Contact centre managers embrace the benefits of remote home working

A recent survey has found that almost two-thirds of UK contact centres have either already adopted, or are looking to implement a remote working strategy.

The survey, which questioned 100 UK contact centre managers across both the private and public sector, was conducted last week at Call Centre Expo by Siemens Enterprise Communications. The findings reflect technology industry analyst house IDC’s recent stated view, that the mobile worker population is increasing, with global numbers set to pass the one billion mark later this year.*

Selected survey highlights:

• 62 per cent of UK call centres have either already implemented or are looking to implement a remote working strategy
• 42 per cent of organisations highlighted improved staff productivity as the main benefit
• 37 per cent highlighted the ability to bring in additional staff at peak times as the main benefit
• 65 per cent of public sector call centres integrate, or are looking to integrate, social media into their call centres, compared with just 37 per cent of the private sector
• Both private and public sectors recognise social media integration in the call centre as a huge benefit because it offers an additional route to market

Kathryn Penn, technical sales expert, contact centres, Siemens Enterprise Communications, commented that: “The research highlights an increase in the uptake of remote working, and a major revolution in the way we work. By having remote staff connected to the contact centre through VoIP plus the added presence benefit through Unified Communications, it can provide call centre managers with the ability to accurately match workforce resources to the business need.

“For the managers, that means being able to bring in part-time workers from home at peak times to increase overall customer satisfaction and provide access to higher qualified, more flexible agents, whilst vastly reducing costs associated with over resourcing.”

In the face of the public sector spending cuts set to be announced by the government next month, the research also highlighted that these organisations appear to be leading the way in creating cost efficiencies.

77 per cent are either already implementing or looking to introduce remote working capabilities, demonstrating public sector organisations are already active in enabling customer service and remote working to reduce costs.

* IDC – Worldwide Mobile Worker Population 2009–2013 Forecast – December 2009