Looking homeward for customer service

Featured Commentator: Andrea Ayers, President, Customer Management

Who would have ever thought that one day the customer service agent helping you on the telephone could be your neighbor speaking to you from their home office next door?

And, who would have ever thought that this alternative service delivery option would become possible just when it is most needed?

I am delighted that advances in technology and society have made this alternative service delivery model possible for people wanting to or needing to work from home and for businesses wanting greater flexibility, access to a more dispersed and diverse workforce, and a reliable backup of agents who are available to support unexpected and sudden changes in call volumes or facility outages.

I am especially pleased that we have a home-based agent program that is helping people and businesses during this tough economic time.
But for those internal customer service operations considering home-based agents, running an effective home-agent program is not without challenges, especially in the areas of recruiting, training, security, and managing remotely.

Here are a few tips that should be helpful:

1. Develop virtual recruiting tools that provide the ability to capture applicant information and test applicant skills remotely. Virtual hiring processes should allow for skill testing such as typing test, call center simulation and basic 1on1 interviews with recruiting staff. Recruiting staff should be dedicated to hiring remote agents to ensure the level of focus and support that this type of work force requires.
2. Consider developing a training program that delivers training in a virtual classroom environment. Facilitators should be certified on virtual learning styles and know how to utilize web conferencing tools to create a virtual classroom.
3. To make agents feel like they are a part of a team, operations should be dedicated to managing virtual teams and understand the nuances to managing remote workers. Using a secure chat tool to allow home agents instant access to their team leader for help and coaching at any time is a necessity.  In addition, agents should have access to virtual break rooms, forum, message boards and virtual pre-shifts.
4. As part of the new hire and training process it’s especially important that agents be supported during on-boarding. A specialized help support function must be developed to assist agents through this process to address any technology concerns and to begin making the new hire feel like they are part of the team.
5. Use a call-monitoring system that enables trainers and quality control leaders to record calls, and to view a home agent’s onscreen activities at any time to provide data to give real-time feedback on performance.
6. Implement a secure platform that supports call routing and recording, incident management including a helpdesk and escalation processes, and secure system access that incorporates a firewall, VPN, security software and monitored chat. You’ll also need security software that prevents the saving, copying, transferring or printing of sensitive customer data along with alert capability should a blocked task be attempted.

Does your organization have plans to implement or expand a home agent program?

What has been the reaction? Challenges?  Rewards?

Tags: Customer Service, Home Agent, Real-time, Technology