Work From Home Customer Service

Evaluating Work at Home CSR Providers

Want to create a work-at-home customer service department? A number of home agent providers make it easy to tap into their existing infrastructure and talent, rather than starting from scratch on your own.

Staffing your company's customer service department can be a challenge, especially if you are a small business with limited management assets and HR resources.

Offshore call center outsourcing is a possibility, but you're having a hard time justifying sending jobs to India when there are so many potential job candidates here in the U.S.

These days, there may be an option you haven't considered yet. Work-at-home customer service is gaining momentum in the marketplace because it provides unique benefits for both workers and employers. Instead of driving the workplace, technology allows skilled customer service agents to work from a home-based office.

To make the process even easier, there are now work-at-home customer service providers who will handle your call center for you, using home-based employees located in the U.S. Some home CSR providers are scam artists, but others are legitimate professionals. Here's what you need to know when it's time for your company to evaluate work-at-home CSR providers.

• Recruitment strategy. Although it's nice to outsource recruitment to a third-party, don't neglect the provider's recruitment strategy and hiring process. Target providers that tailor recruitment to your specific job requirements and maintain a comprehensive database of qualified CSR professionals.
• ROI metrics. Your investment in third-party, work-at-home CSR outsourcing should result in substantial ROI. Expect your provider to offer ROI metrics for similarly sized companies with an 8%+ increase in ROI over your in-house staffing process.
• Technology infrastructure. Work-at-home customer service is predicated on reliable technological infrastructure. Look for technology that is easy to implement, but has a proven industry track record.
• Management systems. Work-at-home management is much different than onsite CSR supervision. Your provider should recognize the distinction and be capable of demonstrating a history of successful work-at-home CSR management.
• Attrition rates. Since work-from-home customer service workers are generally happier than onsite employees, it's not unreasonable to expect lower attrition rates than you currently experience using in-house customer service labor.

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