Are Home Agents Right For Your Contact Center?

Faced with tight budgets, customer experience managers struggle to provide high-value customer support while also lowering operating costs. Many organizations are taking a closer look at employing home contact center agents to determine if the risks are worth the rewards. Employing home agents offers several potential benefits, such as improved recruiting opportunities, flexible work hours, and lower infrastructure costs. However, managers often express concern regarding the security, productivity, training, and support issues for these home agents. While early adopters of a home agent plan often point out positive benefits, they also mention the importance of a clearly defined process for managing home workers. Clients indicate they plan to increase the number of remote contact center agents over the next few years, requiring that contact center managers develop a defined internal support plan and support operations with network-based applications that support a virtual environment.