder. Typically, the hours are long; wages are low; customers and prospects are impatient, hostile and abusive; agents have no control over their surroundings; are heavily monitored; and there is little room for advancement.

Some call centers deliberately burn agents out so they don't have to give them raises or benefits. When another location becomes more affordable, like offshore, centers click the padlocks on the doors.

Offshoring will not cure turnover problems. There are reports from India that turnover is creeping above 35%. Agents reportedly suffer from backaches, digestive problems and stress. Eventually, call centers will run out of people who are willing to work in them.

Few employers have the money for palace-like facilities with amenities like gyms and delis, or for promotions, high wages and benefits. As the economy turns around, many call centers have little choice but to make these expenditures.

Call centers that telework find that they can lessen turnover, raise productivity and cut costs.

Employees are often attracted to employers that let them work from home because it eliminates commuting costs, time and stress.

Teleworking also enables call centers to tap into a new labor force: individuals over 40 who wouldn't think about working in a call center but who excel at phone and on-line service and sales. Those 40+ are a growing labor market. Many prefer to work part-time, which enables call centers to match agent supply with demand. Many already have benefits.

These individuals have the life experience to solve problems and overcome sales objections. They don't need to be told to come to work on time or not to leave early, unlike many young people who typically work in call centers. These workers could also fill a looming labor supply gap that could occur in as little as two years.

One example: when outsourcer ARO switched to teleworking, turnover dropped to 7% from 25% and productivity grew by 15%; it also cut facilities costs.

ARO saves over $1 million/year compared with having a conventional call center. A key reason: change in workforce to 40+ from 20-somethings when ARO began offering teleworking.

Teleworking lets call centers closely match agent supply with call volume; teleworkers, especially 40+, are more willing to work part-time and handle call spikes because their "commute" takes seconds rather than minutes and hours.

To make teleworking happen managers and executives must stop looking over everyone's shoulders, just as ARO and other teleworking centers have. Instead, they should regard, treat and hire agents as customer service/sales professionals and trust them to work at home with proven measurement, communications and monitoring tools.

That's the best way to keep the lights on for your employees and for your customers.