Times are changing. With every passing day, the stock market is dramatically up (or down), the political climate shifts with the wind, and the business environment is definitely not the same as it was five years ago. Every organization whether you are a contact center; enterprise; government entity; or educational institution is looking to cut cost, be more efficient, and improve customer service. One way that companies are looking to accomplish these tasks is home shoring. Home shoring is the new name for the old concept of telecommuting. Today’s advances in technology, along with benefits seen by employees & companies alike, are making this virtual workforce a popular alternative to a traditional brick & mortar office.

The main reason that people look for work at home is schedules. For any number of reasons, employees are looking for a more flexible or non-traditional schedule and home shoring makes that possible. Many companies’ even base schedules on performance such that employees with the higher call quality ratings have first choice of their preferred shifts. Another advantage that employees find from working at home is the elimination of their commute. This rewards the employee with cost savings in gas and auto insurance (and reduction in stress from road rage). Another fiscal reward that home-based employees reap is a decrease in other expenditures such as clothes and eating out. At-home workers simply state that it is easier to juggle their work & personal life when working from home.

The home shoring employees are not the only ones benefiting, the organizations they work for also receive a long list of benefits. The largest benefits seen with at-home employees are a dramatic improvement in the call quality and in return, customer satisfaction. With home shoring, employee retention is increased (above 80% according to Frost & Sullivan) which leads to lower recruiting and training costs. Not to mention, with no physical geographic boundaries placed on recruiting, your talent pool is limitless. Having at-home employees also gives you more control with seasonal spikes and downturn in call quantity. Overhead is one of the largest expenses for a business owner. Leases, electricity, and insurance all add up to a large monthly bill. If your employees work from home, your facility / operating cost will greatly decrease or be eliminated completely. Many companies also see employees changing from full-time to part-time status, which will result in lower overall insurance costs for the company.

Is your company trying to go green? Do you have an environmental policy that you would like to see put into motion? Home shoring can help by reducing your organizations carbon footprint. With fewer automobiles on the road and fewer offices using electricity, there is a noticeable environmental impact. Based on an office with 100 employees, the following amounts of pollutants are reduced in one year:
– 26,600 gallons of gas
– 1680 Kg Hydrocarbons
– 8340 Kg NOx
– 12,540 Kg CO
– 549,600 Lbs. CO2

The most important question asked by companies that are contemplating moving to a home shoring model, is how to management the employees when they are not in the office? Three areas which will help you manage your home-based employees: tools, communications, and culture. Your communications system is the key tool in implementing and managing your home-based employees. Several components of the communications software that help manage a virtual workforce including tools for reporting, workforce management, and optimization. There are other elements that may assist you in managing your virtual team including secure IM, resource portal, and a learning management system. Communicating is a huge factor in the success of your home shoring program. Communication must be clear, concise, and professional from both the employees and their supervisors. As discussed below, a critical trait in hiring an at home employee is their ability to communicate. Culture also plays an important role in managing a team of home shoring employees. The culture that you initiate and foster will go a long way in showing your team what you expect of them. In addition, a results-oriented structure gives the employees something to work for, especially with their ideal schedule on the line.

Like any major business decision, it is best to formulate a plan. When deciding to move your workforce out of the office and into their homes, there are many items to consider such as your IT infrastructure. Does your communications system have the workforce management and recording capabilities that were mentioned earlier? Does it conduct all the necessary interactions that are required – phone, e-mail, and chat? Phone calls are the basic interaction but with unified communications, you can handle e-mail and chat as well. The workforce management tools can include recording (make sure to read up on your state laws on call recording), learning management tools, and instant messaging. Several of these were mentioned earlier and provide a back bone for managing your virtual workforce. One of the most critical components to consider and research is security. Every day, internet security becomes more critical and depending on your business, there are compliance issues related to customer privacy and records retention. Physical security with regard to your networks, workstations in the home, and all your system components is another area of your business model that must be defined.

Running criminal background and credit checks is just the first step in hiring a virtual worker. Although your talent pool is limitless, hiring someone to work remotely can be tricky. It takes specific personality traits (such as the samples listed below) to be able to be a productive worker from the home.
– Strong self discipline
– Independent worker with little feedback
– Trusted by supervisors
– Highly organized & proficient in time management
– Oral & written skills must be strong
– Good problem solving skills and decision making ability

There Levitra are list of benefits and a comparable list of considerations to look at when deciding whether or not to move your employees from a traditional brick and mortar configuration to a virtual office. Many organizations have had success with this transition. If you are still unsure, try a pilot program with a special select group of employees including highly productive, moderately productive, and below average employees. This will give you a jumping off point to begin evaluating whether or not this is suitable to your business model. Using a Deliberately Different approach, you can also have success with home shoring.

Author Bio: Sharon Moon is President of Automated Voice & Data Solutions. She launched AVDS to pioneer revolutionary technology for businesses by implementing next-generation communications systems. http://avds.com/ http://avds.com/Demo/ http://avds.com/IP-Telephony/

Category: Business
Keywords: Remote agents, VoIP, software based communications, at home workers