Telecom New Zealand has been using work-at-home call centre agents for over a year. Earlier this week I spoke to Sheryl North at Telecom New Zealand about its Agents at Home initiative, and I’ve published the story on The Smarter Office:

“Telecom has had work-at-home agents for over a year now – under a programme called “Agents at Home” – and plans on doing much more with the approach. Let me tell you a bit about their journey, what they’ve learnt with work-at-home agents with respect to remote collaboration, and what’s coming up next.

It was international outsourcing that got the ball rolling for work-at-home agents. Telecom was already using call centre staff off-shore to answer calls, and as the technology proved capable of doing this, it highlighted the possibility of using in-country work-at-home agents also. A pilot team in one city was identified, but then due to the Christchurch earthquake in February 2011, it was some members of the Christchurch call centre that actually got to test the concept. The technology proved itself in-country too, and what started as a pilot with a few agents has bloomed into a longer-term play.

The issue of maintaining a sense of connectedness among work-at-home agents was identified by Telecom early on as a critical success factor.“

One of the stand-out results from Telecom’s experience is that its work-at-home agents feel more connected to their colleagues / co-agents than when they physically worked in the call centre.

Read more: Making the Case for Work-at-Home Call Centre Agents: Part 3