Convergys Targets At-Home Call Center Reps to Curb Costs

Ah, the freedom of working at home in your pajamas.  Game shows on in the background.  Getting paid for mid-morning showers after mid-morning naps.  These may all be reasons why I can’t convince anyone at work to let me work from my “home office” (if you allow my couch to be my home office).

Convergys Corp., on the other hand, is looking to cut costs by encouraging more of its staff to work from home.

Convergys, which runs call centers for other companies, is already piloting a home-working scheme in the United States and, according to Reuters, President and Chief Operating Office David Dougherty said on Thursday he aimed to export the idea to Asia, where the company has major operations.

"I would like our next 60,000 call center agents to be home agents, whether those are in North America, India or the Philippines," Dougherty said in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.

Advances in at-home technology – including access to broadband – make the proposition a workable one here in the United States.  At-home deployment is also gaining popularity in its off-shore locations.