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CS invests in home working
Tuesday April 28th 2009. Posted: 09:35
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Ian Crawford from Thurso at work in his home office
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Advisors in Customer Service are to be offered the opportunity to work from home, following a successful trial in Scotland.
People in Thurso took part in the original CS HomeAdvisor pilot, which has since been extended to 75 volunteers across billing and enquiries and consumer service management around the UK. Each has been provided with training and the furniture and equipment needed to take customer calls at home. Removing the need to travel to a contact centre means advisor shifts can be more closely aligned with the times at which customers call, while at the same time offering an improved work-life balance for the advisors involved. “We’re making a substantial investment in the CS HomeAdvisor programme because we expect it to become a key part of the way CS operates in the future,” said project manager Greg Smith. “We hope to offer a lot more advisors the opportunity to experience the benefits of working from home.” Greg says feedback so far from the trial advisors shows they feel having fewer distractions at home improves their ability to focus. “The advisors taking part in the pilot have been extremely flexible and proactive in response to their new way of working,” said Greg. “They’re doing the same job with just small differences in the equipment they use. As far as their day-to-day role is concerned, the main difference is the mindset.” Once the trial has finished it’s expected the volunteers will work from home on a permanent basis. More people are now being recruited, with advisors across the UK being given the chance to apply. Programme manager John Pirie said: “HomeAdvisor provides CS with a unique opportunity to transform its strategy in terms of cost and operating models, people and attendance profiles, contracts, and remuneration. “It has the potential to be the ideal vehicle on a transformational journey towards convergence of products and services, facilitating the most efficient use of high-quality, highly skilled advisors more exactly against a more unpredictable customer demand.”
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Last updated:
17:55