Some outsourcers, such as Miami, FL-based Willow CSN, employ teleworking agents. It lets you tap into potential employees who cannot easily commute, such as single mothers with very young children, seniors, the mobility-impaired and college students. When you need a peak evening shift filled, more workers are willing to handle calls at night if you can offer them the safe and convenient option of working from home. If your center is in a metropolitan area whose air quality exceeds Federal standards, teleworking helps your company comply with laws that can limit the number of agents you hire who have to drive to work. Teleworking can help agents be more productive during their scheduled working hours.
Teleworking presents several operational challenges.
You have to know your staff well enough to determine which agents can function best away from your direct supervision. Among the agents who indicate that they want to telework, you need to select only those who have sufficient training and experience, who demonstrate that they can manage their own time and who know how to resolve problems with customers on their own. After you make your decision, you have to adapt your managerial approach so that you can supervise and train agents whether they work inside or outside your center. Beyond management and staffing issues, teleworking also introduces technological issues and expenses. For example, you often have to provide agents with special equipment and software so that they can handle calls and collect information about customers as though they were in your main center.