data processing

As companies have come to embrace the concept of at-home (remote) call center agents, managers find themselves struggling with how to oversee this new workforce.

Enterprises constantly struggle to find the right agents to deliver an outstanding customer experience. Some have turned to offshore outsourcers that claim to have an abundance of high-quality agents available for reasonable prices, while others prefer to keep their call center activities domestic, provided they can find agents with the right skills for the job. The remote (at-home) agent business model has proved to be a creative and cost-effective approach to staffing contact centers with skilled, high-quality and loyal employees. It's also a cost-effective method for addressing contingency planning and disaster recovery.

Managers in call centers throughout the U.S. are weighing the benefits and challenges of employing remote agents. As technology is no longer viewed as an impediment, the most significant concern is how to manage remote agents without personal contact from the call center supervisor, particularly for single-site operating environments that have never had agents based in multiple or satellite locations.

Some of the best practices for remote agent oversight have long been used to manage agents in secondary locations. The most important practice is to invest time in hiring qualified agents – individuals who are highly motivated, satisfy all competency and skill requirements, have the right working environment and technology already in place, and are technically savvy and able to troubleshoot at home. My consultancy, DMG Consulting, recommends that contact centers employing remote call center agents use the following best practices for hiring and managing their staff:

The data processing function may not contribute directly to the productivity of a business organization, but since it does play a vital, supportive role, it becomes necessary for businesses to ensure that it is managed in the prescribed manner. Some industry experts will certainly suggest an in-house data processing facility for improved performance, but if we ask the majority, the answer will always be in favor of offshore outsourcing. That's because the primary question - "How to do it right?" has a lot more angles than just improving process efficiency. Justice will be done only when all of the potential benefits are derived, sustained and managed, something that can only be achieved through outsourcing.
Businesses that want to derive maximum benefits should thus try to locate an appropriate data processing services provider rather than make heavy investments in developing an in-house facility. Most of the outsourcing firms have their own independent facilities and systems, thereby allowing instant activation and delivery of the outsourced data processing function. Operational flexibility and scalability are other advantages that most of these firms have, something that makes it easier for them to entertain any type of data processing project, large or small, simple or complex.
Outsourcing firms will certainly play their part, but it would help deliver even better results if businesses also contribute their share. Businesses can contribute by installing and managing automated tracking and error reporting systems at a centralized locations, either on-shore or off-shore. These systems will help in identifying potential threats and issues, thereby paving the way for the success of the outsourced data processing function