Customer Service Initiative

Telecommuting not for everyone - but good for call center agents

5th February, 2009 - Posted by Pam -

I’ve been working from home for almost a decade now.  I used to believe I would never leave my job because I would never find another one that allowed me to work from home.  Well, 10 years later I’m ecstatic to see so many people in the same place and enjoying it!

Something surprised me though.  As I started to read blogs by people who work from home, they weren’t all as ecstatic about it as I was.  Interesting….Turns out some people miss the live interaction with their co-workers, or knowing who’s meeting about what.  Some people just miss getting dressed up to go somewhere.  Others missed their favorite morning coffee they picked up during their commute.

A lot of folks found themselves distracted easily and not able to acccomplish as much as they did when they were in the office.  This last set of reactions is what leads me further to believe that call center jobs are perfect jobs for work at home  and telecommuting.

People who have worked in the call center know that there really isn’t a lot of opportunity to get distracted and not stay focused.  When customers are calling, you better be answering.

Systems tell you how many calls, email, chats, and callbacks are waiting.  You can’t just randomly get up for a cup of coffee and not come back for 20 minutes.  Well, you can - but you won’t have the job long.  The technology exists for organizations to comfortably manage a remote workforce well, ensuring they meet customer service level expectations.

Customer Service is for people that are passionate about answering the call in a timely manner and providing the support customers are asking for when they are asking for it.  So really, only do this job if you like it please.  I’ve found that people who are good at customer service possess this passion and can be considered great candidates for telecommuting.