Home-Based Agents: A Ubiquitous Connectivity Trend Driven by Technology, Economics

Home-Based Agents: A Ubiquitous Connectivity Trend Driven by Technology, Economics and Demographics

Product Type: Market Research Report
Published by: Yankee Group
Published: January 2007
Product Code: R388-2313

Description

The Yankee Group vision of the future includes the prediction that ubiquitous connectivity will transform business and consumer interactions in the next 20 years. An early indicator of this prediction’s accuracy can be found in the enterprise contact center environment. Traditionally, the contact center model was based on the assumption that telephone customer service, support and sales operations could most effectively be implemented when resources were consolidated in a centralized location, often housed at corporate headquarters. Recently, new technology, changing business economics and evolving demographics have challenged this assumption. The early successes of several leading-edge corporations moving to a virtual contact center (VCC) model have driven many other enterprises and contact centers to consider this rapidly growing phenomenon.

As discussed in the June 2006 Yankee Group Report, Migration Costs, Vendor Loyalty and Need for “Agents Anywhere” Define Contact Center VoIP Adoption Plans, the desire to place “agents anywhere” and have them communicate and be managed as a component of a VCC is driving the recent rise in adoption of VoIP telephony in the contact center. More specifically, respondents to the Yankee Group 2005 North American Contact Center VoIP Adoption Survey stated that the three major reasons they would chose to migrate to VoIP in their contact center would be to 1) more cheaply and flexibly manage the networking of multiple sites; 2) connect remote home agents; and 3) increase agent utilization across multiple sites in a VCC environment. Obviously, the desire for ubiquitous connectivity is a major driver of contact center technology change-out today.

Coincident to VoIP technology adoption in the contact center, the customer care industry is beginning to realize that at-home agents offer significant cost savings and productivity boosting potential for the contact center. Several demographic factors make agents working from home an attractive alternative to traditional centralized contact centers. In addition, conversion to the at-home agent business model enables agent optimization in a pay-as-you-go model where agents can be called upon, on an as-needed basis, to handle unusual daily and/or seasonal spikes in incoming customer traffic or provide coverage if a disaster occurs.

Table of Contents

I. Contact Centers Morph to Meet New Demands
II. Analysis: Factors Driving At-Home Agent Demand: Drivers of Change Will Revolutionize the Contact Center; The New Business Model Will Drive Success; The Contact Center Evolution Will Require a Cultural Change; Inhibitors of Change Are Being Removed; Best Practices Involve a Trial-and-Error Approach; Yankee Group’s View
III. Conclusions and Recommendations: Recommendations for Enterprises; Recommendations for Vendors
IV. Further Reading

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