Want to be a home-based virtual agent?

09/30/2009 9:15 PM

Everyone wants to know how to work from home as a virtual customer service agent.   Some of you think it’s a snap to get started and you assume everyone is approved.  Others know it’s an opportunity—not an easy one, but certainly a rewarding one—to earn $10 an hour while wearing your slippers.

I work with two leaders in the virtual agent industry—Arise and VIPdesk, both of which are actively recruiting now—and I asked them for the lowdown on how to determine if this may be right for you.

Jared Fletcher, vice president of Sourcing for Arise Virtual Solutions, and Linda Dickerhoof, director of public relations for VIPdesk, both agreed to a virtual chat.

1) What are you recruiting for right now?

Fletcher: As part of an effort to boost call center resources for the holiday and cruise "wave season," Arise is seeking 3,000 additional at-home workers. The expansion follows a move by retail and travel & hospitality companies to boost the quality of customer service to maximize sales for what is expected to be an economically challenging period.  In addition, we are recruiting for licensed Florida insurance agents to support our insurance clients.

2) With so many companies laying off, why do you have such a great need for new agents now?

Dickerhoof:  Two reasons.  Seasonal rush: We always have a high demand for Brand Ambassadors in the fall, as our retail clients ramp up for the holiday sales rush.  And new clients!  Companies are realizing that because of the high-caliber of people who work at home as home-based agents, the end result is better customer service for their clients, which results in larger sales, higher customer loyalty, and more.  As such, Virtual Customer Care is fast becoming the customer service solution of choice for many large companies—we are currently both working with new clients and increasing the amount of work that we do for current clients. 

3) Arise doesn’t hire agents as employees.  Would you explain the relationship between Arise and its home agents?

Fletcher:  It’s key to understand the business-to-business relationship home-based agents maintain with Arise. Arise Certified Professionals (ACPs) are independent business owners that manage their own businesses. An Arise Certified professional (ACP) is required to establish a Virtual Services Corporation in order to contract with Arise under a Master Services Agreement to receive calls from people requesting products or services from Arise clients.

There are tremendous benefits for you as a Virtual Services Corporation. You are free to choose the clients you wish to service as well as when and how often you work within the guidelines of a service contract.

As an Arise Certified Professional providing customer interaction services through your Virtual Services Corporation, you choose the clients and the applications you wish to service from the list of available certification courses for which you are qualified.

4) There are often misunderstandings about the amount of work and when someone is required to work.  Help!

Dickerhoof:  The first misunderstanding that I often hear about working as a home-based agent is workload.  Home-based agents get one customer contact (i.e. call or online chat or email) after another after another. They aren’t just sitting around, they respond to many client inquiries per hour.

Scheduling is actually done based on agent performance.  The better an agent does in regards to meeting expected client metrics, the better schedule they get.  Unfortunately, just because someone wants to work (for instance) Mon, Wed, and Fri from 10-4 doesn’t mean that they will get this schedule if someone who is a better performer than they are also wants those hours.  We recommend that when Brand Ambassadors enter their available hours, they enter their “real” available hours, not just their “dream” schedule, as a way to help increase the hours available to them.

5 ) What’s the average pay?

Dickerhoof:  The average Brand Ambassador makes $10-$12/hour.

6) How do I know if this is right for me? What are the skills and equipment required?

Fletcher:  Successful Arise agents share the following characteristics:   they possess tremendous entrepreneurial skills; they are self-motivated; they are professional and capable of providing a high level of service; they enjoy the freedom that running their own business allows them; they are positive and optimistic; they are tolerant and accepting of differing viewpoints; they are comfortable with numeric reasoning; they log-in on time and honor all time commitments; they have basic computer skills; they are self-motivated and conscientious.

7) Who should potentially think twice?

Dickerhoof:  If you really need someone “looking over your shoulder” and aren’t good at motivating yourself to work when you aren’t in an office (if everyone is honest with themselves, they can answer this), it might not be for you.

8) What’s the process for training?  Will I have to pay for my own training—if so, why?

Fletcher: Certification courses to service a particular client can take between one to five weeks. Some are instructor lead others are self-pages — all are virtual.

This opportunity is a business-to-business (B-to-B) relationship. As a business owner, you are responsible for any investment related to the operation of the business and that includes the cost of training.

Dickerhoof:  We offer—free of charge—a certification program for our Brand Ambassadors that lasts about two weeks.  This program is 100% virtual—utilizing instructor-guided training done via the internet/phone.  Certification is client specific—as all VIPdesk Brand Ambassadors work for only one client at a time.  In the certification program, you learn everything that you need to know to represent the client effectively to their customers.

9) What are the costs to get started?

Dickerhoof:  There are no costs to get started—no costs for certification, background check or credit check.  VIPdesk assumes all of those costs as a matter of due diligence to ensure that we represent our clients in the best manner possible.

Fletcher:  The average investment ranges from $400 to $600 if your computer is already in compliance with Arise’s minimum requirements. This covers the estimates below [which are subject to change]: National Background Check Fee ($13-$26); Incorporation (approx. $100); 
High-Speed Internet Access ($50/month); 
Phone Equipment ($100); 
Dedicated Phone Line ($50/month); 
Basic Certification Program ACP101 ($99).

Of the above stated expenses, only the $99 ACP101 registration fee is payable to Arise to participate in basic certification. The other costs are payable to third-party vendors unrelated to Arise. Client certification programs range from $50 to $225 and are payable to Arise.  Most Virtual Services Corporations are able to recover their investments in the first two months.

To learn more and apply, visit Arise.com and VIPdesk.com.   You may also be interested in exploring Working Solutions, Alpine Access and LiveOps.   As you can see, no two companies have the same policies or protocols, so research several in this industry before deciding what’s right for you.