WSJ, 11/29/05

Instead of Offshore, Call Centers

Start to Move to U.S. Kitchens

By JILIAN MINCER

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

November 29, 2005

There are a lot of things Peggy Griffiths likes about her job as a virtual call agent.

The former business analyst no longer worries about suits, traffic or overtime.

She decides how long she is going to work and when. Ms. Griffiths usually spends

a few hours a day handling calls for Teleflora, a unit of closely held Roll International.

Customers don't know the master gardener is at home in Prescott, Ariz., rather than

at their local florist.

Ms. Griffiths is among a growing number of Americans now working as virtual

call-center agents. While thousands of jobs have gone to offshore call centers,

others are returning or moving from brick-and-mortar call centers to people's

homes, thanks to new technology and a changing work force.

High-speed Internet connections and patented software enable employees to plug

in and take calls at home, day or night.

About 118,500 of the approximately five million customer-service, help-desk and

other service providers are virtual agents, said Jack Heacock, senior vice president

of TelCoa, The Telework Coalition, an advocacy group.

"There's a clear movement afoot to find alternatives to offshore, but offshore continues

to grow," said Basil Bennett, chief executive and president of WillowCSN, a south

Florida virtual call-center company. Willow uses nearly 3,000 virtual agents in 30 states

for its clients, which include Fortune 500 companies.

Technology and a changing work force are fueling that growth, as is frustration with overseas

call centers and an increased demand for high-quality agents.

Some companies with their own call centers use virtual agents to handle overloads or for

emergencies.

"You have a pool of people who can move in and out on an as-needed basis," said Robert

Laubacher, a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

That appeals to Virgin Atlantic Airways, a Willow client for almost two years. "Willow has

provided us with plan B," said John Riordan, vice president of customer service at the airline.

West Corp., a call-center company based in Omaha, Neb., has more than doubled the number

of its virtual agents in the past year, to 7,300 at the end of September from 3,400 in 2004. While

the company launched its West at Home service about a year and a half ago to save money, it

has been well-received by clients, who consider it a cost-effective, higher-quality alternative to

offshore call centers.

"It gives us a lot of flexibility to handle call spikes," said Dave Pleiss, vice president of investor

relations and public relations for West.

Mr. Bennett of Willow attributed much of his company's success to the quality of its employees.

A typical call center employs entry-level workers who are in their early 20s. Annual turnover

usually is 60% to 100%. Willow, like most virtual call centers, employs a lot of older workers.

The average age of its employees is 38, and more than 80% have a college education. Half

of the agents have been in management positions, and many are individuals with physical

disabilities.

"Instead of 50 to 60 hours a week, I work 10 to 20 in shorts in the summer and in sweats in the

winter," said Ms. Griffiths, who took early retirement at 49 from her previous job, but wanted to

work part time.

ARO, a virtual call center, started almost 20 years ago in Kansas City, Mo., as a brick-and-mortar

call center. In late 1997, it decided to try virtual callers because "we could not recruit the right type

of people," said Michael Amigoni, ARO's chief operating officer

The company was serving life-insurance companies and needed a more stable and skilled work

force. Annual turnover, he said, was about 60% to 80%.

That changed when ARO started advertising in 1997 for people who wanted to work at home.

"We found the people applying were baby boomers, who had lots of experience working and

were attracted to the job because they were in a different mode," Mr. Amigoni said.

Turnover now is 7% to 8% a year.

Write to Jilian Mincer at jilian.mincer@dowjones.com