Q: We have been asked to do some research on the feasibility of having WAHAs – work at home agents. What are your thoughts about WAHAs?

A: Here is what I am seeing regarding work at home agents, also known as virtual agents. Because customer satisfaction ratings have not been as high with offshore agents, it appears that onshore contact centers are looking for creative solutions to exceed customer expectations.

I read recently, “work at home agents tend to be older and more experienced, stay with their jobs longer, are more productive than in-house agents, are less exposed to illness and so have lower absentee rates, and frequently work for rates 5 percent to 15 percent lower than those in-house agents earn.” In addition, remote agents offer greater flexibility in working various shifts to meet the demands of peak times within the call center.

Organizations save significant expenses on office space, furniture, utilities and equipment with virtual contact centers that allow the ability to expand rapidly without capital expenditure.

However, there are some issues to be concerned about with remote agents. Technical security, company confidentiality and maintenance of technical support agents are issues that need to be resolved. Using quality monitoring to observe and monitor agents in real-time in conjunction with frequent and regular and training can minimize some of these risks. One final note, it is important that an extensive background check is performed.