5 Reasons Why Remote Agents Are Key To Call Centers

Modern contact centers often do not empower customer-focused agents. Due to their limitations, the shortcomings of the typical subcontracting environment and the challenges of the labor market, organizations routinely struggle not only to attract agents successfully, but also to meet the demands of their customers.

Modern contact centers cannot perform basic customer contact tasks without:

• Attract the right talent.
• Motivate performance.
• Attract and retain the best employees.
• Accommodate new customer preferences.
• Support customers in new regions and markets.
• Manage growth costs.

By deploying a remote workforce, an organization can put talent in a position to successfully participate with clients and support business growth. Telecommuting strategies can take different forms. They may involve allowing agents to work primarily from home or giving local agents the daily option of going to the office or working remotely.

The “Remote Agents” report, prepared by CCW Digital, focuses on the latest approach to distance work. It reveals how the telecommuting strategy can help companies overcome the difficulties associated with daily tasks in the contact center.

Why consider remote agents? Illustrated by the aforementioned dilemmas, the contracting model of conventional agents is insufficient for the realities of the current market. When properly designed and implemented, a remote agent strategy represents the ideal option, since it directly addresses the key market challenges and, in turn, gives organizations access to the agents they need and who their customers deserve.

5 Reasons Why Remote Agents Are Key To Call Centers

1) Overcome The Challenge Of “Conventional” Contracting

This may be the digital age, but the physical world still imposes limitations on growth and success. Since remote agents do not have to report regularly to a physical center, organizations can greatly expand their recruitment radios. This, in turn, gives them access to a wider and potentially more profitable group of talents.

A remote agent program also frees organizations from the physical costs associated with conventional call centers. These physical locations also have an adverse impact on agent retention. Even if they do not directly reject the agents, they surely impose a limit on their satisfaction. It is more likely that dissatisfied agents leave, which causes organizations to bear the costs of low quality experiences. The remote agent model helps organizations avoid these costs.

2) Attract Specialized Talent

The great agents are the key to an excellent customer experience. The remote agent model allows organizations to encourage these great agents.

By eliminating physical barriers, the organization can recruit for factors such as skills, industry experience, education or affinity with the brand. More importantly, organizations can attract, satisfy and retain the agents that possess these advantages.

By offering access to personalized online training, flexible schedules and the convenience of working remotely, the company offers legitimate value to the most demanding and selective workforce members of today. It goes directly to those inhibited by the conventional call center environment, rigid and handled by cubicles.

3) Deliver A More Customer-focused Experience

By eliminating hiring barriers, the remote agent model allows organizations to hire agents that align with the preferences of their clients. In addition to valuing knowledge and experience, clients gravitate toward agents with particular personality types and communication styles.

Able to offer efficiently the experience that customers want in the channel they prefer, these agents are predisposed to provide a better experience. They help turn the promise of centricity into the customer into a reality.

4) Increase Agility, Scalability And Efficiency

A remote agent program helps organizations move to an operating expense model. The organization can hire, train and release agents according to commercial needs, which produces a much more efficient operation. The call center will only hire and pay for the work you need.

With the money it saves, the organization can look for higher caliber talent, more valuable technology or better customer journeys. It will be invested in the customer experience instead of in a building.

Along with increasing profitability, the remote agent model increases agility and scalability. Since remote agents have specialized skills, the organization can quickly expand its workforce to adapt to surges related to particular problems, channels or customer bases.

5) Remote Agents Are Real Assets

Whether an organization prefers the notion of “happy agents produce happy customers” or “productive agents produce satisfied customers”, it can turn the adage into reality with remote agents.

• With a remote agent model, the organization can take advantage of a larger group of talents. You can also prioritize factors such as skill, the physical state of the brand, the level of motivation and customer orientation.
• The organization no longer loses its best talent; much less the time managers spend recruiting, incorporating and training new agents.
• Increases the profitability of the contact center, while increasing its capacity to quickly adapt to new channels, regions and customer bases.

In conclusion, a remote workforce strategy offers the flexibility they crave, the autonomy they provide and the support framework they require. Working on their own terms in a more favorable environment, these highly trained agents are motivated to surprise customers and increase their satisfaction.