Outsourcing comes home
Companies are turning to 'home agents' in the US to provide customer service. Workers like the hours – and the 15-second commute.
from the October 22, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Alpine Access, which employs 7,500 people, received more than 200,000 applications in the past 12 months, Mr. Carrington says. The average age of his workers is 41, and 80 percent have some form of college education. About 10 percent hold an advanced degree.
"They bring 10 to 15 years of work and experience in the particular industry they're serving," says Carrington. For a sportswear company, for example, he looks for people who studied fashion merchandising in college or worked for a clothing store. "They can help make products [in catalogs] come to life as they talk about fabrics and durability."
One company, Home-Base USA, specializes in hiring military spouses, enabling them to keep a job wherever military postings take them.
Airlines such as Southwest and Jet Blue both use many work-at-home mothers, Mr. Brown says. Carrington employs people with disabilities, too.
Depending on the company, agents are paid by the minute, the call, or the transaction. "Agents starting out can expect to probably make $7 to $9 an hour," Whipple says. "I have agents who are invoicing $15 to $20 an hour."
Agents must have a quiet workplace, away from distractions: no children's voices, no dogs barking, no doorbells.
Being able to answer a phone is not the only qualification, says Christine Durst, CEO of Staffcentrix. "You need high-speed Internet, DSL or cable, great computer skills, a separate phone line, and a pleasant phone voice. Nobody wants to talk to Sponge Bob."
Not everyone is cut out for home-based work. "It wouldn't be good for somebody who needs a lot of guidance and structure, or somebody who has a hard time reading," Whipple says. "If you find it de-energizing to talk to people, don't apply."
Lisa Hammond of Goessel, Kan., works with LiveOps, handling calls for everything from knives and appliances to workout programs: "You must be motivated and self-disciplined."
As a former assistant manager at WalMart, she earned $40,000 and worked 70 hours a week. "With three children, by the time I paid day care and fuel, I was only netting $600-800 a month." She says she nets more now, working 15 to 20 hours a week.
Cindy S., an agent in Florida for the past three years, lives in a rural area with few job opportunities. Health issues in her family prevent her from taking an 8-to-5 job, she says.
Instead, Cindy, who asked that only her first name be used, fields calls for infomercials and big toy stores, handles product recalls, and arranges conference calls. Noting the variety of businesses using home-based agents, she says, "The next time somebody orders holiday flowers, they're probably getting some nice woman at home taking orders."
Some at-home work is unconventional. Ted Werth, CEO of PlumChoice in Billerica, Mass., employs 250 home-based technicians who access and repair computers via phone connections.
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