April 16, 2008 | Author: Zack Taylor Effective Practices for At Home Resources – Part 2 One of our recent posts discussed three best practices around the people, policy and working environment aspects of a home-based resources strategy. Let's take a look at the last three of the six insights we’ve uncovered in working with early adopters of this rapidly developing trend. More >> Permalink | Comment Now >>
April 03, 2008 | Author: Zack Taylor Effective Practices for At-Home Resources – Part 1 Our last post discussed the business, societal and technological changes that are making home-based resources an ever increasing percentage of the customer contact workforce. 2007 IDC estimates range from as few as 112,000 to as many as 672,000 contact center agents worldwide working at home. Avaya research indicates that more than 42% of companies are considering at-home resource deployments in order to attract and retain the highest quality resources. The good news? With at-home agents, the larger addressable work force available makes finding the right people easier, and the expenses associated with supporting premise-based agents shrink as much as 33%. It’s a classic win-win.
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April 03, 2008 | Author: Zack Taylor Effective Practices for At-Home Resources – Part 1 Our last post discussed the business, societal and technological changes that are making home-based resources an ever increasing percentage of the customer contact workforce. 2007 IDC estimates range from as few as 112,000 to as many as 672,000 contact center agents worldwide working at home. Avaya research indicates that more than 42% of companies are considering at-home resource deployments in order to attract and retain the highest quality resources. The good news? With at-home agents, the larger addressable work force available makes finding the right people easier, and the expenses associated with supporting premise-based agents shrink as much as 33%. It’s a classic win-win.
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March 24, 2008 | Author: Vickie McGovern Do people that work from home really work? In a world where global warming, carbon emissions and the dreaded "R" word are uttered almost daily, one trend businesses are noticing now more than ever is working from home. An estimated 150 million people around the world either work from home on a part-time basis or call home their primary office. But if your business hasn't taken that leap yet, you're not alone. I mean, people that work from home don't really work, right? Wrong. Yes, it takes the right kind of person, but there are many of us out there. I should know — I'm one of them. More >> Permalink | Comments (8)
March 21, 2008 | Author: Zack Taylor Best Practices for At-Home Agents: A Two Part Series – Prelude At-home agents live and work at the intersection of business, societal and technology trends. I've recently spent time with companies that are beginning to embrace the use of at-home resources. Interestingly enough, employing remote contact center agents has been an option for more than ten years, but the recent surge of at-home agents is akin to the social epidemics described in The Tipping Point and largely influenced by three factors:
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March 14, 2008 | Author: Andy Green In Search of the .400 Agent We’re delighted when we have a great customer-agent experience and left questioning our faith in humankind when we don’t. Coaching, training and metrics monitoring can all help boost agent performance. But is there a price to pay for improving agent behavior? Contact center managers should look to major league baseball and its experience shaping batting averages for an answer.
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January 18, 2008 | Author: Zack Taylor Hands-off Help
One of the biggest thrills I had as a kid was learning to ride my 10 speed with no hands. I also admit that I once took great joy in driving from Cleveland to Toledo using only my knees to guide the steering wheel. (For those of you familiar with the Ohio Turnpike and its terrain west of Cleveland, you know that’s really no big deal). More >> Permalink | Comment Now >>
A recent report from a non-profit economic consulting group is raising a few eyebrows in Silicon Valley and other high-tech centers. Buried Treasure: New York City’s Hidden Technology Sector makes a bold claim. Based on U.S. Census data from 2004, the report concludes that New York City supports over 165,000 high-technology workers. If you factor in the NYC metropolitan area, then high-technology employment (over 600,000) exceeds that of tech hubs San Jose, Boston, and Los Angeles. More >> Permalink | Comment Now >>
One of the biggest thrills I had as a kid was learning to ride my 10 speed with no hands. I also admit that I once took great joy in driving from Cleveland to Toledo using only my knees to guide the steering wheel. (For those of you familiar with the Ohio Turnpike and its terrain west of Cleveland, you know that’s really no big deal). 
