Chapter I: Introduction

With the expansion of technologies into all facets of life, call centers shifted away from the traditional application of handling long-distance switching to provide a variety of support services. This increased usage of call centers created a larger user base, which, along with the evolving price drop in required hardware, brought the price of call center establishment and operation down to the point where any organization with a need could acquire the necessary components to create a call center.

While the applications of call centers expanded rapidly since the eighties, the late nineties brought a technology that made call centers cheaper, more efficient, and versatile. Internet telephony dramatically altered the nature of call centers in both the way they operate and the functions they serve.

Today call centers can operate anywhere in the world by routing the calls through the internet. This has not only expanded the ability for centralized call centers to operate in any location with a sufficient amount of bandwidth, but the explosion of consumer subscriptions to broadband connections allow call centers to decentralize operations by utilizing agents wherever they may be located, independent of where the call center is located.

Even though a corporation has an efficient call center operation, call center consultants can still help to reduce overall expenditures. Call centers can drain a substantial amount off of a corporation’s bottom line. Even the most efficient call centers generally cost about $1 per minute to handle calls, which average four to five minutes per call.

Call center consultants can gauge how much operational decisions will affect a call center’s cost as well as determine ways to make the operation more efficient. Consultants can determine how much a change in services or a rate hike will cost in the terms of increased calls. This will help operations not only determine exactly how profitable the change will be, but how much the call center must ramp up logistics in order to meet an increased demand and the most efficient way to do that.

Customers are affected by the changes in different ways. A rate increase can be viewed differently by different types of customers depending on age, location, economics, and a variety of other factors. Consultants can also monitor the stress level in the voices of customers to measure the emotional state of the callers. With all of these factors, consultants can determine exactly how much each customer costs the call center operation.

Remote call centers can be a real bonus, no matter if you want to use your customer service and phone skills to develop your own call center agent service, or just want to increase your home business income until it starts to pay for itself.

Remote call centers offer larger companies the ability to receive call center operations on demand. These call centers offer their contracts flexible and seasonal staffs to meet the demands those companies require. Most operations can provide inbound and outbound call center operations and can switch on the fly using well designed branched scripting.

These call centers offer their customers the services of remote agents, many of whom work from home. The agents can set a flexible schedule, the call center can decentralize the physical location while still maintaining centralize supervising and administration, and contracts receive the flexibility to expand or contract operations as the situation needs.

Advantages of Providing Remote Call Center Services

There are several advantages of remote call centers for those who wish to set up their own home business: flexible hours, financial savings because of decreased transportation and wardrobe costs, time savings because it eliminates commuting, more family time, and being able to take your job with you if you move or travel once in a while. A good hourly rate and excellent benefits are typically offered, also.

What Qualities are Needed by Home Business Owners Who Want to Work at a Remote Center?

You must have good personal skills and be articulate, with the ability to think on your feet. A good speaking voice and basic customer service skills are needed. You must be able to memorize substantial volumes of material quickly – usually a 2-3 week training period – and you must be able to follow prepared scripts and procedures.

If there is an inside sales position that is of interest to you, you might need some phone sales or customer service experience behind you; technical or help desk positions may need technical expertise, advanced computer knowledge and/or mathematical skills. You won’t usually need a degree. The typical turnover rate is 60% or more, so this means that remote call centers are almost constantly hiring and have plenty of room for advancement available.

For the people who have these talents, remote may certainly be a home business actuality.