New virtual contact centre launch delivers happy employees

TeleTech Holdings Inc., today launched TeleTech@Home - a revolutionary new UK contact centre service that enables employees to work from home. This is the first time that contact centre employees across England, Scotland and Wales will be able to benefit from a home working model on a large scale. It allows them to tap into a better work-life balance through more flexible working arrangements. Following success in the US, TeleTech is looking to recruit 500 employees over the next several months to service UK clients.

TeleTech@Home enables employees to enjoy flexible hours to accommodate commitments such as childcare while avoiding the need to commute. It also opens up the employment market to workers physically unable to travel. The virtual model will offer staff similar wages, and other associated benefits, as traditional bricks and mortar contact centres. Full training will be provided to all staff ñ requirements are simply a PC, a broadband connection, a landline phone and a quiet work environment. The application and interview process is entirely phone and Internet-based via http://www.hirepoint.com/athome/ and takes less than two weeks to complete.

Cormac Twomey, UK managing director, TeleTech@Home commented: ìFlexible working is a trend that is certainly on the increase. Yet to date it has completely bypassed the contact centre market, one of the UKís fastest growing industries. The benefits, training and career development offered to staff via TeleTech@Home are second to none. Many people have preconceptions about home working, but weíre confident that we can successfully challenge these and change the way Britain works.î

The launch of TeleTech@Home comes at a time when the evolving nature of consumer behaviour is pushing demand for customer support into evenings and weekends. This has traditionally led to the adoption of offshore solutions; however, some companies have found offshore-only offerings insufficient to meet their customersí needs. TeleTech recognises that organisations need a suite of solutions that combine onshore, offshore and now @Home offerings to meet their needs.

The TeleTech@Home model has proven commercial benefits for the companyís clients as the flexible service is entirely scalable, ensuring customer service levels during peak times even if such times fall outside traditional office hours. The TeleTech@Home model opens up a wider recruitment pool and enables businesses to meet specific contact centre requirements more effectively, including multiple language coverage, highly specialised skill sets and increased reliability and productivity.

Twomey continued: ìThe flexible service is entirely scalable meaning that companies are assured of customer service levels during peak times, even if these are outside traditional office hours. At the same time, employees arenít travelling and then working eight hours straight and can adapt their working pattern to suit their lifestyle. The fact is that happier staff will offer a higher quality of service. Anyone can benefit from the TeleTech@Home model - in the US our employees range from retired university professors through to full time parents.î

TeleTech@Home is offered by TeleTech, one of the largest and most geographically diverse global providers of business process outsourcing (BPO), that serves two million customers every year in more than 18 countries and 29 languages. In the UK, TeleTech employs 1150 staff at its state-ofñthe-art delivery centre in Belfast and a further 100 staff between two smaller facilities in Glasgow and Crewe.

The solution taps into TeleTech's proven, highly scalable, and centralised technical architecture. A unique delivery platform enables TeleTech@Home staff to access the same proprietary training, workflow, reporting, and quality tools as those working in the company's bricks and mortar contact centres. Significant investment ensures that staff feel part of TeleTech@Homeís culture, irrespective of location. The platform also allows secure access, monitoring, and reporting for TeleTech's blue chip client base.