How a virtual workforce kept support running through hurricane Ike

Managed home agent contact center improves service levels and reduces costs by outsourcing customer care services using a virtual workforce model.

The challenge: Consolidation, training gaps, and weather-driven absenteeism

A leading utility company faced multiple challenges when one of its key facilities closed and its operations became centralized and consolidated. Despite preparations to absorb the volume and complexities of the newly integrated customer base, the company struggled to meet appropriate service levels in its customer care center. In addition to service level issues, the new training programs were lengthy and complex and customer care agents had trouble retaining the detailed content once they were assimilated into the brick-and-mortar work environment.

A final area of concern was the company’s geographic location. Inclement weather frequently prevented agents from traveling to the building location, negatively impacting shift requirements. The level of absenteeism during these periods greatly reduced service levels.

The solution: A collaborative BPO workforce strategy

The Kelly® team partnered with the customer to better understand their issues and brainstorm potential resolutions. The team then further engaged company representatives to formulate a customized business process outsourcing (BPO) solution. A due diligence process was performed by teams comprised of training, IT, and operations employees. The Kelly project manager mapped out and tracked outstanding deliverables from each group, organized information process flows, and helped coordinate the IT integration processes.

Kelly trainers partnered with the customer’s training leadership to jointly conduct an initial training session which also served as a “train the trainer” event. The Kelly trainers spent additional time at the client location to better understand the dynamics and nuances of the physical environment which could later be replicated for a virtual workforce in remote training environments.

Through a virtual application process, the Kelly team sourced, hired, onboarded, and trained 60 agents. While these critical tasks were underway, the Kelly IT team orchestrated the connectivity elements required to ensure a smooth transition to a live, at-home program.

The result: Virtual agents delivered 30,000+ calls without disruption during Hurricane Ike

The Kelly team hired 60 agents by the customer’s target date and successfully trained those agents in an existing Kelly facility which was converted into a classroom and on-the-job training environment. The dedicated team has managed agent performance to established customer service levels using Kelly call center technology. By providing a flexible, virtual workforce, the Kelly BPO solution addressed the customer’s space constraints and lack of training resources while providing supplemental staff to support catastrophe response.

Finally, the Kelly operations team answered more than 30,000 calls over a 10-day-period — outside the stated scope of work — supporting the customer’s operations during Hurricane Ike which affected the U.S. Gulf Coast region. Since Kelly agents were recruited outside of the customer’s region, they were not affected by the hurricane and could provide the assistance needed without disruption. The Kelly solution provided a key addition to the company’s disaster recovery plan.