The emergence of the coronavirus pandemic instantaneously brought attention to the importance of remote customer center agents to manage staffing fluctuations, risk mitigation, and business continuity. Some companies ceased their operations while others encouraged employees to work from home. Lockdowns and quarantines were instituted in the United States and globally, which led to the depletion of customer center staff in brick-and-mortar sites.
Amidst all the uncertainties caused by the pandemic, BPO companies decided to take their contact centers remote, resulting in the emergence of work-at-home customer centers. This shift helped companies realize the benefits of remote teams. Even industry purists now believe this solution to be a great disruptor. So, is this work model here to stay? Let’s find out!
Work at Home Customer Centers: What Employees Think
A Gallup poll found that 67% of employees who transitioned to the WFH model prefer to work remotely because of the pandemic. Considering the statistics, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that customer center agents increasingly support the WFH model. Therefore, it is not a surprise that work-at-home customer center hiring is on the rise.
Challenges of Remote Customer Centers
Although the popularity of work-at-home customer centers is increasing in these unprecedented times, there’s no denying this setup has its own challenges and issues. Here are a few which are commonly associated with customer center work-at-home positions that would require smart solutions and troubleshooting:
1. Equipment, Efficiency, & Reliability
One of the biggest advantages of in-office customer centers is the proper infrastructure that includes bandwidth reliability, the right tools, and high-quality equipment. While businesses can opt for outsourcing solutions and shift their customer service domain to remote customer centers, the biggest challenge is ensuring that the hired agent has everything which is required to sail through the job.
Solution
The easy solution for businesses entering the remote customer center domain is establishing clear standards and setting up requirements during the hiring and onboarding process. It ensures that the hired agent has all the prerequisites to fulfill their responsibilities at optimum capacity.
2. Data Security & Safety Protocols
The major concern for communication industry experts is dealing with data compromise, security breaches, and cybersecurity issues in the case of virtual customer centers. Since there is no traditional managerial inspection, walking-the-floor practices, or real-time support in at-home customer centers, tackling cybersecurity breaches can be a serious issue.
Solution
Modern challenges require modern solutions! Businesses need to develop a sophisticated cloud-based security network with proper protocols, standards, tools, and restrictions to minimize security breaches that might put sensitive data at risk. Additionally, efficient customer centers, whether in-office or at-home, must always have strong IT support, or they should outsource their data security management to IT support companies for real-time issue resolution.
3. Productivity and Performance Metrics
In a remote customer center, workforce management and monitoring can be daunting, but it’s not impossible. Virtual customer centers can function seamlessly, just like any other physical contact center, at their maximum productivity. However, many businesses might find themselves in a fix due to replacing in-person and floor management.
Solution
Technology is your tool and savior when it comes to ensuring maximum productivity and measuring employee performance KPIs in a virtual contact center. The remote workforce requires shifting to digital and software solutions to enhance communication and seamless operations. It is crucial for businesses to develop a unique communication center, proper check-ins, information flow, and task tracking to ensure that the calling agents and management are working in sync. Whether businesses opt for an omnichannel contact center or an inbound/outbound customer center, investing in the right tools and technologies undeniably eases the whole process.
Benefits of Switching to Virtual Centers
Though the transition to home-based customer centers has been going on for quite some time, the pandemic accelerated the process. Let’s examine why work-at-home customer centers have gained such momentum and popularity.
1. Reduced Capital Expenses
Operating a virtual customer center is an extremely cost-effective avenue for businesses, which is why many also opt for outsourcing solutions to establish their contact centers. This way, businesses can save on equipment, building, and infrastructure. They can rely on agencies to enhance their customer service with more technological and digitally backed resources.
2. Enhanced Productivity
Relevant data and studies establish that developing virtual customer centers is efficient for better ROI. Also, a remote workforce enhances the customer service experience with faster processing which helps in improving customer retention, engagement, and loyalty.
3. Higher Scalability & Customer Satisfaction
Remote customer centers are highly scalable, allowing businesses to establish a diverse pool of talent from around the world, and catering to their specific and unique requirements. This flexible recruitment is technologically centric, which further helps boost productivity, performance, and motivation. This ultimately helps achieve customer satisfaction. With a spike in remote inbound & outbound contact centers, studies and surveys also reveal a positive trend in agent retention and client satisfaction.
The Verdict
Work-at-home customer centers became the center of attraction during the pandemic era, but the debate about the physical vs. remote contact center agents has always been there. COVID-19 proved to be a perfect case study that remote or virtual customer centers are here to stay because the pros indefinitely outweigh the cons.