3. U T I L I Z I N G H O M E A G E N T S T O I M P R O V E C U S T O M E R S AT I S FA C T I O N
Executive Summary
While streamlining processes and implementing supporting technology are key components of any customer satisfaction
improvement program in the customer contact center, the ability to truly move the needle on customer satisfaction ultimately
lies with a company’s agents. To drive a demonstrably positive impact on customer satisfaction and first call resolution rates,
companies are embracing the use of home agents in their agent staffing mix.
Compared to brick-and-mortar or offshore agents, home agents offer distinct advantages to companies striving to improve
customer service. An ICMI study found that home agents are more productive, deliver higher quality (including fewer errors
and higher first call resolution rates), and have lower turnover rates than their in-house counterparts.1
Add to this the scheduling flexibility inherent with home-based agents and the result is a boon to customer satisfaction. In
fact, according to a recent study by Aberdeen, 62 percent of best-in-class centers report improved customer satisfaction upon
implementation of home agents, with 35 percent of these centers experiencing greater than 10 percent improvement.2
This paper delivers key insights into agent impact on customer satisfaction and retention, how and why home agents are a
growing trend, and how companies can wield a home agent strategy to ratchet up customer satisfaction.
Delivering on the Promise of Customer Service Excellence
In today’s increasingly commoditized marketplace, it may seem that price point is the ultimate means of attracting and
retaining customers. Yet, in survey after survey, quality customer service emerges as one of the last-remaining unique
differentiators available to companies in highly competitive markets. As a result, organizations have a renewed focus on
improving the customer experience by delivering exceptional customer service. New customer-centric strategies focus on
continually enhancing satisfaction and loyalty to drive long-term growth and profitability.
In order for these strategies to succeed, the contact center needs to align its objectives with those of the enterprise as a whole.
This begins with maximizing the impact of every customer touch point. Customer expectations are at their peak when
interacting with a live customer service agent. As the most frequent and memorable touch point, live agent service needs to
set the standard for delivering an excellent customer experience.
Barriers to Achieving Outstanding Customer Service
Processes and technology are two points on the triangle of successful customer service delivery. Addressing inefficiencies and
shortcomings in these areas is vital in giving agents the tools they need to be more responsive and effective in handling
customer calls. It’s the third point on the triangle though – the agents themselves – that delivers the lion’s share of impact on
customer satisfaction goals.
In an ideal world, the contact center would have all the resources and capacity to respond immediately, in the most effective
way, to customers’ needs. The reality is that many contact centers face day-to-day constraints and challenges that make
delivering consistently high quality service a nearly unattainable goal. Chief among these hurdles is maintaining a dedicated
workforce of skilled agent resources.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1 “Staffing and Scheduling for the ‘Free Agent’ Workforce,” Greg Levin, Customer Management Insight
2 Ibid.
3
4. U T I L I Z I N G H O M E A G E N T S T O I M P R O V E C U S T O M E R S AT I S FA C T I O N
Despite all efforts, many traditional brick-and-mortar contact centers face persistent staffing challenges that prevent the
organization from meeting its customer satisfaction goals. These issues include:
Turnover – Agent attrition is the most consistent problem for contact centers. Factors including agent burnout, scheduling
conflicts, motivation, commute times and lack of career opportunities cause brick-and-mortar based agents to switch, with
average attrition rates of 33% according to Contact Babel 3. When experienced agents leave, customer satisfaction can
take a beating.
Quality – With a more inexperienced workforce and typically higher rates of attrition, quality of service is difficult to
improve and maintain. Younger workers using the contact center as a launching pad to other forms of employment may
not have a strong commitment to delivering a quality customer experience each and every time.
Skills – With the average in-house contact center agent being a mere 23 years old according to a Frost & Sullivan study 4,
skill and experience levels are likely to be at a more fundamental level than those of more seasoned workers. Inexperienced
agents are less likely to be able to resolve customer issues quickly and effectively. The pool of available agents with
specialized skills such as insurance agents, pharmacists and travel agents is limited to the area in which the contact center is
located and they are typically less likely to work in a call center environment.
Scheduling – Even the best-laid workforce management plans can be undermined when an unexpected spike in call volume
or higher than usual agent absenteeism occurs. Calling in the reinforcements is an often ineffective, expensive response,
while customer wait times and frustration mount in the interim.
The Home Team Advantage
As an antidote to these staffing challenges, companies are discovering the strategic advantages of deploying home-based
agents. In fact, between now and 2012, Datamonitor predicts the number of home-based customer service agents to grow
at a compounded annual growth rate of 36.4%.5
Originally viewed as a tactic to gain scheduling flexibility and retain valuable employees by allowing them to telecommute,
today’s savvy organizations realize that home-based agents offer far more in terms of benefits. Home agents, as a group,
possess desirable qualities that can result in significant customer satisfaction gains.
The Typical Home Agent – Smart, Skilled, Stable
A home agent position appeals to job candidates seeking a better work/life balance. Agents can determine their own hours,
freeing them to meet family and community obligations. They often face fewer distractions at home than in the contact
center and avoid long and costly commutes.
Tapping into the home agent demographic provides access to a labor pool that possesses a depth of experience, knowledge,
and dedication to the work ethic. Most home agents are older than typical brick-and-mortar agents, ranging in age from 35
to 45 years old. The average age of a brick-and-mortar agent is 23.
Home agents differ significantly from their brick-and-mortar counterparts in education and skill levels, too. The percentage
of home-based agents with some college education is more than 75 percent. That compares to 35 percent for agents
working in traditional contact centers.6 Further, these agents bring a wealth of maturity and experience to their jobs. Many
are professionals who have opted out of the traditional work world to gain flexibility in their personal lives.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3 “U.S. Contact Center Operational Review,” ContactBabel in association with the American Teleservices Association, 2007
4 “Calling All Contact Center Agents,” Cindy Waxer, VoIP-News, January 14, 2008
5 “Home-Based Contact Center Agents Rapidly Becoming Mainstream,” CRM Today, September 27, 2007
6 “Calling All Contact Center Agents,” Cindy Waxer, VoIP-News, January 14, 2008
4
5. U T I L I Z I N G H O M E A G E N T S T O I M P R O V E C U S T O M E R S AT I S FA C T I O N
Brick-and-Mortar Agents Home-Based Agents
Some College Education 35% 75%
Average Age 23 35-45
Turnover 33% 10%7
Pool of Applicants Limited to immediate area Unlimited by geography
Figure 1. Comparison of Brick-and-Mortar Agents with Home-Based Agents
Home Agents Earn High Marks for Performance and Customer Satisfaction
The demographics that set home agents apart also contribute to their ability to outperform the typical brick-and-mortar
agent, and cultivate greater customer satisfaction. Companies across many industries are reporting that these higher quality
agents are significantly outpacing their counterparts in delivering:
I Higher Levels of Service – Many home agents have existing customer service skills honed during years of employment in
a variety of industries. As a result, they understand the nuances of delivering superior customer service.
I Greater Productivity – Fewer distractions, higher skill levels and greater motivation due to a flexible work situation lead
to increased productivity for home-based agents. According to an ICMI study, more than half of centers with a telework
program reported that home agents are more productive than their in-house colleagues.8
I Higher Incremental Revenue – Home agents often bring expertise in valuable industry niches to their tasks. Their
knowledge allows them to provide more informed advice and guidance than their younger counterparts. The upshot is
higher rates of cross-selling success and increased revenue per agent.
I Greater Job Satisfaction – Many home agents jumped off the career fast track to achieve a greater work/life balance.
They enjoy the opportunity to weave their work lives around their personal lives, providing more opportunities to pursue
family and personal interests. Happier, more motivated agents mean better customer service and increased levels of
customer satisfaction.
I Less Turnover – Home agents appreciate the flexibility of their work, and are not at a time of life when they are searching
for advancement or status. Less attrition translates into greater consistency and higher quality of service for customers.
West at Home – The Leading Provider of Customer Contact Solutions
While home-based agents deliver a plethora of benefits, it takes the right planning, infrastructure and staffing best practices
to reap maximum gains. For companies with little to no experience incorporating home-based agents, turning to an outsource
provider can reduce the risk and effort involved in executing a home-based agent strategy.
West at Home, an award-winning subsidiary of West Corporation, utilizes thousands of home-based agents located across the
country to deliver superior customer service. While the use of home-based agents is now becoming mainstream, West started
successfully incorporating home agents into the agent mix in the 1990s. Today, these highly skilled agents, combined with the
industry’s most robust and advanced infrastructure, enable West at Home to serve the customer needs of many of the nation’s
leading companies.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
7 “The Remote Agent Program – Worth the Investment!,” Peter J. McGarahan, SupportIndustry.com
8 “Staffing and Scheduling for the ‘Free Agent’ Workforce,” Greg Levin, Customer Management Insight
5
6. U T I L I Z I N G H O M E A G E N T S T O I M P R O V E C U S T O M E R S AT I S FA C T I O N
Proven Hiring, Training and Staffing Methods
Leveraging nearly two decades of contact center management experience, West at Home has developed proven hiring,
training and staffing methods that ensure high quality agents and superior customer service results. Staffing is based on a
company’s specific requirements, with West at Home selecting only those that match the skills, experience and suitability
required for the job. For instance, West at Home matches agents with a custom profile based on specific sales, industry,
brand or company experience.
Spectrum®, West’s proprietary workforce management system, gives the company’s home agents the ability to self-manage
their schedules online. Spectrum helps agents decide when and how much they want to work, which helps to create more
satisfied workers – and leads to some of the lowest attrition rates in the industry. Spectrum assures West at Home’s clients
that their campaign will be fully staffed and managed, no matter how many or when agents are needed.
West at Home utilizes user-friendly computer-based training to thoroughly train home agents on the client company’s
culture and programs. This not only improves consistency, but also reduces training times by up to 30% and increases
knowledge transfer. To ensure the highest quality, every agent must be certified on a series of training modules and undergo
a final one-on-one program review with a West at Home Team Leader before taking live calls.
Quantifiable Gains in Quality and Productivity
West at Home’s cutting-edge call routing technology, superior agents, extensive experience, security measures, and proven
hiring, training and operational processes help separate West at Home from all other home agent providers in the call center
world. By partnering with West at Home, companies benefit from:
I West’s proven ability to recruit, train, manage and monitor a large pool of dispersed agents.
I Higher quality, better-educated agents who can help increase sales conversions by up to 15% and provide a 10%
increase in quality.
I Up to a 10% increase in agent productivity versus traditional call center agents.
I Unmatched, layered security protection including a Locked-Down Desktop Security Environment and compliance
with PCI, SOX and HIPAA regulations.
The West at Home Five – Five Steps to Improve Customer Satisfaction
Drawing from its extensive customer contact experience and operational expertise, West at Home follows an implementation
methodology that ensures quality, flexibility, security and cost-effectiveness are maximized for every client. We call this critical
path the West at Home Five – and it reflects the superior focus on service, quality and satisfaction West at Home brings to
each and every customer solution:
1. Determine the optimal solution – West at Home offers the ability to blend home agents with call center agents and
automation to deliver the greatest impact on customer service quality, productivity and value. For instance, West at Home
can seamlessly incorporate advanced features such as speech recognition and proactive, automated notifications into
the solution.
2. Identify the right agents – West at Home develops a deep understanding of a client’s business and then hires agents
based on the skills, education and brand experience required to best serve that client’s customers.
3. Offer high-quality training – The key to excellent customer service is well-trained agents. West at Home works closely
with its clients to create a targeted, high quality computer-based training program. These customized, self-paced courses
reduce training times while increasing knowledge transfer.
6
7. U T I L I Z I N G H O M E A G E N T S T O I M P R O V E C U S T O M E R S AT I S FA C T I O N
4. Integration with existing systems – West at Home’s advanced technology enables it to easily integrate into a client’s
systems to provide real-time data to agents – maximizing productivity and effectiveness, while ensuring customer satisfaction.
5. Continually monitor & manage – Every customer gains the ability to monitor quality and performance through
in-depth reporting capabilities. Based on mutually-identified performance metrics, West at Home will review and tune
the program for continuous improvement.
A Real World Example: ProFlowers
The Challenge
ProFlowers, one of the nation’s leading online providers of flowers and gifts, receives over two million phone and emails
contacts each year and that number has been steadily growing by over 20%. Approximately 50% of all customer contacts
are received during major holidays including, Christmas, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day.
These huge, short-interval volume spikes were overwhelming
ProFlowers’ internal call center, resulting in service issues and missed
“West at Home is a key strategic revenue opportunities. The company did not want to add another
partner of ours and has become an internal call center that would be active for roughly six weeks out of
extension of our internal call center. the year. What ProFlowers needed was to outsource their seasonal call
This relationship has turned me volume to a partner who could quickly ramp up to meet the increased
from a skeptic to a believer in the demand without sacrificing quality and service.
home-based agent model.”
ProFlowers turned to West at Home, based on West’s proven ability to
JC Boissy ramp up and down quickly to handle high call spike demands and to
Senior Manager Outsourcing provide their customers with high quality service.
ProFlowers
Provide Commerce The West Solution
The West at Home team worked closely with ProFlowers to develop
a customized training program that gave their home-based agents the
knowledge necessary to handle a wide range of customer requests, including; order placement, upsells, account management
and customer service inquiries. Training was done remotely through the use of West at Home’s comprehensive computer-
based training methods which allowed the majority of agents to complete the training in fewer hours bringing ProFlowers’
new program online more quickly.
All scheduling of agents is handled through Spectrum®, West’s web-based workforce management system. Schedules are
created in half-hour increments to ensure that ProFlowers has adequate staffing to properly manage all incoming call volume.
At the same time, the flexible scheduling helps agents balance their work/life schedule which creates a more satisfied agent
and less agent turnover. When new schedules are posted, communication is immediately sent out to the home agents through
various channels to ensure that the need is met.
Currently, West at Home has over 1,200 trained agents to handle ProFlowers’ steady-state volume. During the holiday
seasons, West can average over 200 simultaneous agents handling ProFlowers’ incoming calls. Due to the nature of the
company’s call patterns, staffing can often fluctuate from 8 agents to over 200, down to 50 agents and back up again to
200 in a very short period of time.
7
8. U T I L I Z I N G H O M E A G E N T S T O I M P R O V E C U S T O M E R S AT I S FA C T I O N
The Results
West at Home’s flexible staffing and highly skilled home-based agents have helped ProFlowers provide a higher level of care
and reliability to their customers. West at Home’s agents have delivered quality scores that are on average 10 points higher
than most of their other outsourced vendors. At the same time, West at Home has consistently hit service level objectives and
has averaged over 95% in staffing reliability, which is substantially higher than any other ProFlowers vendor.
Because West at Home can ramp up and down quickly to meet fluctuating call demand, ProFlowers has been able to answer
more calls and capture more revenue than previously possible. This flexibility along with West at Home’s highly qualified
agents, has helped ProFlowers achieve a double digit increase in sales compared to the previous year’s results. This increase in
sales combined with a reduced cost per call helps provide a significant return on investment for ProFlowers.
Not only has West at Home helped ProFlowers better manage their peak season call volume, but also the unexpected events
that can happen throughout a year. In the fall of 2007, during one of the most devastating firestorms to ever hit Southern
California, West at Home’s management team was notified that ProFlowers’ internal call center had to be evacuated and shut
down. Within two hours of the initial contact, West at Home was able to increase staffing by 169%, allowing ProFlowers to
reroute 100% of the company’s call volume. West at Home was able to maintain the increased staffing levels for over five
days, handling a 127% increase in call volume without effecting service levels.
West at Home’s exceptional staffing flexibility, higher quality agents and improved reliability has helped ProFlowers provide a
superior level of care and service to their customers.
Conclusion
As more companies across more industries deploy home-based agents, they’re finding that this model offers significant
benefits outside of scheduling convenience and flexibility. Increasingly, reports show that home-based agents deliver a wide
variety of benefits that impact the customer experience in a highly positive way. As organizations sharpen their focus on
improving customer satisfaction and the customer experience, home-based agents are becoming the weapon of choice.
Outsourced home agent solutions, such as West at Home, enable companies to maximize the advantages of using these highly
skilled workers without having to invest in the infrastructure, technology and skills required to manage this virtual work
force. Companies across nearly all industries have turned to West at Home to help deliver a more effective, higher quality
customer experience.
For more information about how West at Home can help your contact center improve customer satisfaction, contact
West at Home at www.westathome.com or call 1-800-841-9000.
8
