REMOTE AGENT
New management techniques combined with enabling technology can be used to enhance the productivity of the contact center while improving agent morale and increasing staff retention. One such combination is establishing remote agents. These agents may be located in any geographic location that has basic connectivity. The concept can include agents working individually from their homes or small groups of agents working from remote locations.
In some locations, there are more open positions for agents than there are qualified agents available to fill those positions. Implementation of a remote agent program -- enabling agents to work from their homes or from other remote locations -- can provide a solution for this dilemma in multiple ways. The technology alone enables the organization to recruit from a much wider geographic area, often tapping into a previously undiscovered reservoir of available talent.
And the attraction of working from home -- avoiding commute time, distance, cost and hassle -- can be a very positive influencing factor for hiring and retaining agents.
Remote agents can also be used to provide additional coverage. Some contact centers have remote agents that are on-call for specific periods of time and available to log in and take calls with only a few minutes notice. This can be an effective way to handle unanticipated demand peaks. When remote agents are geographically spread across the country, they can also be used to expand call coverage by working shift times relative to their local time zone rather than relative to the time at the contact center location.
In addition, the remote agent may cost the organization less than agents local to the contact center in terms of infrastructure, recruitment and retention. Therefore, the use of remote agents to expand call coverage, handle overflow and other exceptional conditions also serves to maximize the customer's investment in system resources.
For more information call our headquarters at 800.841.1ACS or fill out the form to the right with your needs and one of our representatives contact you right away.
