Home-working agents on the increase

61% of contact centres plan to increase their number of home-working agents.

The research conducted by Plantronics and Customer Contact Association also revealed that 59% of respondents have either already begun to use home-workers, are currently running trials or are investigating the potential to adopt home-working in future. In addition, it was reported that 92% of contact centres cite improved flexibility as a key benefit of using home-workers.

“For years, contact centre leaders regarded home-working as very marginal – the research shows that is no longer the case,” said Philip Vanhoutte, Senior VP and Managing Director E&A for Plantronics. “Technology solutions have addressed data security concerns and successful pilots have shown the wide range of benefits that home-working can deliver, not just to the bottom line but for individuals seeking a better work-life balance, for rural communities seeking employment opportunities, and also for the environment and the economy.”

CCA conducted the survey on home-working trends among its members, which include many of Britain’s biggest companies across a wide range of industry sectors as well as major public sector employers.

The report, which includes case studies of successful home-working operations, found that the average home-worker is older, better-educated and possesses broader life skills and experience than the average contact centre worker, widening the recruitment talent pool.

It also found that businesses have successfully used home-workers to extend service hours, to scale up quickly in peak periods and to ensure business continuity when there are IT outages in centralised customer contact operations.