Virtual contact center agents - and the processes, management style and technology that support them - should not be seen as cost-cutting measures per se. Instead, they are a tool to improve business reaction times and access on-demand capabilities that can, and should, improve service quality. This ebook will tell you more about Virtual Contact Center Agents.

1. Making
virtual
contact
Kim SOKOL
Six lessons for building
a scalable customer
contact model

2. As service once again becomes a key
differentiator for brands, the c-suite and
operational staff are finally on the same
page—both are looking longer and harder
at the prospect of virtual service delivery
that is both scalable and of high quality.
/02
But how does an organization achieve this in a contact
center environment? With so many fixed costs and the
very real prospect of high staff turnover, contact centers
are rarely seen as hubs of innovation. Yet the rise of the
virtual agent workforce is changing all that, fast.

3. Virtual contact center agents—and the processes, management
style and technology that support them—should not be seen as
cost-cutting measures per se.
Instead, they are a tool to improve business reaction times and access on-demand capabilities
that can, and should, improve service quality.
For some businesses, which are accustomed to the peaks and troughs of seasonal demand, the
issue of scalability has been a long-running concern. For other businesses, the productivity and
cost-efficiencies of virtual environments are taking on new relevance as economic imperatives
apply continued pressure.
The benefits of virtual agent models are clear:
1. Businesses are not required to carry large, extra headcount volumes at the enterprise level.
2. The utilization of each agent is maximized and agents are given the right amount of work.
3. Delivery of quick response times to call volume fluctuations to avert service level crises.
In fact, virtual agents in a well-managed technical environment can reduce costs, lower enterprise
risk and raise the bar on service quality.
Introduction /03
Herearesixkey
recommendations
forensuringyour
virtualcontactcenter
workforcecandeliver
thesebenefits.

4. Invest in your intellectual capital and
robust
partnerships
/04
01

5. Repeatable service outcomes require planning and structure,
but not necessarily permanency.
Every contact center is ultimately seeking to deliver great, repeatable service outcomes
to its customers. This is how loyalty, trust and sustainable business propositions are built.
So, even though many contact centers will use highly competent and efficient temporary
labor for some aspects of their work some of the time, relying on this approach without
considering the strategic value of your contact center workforce is rarely advisable. This
is not to say you shouldn’t hire temporary labor for your center, but that you simply must
have a strategic approach to doing so.
This is primarily because, without some level of continuity or holistic planning, a
temporary workforce will find it difficult to provide the consistency of quality that
your business strategy demands. Any good outsourcing model should provide the
opportunity for your outsourcer to build deep knowledge about your business, and
to continuously work with you (as your partner) to enhance and refine the model in
response to changing business conditions.
Invest in your intellectual capital and robust partnerships /05

6. If quality and efficiency are your goals, you need a scalable approach that delivers these
three things:
• The right model for business that’s well managed and is supported by good
technology (your own or your outsourcing provider’s);
• Access to training and recruitment processes that support quality service outcomes,
even during demand fluctuations;
• An outsourcing relationship that is based on shared operational understanding and
continuous improvement.
If you want to improve your service outcomes and innovate your business model at the
same time, there’s plenty of evidence that the right virtualization partner can enable your
contact center to lead that charge instead of just following it.
Invest in your intellectual capital and robust partnerships /06

7. /07
Seek to lower all kinds of
service and
scale risk
02

8. It’s not just during emergencies that the value of a
virtual contact center should be recognised.
We all know about the business continuity benefits of virtual workforce models—this is
nothing new. But, what about the incremental, less visible continuity issues that arise in
contact center environments on a daily basis?
We would argue that a virtual agent workforce model is perhaps most valuable in
addressing the ‘everyday’ issues of scale, not just those that arise during emergencies.
Seek to lower all kinds of service and scale risk /08
Our experience of running
a virtual agent contact
center during Hurricane Ike
proved its business continuity
benefits under extreme
circumstances. Leading
up to and during Ike’s
impact, our team achieved
the following:
• Hired 60 contact center
agents by the customer’s
target date. These agents
were recruited outside
the customer’s region,
which meant they were not
affected by the hurricane
and could provide the
assistance needed.
• Addressed the customer’s
space constraints and
lack of training resources
by successfully training
those agents in an existing
Kelly®
facility, which was
converted into a classroom
and on-the-job training
environment.
Hurricane Ike: Virtual agent contact center
• Answered more than
30,000 calls over a
10-day period during the
hurricane catastrophe
period—in addition to
its core responsibilities
day-to-day.
• Managed agent
performance to
established customer
service levels using our
own ‘KellyConnect’ call
center technology.

9. Operational scale demands can be generated by any number of internal or external
forces, including:
• Seasonal demand: The floristry industry has extreme peak needs during Valentine’s
Day, Mothers’ Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas. A virtual solution ensures proper
training plus easy management of the required peaks, without expanding training
facilities or adding full-time employees.
• E-commerce activities: In some cases, service agents need to verify and validate
customer requests and posts through their global e-commerce sites. Given the
difficulty in predicting traffic in peer-to-peer commerce, a virtual model is ideal to
support this low-cost business model because it is easily and quickly scalable in
response to variability in web traffic.
• Marketing activities and sales: A virtual solution manages the demand peaks
generated by time-sensitive special offers that can be the result of specific marketing
activities. The virtual agent network maintains service quality at all hours of the day
and night.
Seek to lower all kinds of service and scale risk /09

10. /10
Turn training processes into
strategic
assets
03

11. Competitive advantage requires focus, repetition and training
scalability at the right cost.
A repeatable, high-quality training capability is the beginning of a serious competitive
advantage for any contact center.
As long as the learning curve associated with each new ‘hire’ can be accurately
predicted, managed and facilitated through a highly supportive virtual environment,
with real-time feedback and collaboration tools, virtual agents will do as well as in-
house agents. And, the faster they can be trained and deployed, the more attractive the
training investment is for both parties.
In our experience, a best-practice training approach that scales well without sacrificing
quality requires the following:
• Flexibility in the ratio of full-time/part-time agents.
• A minimum number of part-time hours should be provided to retain part-time
workers and ensure they do not seek additional employment elsewhere..
• A 70% FTE utilization rate—this provides the appropriate level of engagement
without risk of burn-out.
Turn training processes into strategic assets /11

12. A strong training program that enables agents to enter your workforce quickly and
competently will also assist in talent retention, providing the flexible work that many
good employees want. Those who simply cannot access a physical work location for any
number of reasons can be attracted and retained by virtual models.
Typically, the larger the footprint of a virtual workforce, the easier it is to leverage the
benefits of a scalable training program that can flex up or down across a virtual network,
all the while building intelligence about your customers and your processes. Tailored
approaches for small organizations can also realize the same benefits over time.
/12Turn training processes into strategic assets

13. /13
Consider each model in light of budgets and
talentsupply
issues
04

14. Getting the right mix of in-house and outsourced labor means
something different for every business, so choose your virtual
model wisely.
In a virtual contact center model, your ability to attract and retain talent will depend
almost entirely on the quality of the employment and service experience that your
specific model enables. Your ability to alter the mix of in-house and outsourced labor fits
squarely into budget and headcount constraints allocated by leadership—and both of
these issues must be considered carefully before choosing which virtual model will work
for your business.
Simplified, there are three basic outsourcing approaches that provide flexible access to
labor in a virtual model:
1) A pilot program: This is a good way to get your feet wet and gain valuable insights
for your business before committing to one specific virtual model. You may wish to
provide the technology solution to support the model, or the outsourcer may provide
it, but it is critical that clear separation between your pilot program and your existing
model is created in order to compare data. If both teams are ‘sharing’ technology, be
Consider each model in light of budgets and talent supply issues /14

15. clear about how you will separate the data for comparison at the outset. Selecting
a proven partner in the virtual space who understands the complexities and
management strategies required for successful virtual operations will be critical in
both setting up your pilot and comparing it with existing operations.
2) Outsourced Solution (with thought leadership and direction provided by
the customer): Many companies who understand the value of outsourcing and the
operational expertise that comes with an outsourced model, remain reluctant to ‘turn
over the keys to the ship’. An outsourced partnership, by definition, is just that—one
of collaboration and ongoing input from the customer with the focus on day-to-day
management and oversight provided by the outsourcer. The customer maintains
control and direction over where the ship is headed, while the outsourcer provides all
the functions behind the scenes to keep the ship afloat and fully operational.
3) Complete navigation: Some customers have very clear SLA and metric expectations
and want to completely turn over the function to an outsourcer, expecting service
delivery of the goals. In this scenario, ‘how’ the outsourcer gets there, ‘how’ they
choose to navigate, combined with full operation of the behind the scenes functions
remain 100% with the outsourcer. This relationship still requires a partnership for
success, yet there is less directional involvement than option two.
/15Consider each model in light of budgets and talent supply issues

16. /16
Remember, it’s the
culture
that binds
05

17. In virtual workforces, a shared vision is key to success.
It is not location or physical proximity, but a shared vision and purpose that make positive
collaborations possible. It is not an office building, but leadership, culture and a clear
understanding of the task ahead that sets employees on a parallel course with your
business goals.
That’s why, when building a virtual workforce model for customer contact roles, it’s
important to foster both a sense of trust and of personal responsibility, but also a sense
of being part of something collective. This requires an employer brand that is accessible
and applicable to both in-house and outsourced labor.
A successful virtual customer contact center is one in which the brand is embodied by
tangible actions—not just words. It’s enabled by technology, but it is facilitated and
reinforced by good management practice and a supportive culture that promotes
feedback, diversity and inclusion.
Remember, it’s the culture that binds /17

18. Apart from having technology that enables effective collaboration and feedback on staff
performance, a good virtual model must fulfil the following criteria:
• Ensure internal communications strategies adequately address the virtual
workforce and engage them in dialogue. This means scheduling all-staff
meetings/updates in a way that enables virtual workers to participate, as well as
actively seeking input from virtual workers about change, strategy and big-picture
business issues, as well as the day-to-day operations. It also requires analysis of data
collected about this workforce segment to ensure their input/feedback is addressed.
• Ensure adequate representation of this workforce segment in
management team decisions. Depending on the size of the workforce and
the structure of your organization, direct managerial representation for virtual
workers may not be required, yet ensuring their unique circumstances and value is
considered when new strategies, policies and procedures are developed will be.
This segment holds specific knowledge, and having adequate channels to filter this
up to senior management is an important way to keep customer interests at the
center of the organization.
/18Remember, it’s the culture that binds

19. • Avoid ‘special’ treatment or different policies for one segment of the
workforce unless there is a clear, practical reason why this is the case.
Virtual technology may facilitate agility and efficiency, but it cannot make these things
happen alone. Your outsourcing provider and the virtual team it engages must know
your business, understand your customers and play an integral role in developing
service intelligence in the virtual space.
/19Remember, it’s the culture that binds

20. /20
Look for a turnkey approach if you’re new to
virtualized
workforces
06

21. Every innovation is an experiment. Finding a proven model that
has already worked elsewhere lowers the risk of moving to a virtual
work model.
KellyConnect is a proven and effective, scalable virtual model for customer-facing staff.
Our solutions have been tested and used consistently on a large scale, by thousands of
agents in various locations. We’ve discovered through this experience that any model
you choose must have the following:
• Appropriate use of automation in handling customer inquiries
• Training on appropriate use of the knowledge base and skill-set of each agent
• Skill-based routing to direct calls in the most efficient way
• An appropriate mix of both full-time and part-time agents in the baseline staffing
population to ensure the model can be scaled up or down with seasonality
• An opportunity for self-service when appropriate.
Look for a turnkey approach if you’re new to virtualized workforces /21

22. The other critical element in a turnkey approach to virtualization is the need for the
right social media tools and processes to reinforce your company culture and unique
approach to service differentiation. The solution must be robust enough to facilitate
communication and collaboration that is as good as (if not better than) that which is
experienced by an internally housed team.
/22Look for a turnkey approach if you’re new to virtualized workforces

23. At Kelly, we have worked with many companies—large and small—across most industries
to implement virtual customer contact and technical support workforces. We have seen
virtual workforces deliver results through our own technology solution, as well as with
our customer’s own platforms. We have also seen a virtual model become critical to
contingency plans as well as fundamental to operating smarter on a daily basis. We’ve
seen it improve service, not just the bottom line.
/23
Conclusion
Virtualmodelsarenolongertechnologicalexperiments—theyare
aprovenwaytomanageissuesofscalebetter,cheaperandfaster.
References:
http://www.fujitsu.com/downloads/EU/ie/pdf/news/events/Virtual_Workplace_Whitepaper.pdf
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/wireless/ibm-predicts-demise-of-traditional-offices/222

24. EXIT
About the author
Kim Sokol is the Strategic Development Director for KellyOCG’s KellyConnect Center of
Excellence. Kim joined KellyOCG in 2008 to help launch KellyConnect outsourcing solutions.
She is responsible for both sales and account management of customer care and service desk
programs. Kim holds a bachelor of science degree from the United States Military Academy at
West Point. She earned a masters degree in business administration from Wilmington University
and has over 20 years of administration, operations, and sales experience. She is also a Certified Outsourcing
Professional (COP) with the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) and is currently serving
as President of the Great Lakes Chapter of SOCAP®
International.
About KellyOCG
KellyOCG®
is the Outsourcing and Consulting Group of workforce solutions provider Kelly Services, Inc. KellyOCG is a
global leader in innovative talent management solutions in the areas of Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO), Business
Process Outsourcing (BPO), Contingent Workforce Outsourcing (CWO), including Independent Contractor Solutions,
Human Resources Consulting, Career Transition and Executive Coaching, and Executive Search.
KellyOCG was named in the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals®
2013 Global
Outsourcing 100®
list, an annual ranking of the world’s best outsourcing service providers and advisors.
KellyConnect is a pioneer in the set-up and maintenance of virtual workplaces. We have access to local talent via
440 Kelly-owned branches across the US. We combine this with the intellectual property of understanding how to
deliver plug-and-play technology solutions (if you don’t have your own).
Further information about KellyOCG may be found at kellyocg.com.
For more thought leadership go to talentproject.com