At-Home Agent ManagementSurvey results reported 11/10/2009

At-Home MomentumWith regards to at-home agents, are you:

45%

48%

7%

48%

41%

11%

69%

25%

6%

Using at-homeagents

Considering at-home agents

Not using orconsidering at-home agents

Nov-09Sep-09Apr-09

All of these survey respondents were registered to attend an at-home webinar, but even so, the growth of those employing this model is substantial between April and November.

Engagement Level

Despite other survey results that show a large amount of daily communication with at-home agents, 46% still said they are less engaged than in-center agents. This might suggest more tactics than strategy being employed in this arena.

Despite other survey results that show a large amount of daily communication with at-home agents, 46% still said they are less engaged than in-center agents. This might suggest more tactics than strategy being employed in this arena.

Difficulty Keeping Connected

While most share that they have “average” difficulty connecting agents to various entities, there seems to be the least difficulty in the Supervisor category. 12% rank it difficult or extremely difficult, as compared to 30% and 27% ranking Company and Team as difficult or extremely difficult.

While most share that they have “average” difficulty connecting agents to various entities, there seems to be the least difficulty in the Supervisor category. 12% rank it difficult or extremely difficult, as compared to 30% and 27% ranking Company and Team as difficult or extremely difficult.

Keeping Agents Connected

At-home agents have the most contact with their supervisors, with 65% communicating at least daily. Team contact is less frequent, with 50% communicating daily or more.

At-home agents have the most contact with their supervisors, with 65% communicating at least daily. Team contact is less frequent, with 50% communicating daily or more.

At-Home Tools

The prevalence of email raises some concerns about the accessibility of information that agents may need to reference later. Chat and web meetings were frequently noted as tools for all sorts of communication. E-learning and social networking show lots of room to grow, especially as the costs come down with these methods that have shown to be effective.

Processes Adapted for At-Home – Ad-Hoc Meetings

Ad-Hoc Huddles/Team Meetings

37

22

10

8

7

5

Conf Call

Web Meeting

In Office

IM/Chat

Email

Group IM/Chat Room

The next few charts show how respondents are adapting in-center processes with tools available to at-home agents. Team calls and web meetings are prevalent in ad-hoc and team meetings as two-way communications. It is interesting that 11% require at-home agents to attend meetings in the office.

Processes Adapted for At-Home – Raising Hand

Raising Hand for Help

49

24

16

16

3

2

1

IM/Chat

1to1 Phone

Email

DedicatedNumber/Queue

Web Meeting

Group IM/Chat Room

Not Done

When it comes to getting help immediately, the majority of respondents use chat/instant message. While many use phone, a significant number use a dedicated help line for at-home agents.

Processes Adapted for At-Home – Teammates Help

Asking Teammates for Help

46

22

16

7

7

5

2

IM/Chat

Email

1to1 Phone

DedicatedNumber/Queue

Not Done

Group IM/Chat Room

Intranet

Again, chat and instant message seem to be the most popular way at-home agents get assistance. The use of email suggests the types of questions asked of teammates are not immediate.

Processes Adapted for At-Home – Supervisor’s Walk

Supervisors Walking Around to Help

39

19

16

12

7

6

3

2

IM/Chat

1to1 Phone

Email

Not Done

DedicatedNumber/Queue

Monitoring

Group IM/Chat Room

Web Meeting

Chat and instant message use are most prevalent in this category, but the use of monitoring comes in for some supervisors looking to assist. Also, a number of respondents do not have a mechanism for at-home agents that mirrors the “walk-around” process that many in-center supervisors use.

Processes Adapted for At-Home – Training

Classroom Training

34

31

16

12

4

1

1

In Office

Web Meeting

Self-Paced eLearning

Conf Call

IM/Chat

Email

Not Done

The most interesting thing about this in-center process adapted for at-home is that so many have not adapted it at all. They still require at-home agents to come into the office for training. Of those who have, web meetings and self-paced e-learning are the most popular.

Frequency of Connections

How often do home agents participate in the following once they are initially trained?

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Training Scheduled teammeetings

Ad-hoc huddles/teammeetings

Communication updates Coaching sessions

Daily 2-4 times/week Weekly 2-3 times/month Monthly Less than monthly

Training and ad-hoc meetings happen with the least frequency, with around 40% occurring less than monthly. The highest frequency events are communication updates, by far, with more than 60% occurring daily.

Supervisor View

With many of these answers hovering around half of responses, it’s clear methods vary when it comes to managing at-home agents. While 56% receive additional tools, 44% receive additional training on how to manage them.

Supervisor Qualities

What makes a good supervisor of at-home agents?

0 10 20 30 40 50

Communications

Team-Building Skills

Organized

Tech-Savvy

Flexibility

Multi-Tasking

Detail-Oriented

Knowledgeable

This question invited respondents to write-in the qualities they thought made good supervisors of at-home agents. These answers were categorized into the above answers. Communication skills was most frequently given and often was described as written and oral communications. Given the nature of how teams must be managed in this environment, team building and organization were also highly ranked.

More benchmark data:http://www.knowlagent.com/Resource-Center/Call-Center-Statistics-Pardot.aspx

Webinar related to these results:Long Time, No See: How to Keep At-Home Agents Connected

Contact Debbie Dockery for more info:ddockery@knowlagent.com

More Resources on At-Home Agents

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About the Survey

At-Home Webinar registrants asked to participateOnline surveyResults originally shared during webinar 11/10/09253 participants across industries