How corporations can “go green” by leveraging a virtual workforce: Environmental benefits of virtual call centers Benefits for the home-based workforce Implementing a virtual call center Managing a virtual team Virtual call centers: better for the bottom line Case study

1. Going Green
with
ith
Virtual Call Centers
Sally Hurley
President, VIPdesk
shurley@vipdesk.com
703.837.3518
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2. About Today’s Webinar
• How corporations can “go green” by leveraging a
virtual workforce
• E i
Environmental b
l benefits of virtual call centers
fi f i l ll
• Benefits for the home-based workforce
• Implementing a virtual call center
• Managing a virtual team
• Virtual call centers: better for the bottom line
• Case study
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3. About Today’s Presenter
Sally Hurley
President, VIPdesk
• Co-founder
C f d
• 20+ years experience delivering
premium customer service
• Has a passion for the customer experience
• Committed to building a culture that supports work-life
balance
• Proud to be a green company supporting thousands of
company-
individuals that work from home across North America
• Current President of Entrepreneurs Organization in D.C.
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4. About VIPdesk
VIPdesk is the leading provider of virtual
contact center solutions for national
brand leaders providing premium
leaders,
customer experiences through our home-
based Brand Ambassadors™ (CSRs).
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5. Home-based Outgrowing Traditional Market
U.S. Home-Based Agents (000s)
400,000
CAGR – 21%
333,100
305,026
300,000
U.S. Home Based Agents
266,130
266 130
198,240
200,000
151,200
130,125
100,000
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
40%
30%
A n n u a l G ro w th
20%
10%
0%
2007 2008 2009
Worldwide Customer Care U.S. Customer Care
U.S. Home-Based Revenue
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Source: IDC
5

6. Who is Using Virtual Call Centers?
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7. Explosive Growth in Virtual Call Centers
Off-shoring Results:
Unrealized cost savings
High turnover and training costs
Lower productivity, l
L d ti it lower skilled workers
kill d k
Cultural differences (language barriers)
Limited local recruiting pools in many areas
Sending job overseas
Off-shoring backlash
Virtual Call Centers Remedy:
Creates US jobs
Compelling economics
“On demand” operational capabilities
On demand
Access to unlimited international labor pool
Eco-friendly – “Going green”
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Source: IDC
7

8. Why Companies Have Green Initiatives
• “Green” is core to many brands
– Beauty
– Design & home
– Family products
– Fashion
– Food
– Retail
– Transportation
• Seek to further support the company’s green
initiatives
• Plan to incorporate new green initiatives
• Supports social and environmental values or
policies
• Improve operational efficiencies
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9. Why Companies are Going Virtual to Go Green
How a virtual contact center supports
green efforts:
• Reduce the environmental impact resulting f
R d th i t li t lti from
physical expansion
• Reduced pollutants- due to elimination of commute for
p
team members
• Less usage of utilities such as electric
• Reduce the usage of office-related, non-recyclable
goods
• Virtual training
• Disaster recovery instantaneously without impact
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10. Virtual Call Centers: Collective Gas Savings
A call center that employs 100 CSR is responsible
ll t th t l CSRs i ibl
for the use of 26,600 gallons of gas/year.
• U S Census Bureau states: average roundtrip
U.S.
commute = 24 miles/day
• 100-seat call center combined commute is 2,400
100 seat 2 400
miles/day, or 12,000 miles per five-day work
week, or 600,000 miles per year
• Averaging 25 mpg, takes 480 gallons/week, or
24,000 gallons/year
• This doesn’t include gas used sitting in traffic--
the average commuter spends an extra 26
gallons of gas/year sitting in traffic
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11. Virtual Call Centers: Agent Gas Savings
• The average virtual call center agent saves
$1,000/year in gasoline costs by not commuting
to work every day
• In 2007 alone, virtual agents saved $175 million
by using 58 million less gallons of gas
• In addition, virtual agents reduced air pollution
by 473,013 metric tons
• Virtual agents are projected to save 1,267,000
metric tons in the year 2010
(Source: IDC)
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12. Virtual Call Centers: Pollution Prevention
• F
Four major pollutants are emitted as byproducts
j ll t t itt d b d t
of burning fuel in a vehicle’s exhaust system:
– Hydrocarbons
– Nitrogen oxides (NOx)
g ( )
– Carbon monoxide (CO)
– Carbon dioxide (CO2)
• 100-seat call center produces:
00 ll d
• 1,680 kg of hydrocarbons emissions
• 8,340 kg of Nox
• 12,540
12 540 kg of CO
• 549,600 lbs of CO2
Pollutant Avg Emission Rate
Hydrocarbons Emissions 2.80 grams/mile driven
NOx 1.39 grams/mile driven
CO 20.9 grams/mile driven
CO2 0.916
0 916 lb/mile driven
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13. Virtual Call Centers: Energy Savings
• The average office building consumes
approximately 16.8 kWh of energy/year for
every sq. ft. of office space
• If each employee working in the office requires
approximately 100 sq. ft. of floor space, that
means th t every office worker uses
that ffi k
approximately 1680 kWh of energy/year
• A virtual 100 seat call center saves 168,000 kWh
100-seat 168 000
of energy/year due to the elimination of
commercial floor space
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14. Benefits of a Virtual Call Center
Corporations
C ti Agents
• Reduced infrastructure • New job opportunities
cost
• Supports families-work/life
S t f ili k/lif
• Ability to hire top talent balance
remotely- across the US
• Saves money on gasoline
• Ability to exceed KPIs due to no commute
• Ability to meet call center • Saves on professional
volume fluctuations and wardrobe
spikes
• Reduced impact on the
• Ability to improve the environment due to less
customer experience
p use of dry cleaning fluids,
y g ,
non-recyclable goods
• Disaster recovery
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15. Benefits of a Virtual Call Center
Improved Performance
• For Your Organization
– Improved sales conversion
– Improved service levels
– Reduced shrinkage
– Reduced cost per contact
– Reduced AHT
• For Your Customers
– Improved customer satisfaction
– Increased dollars/order
– Increased brand loyalty
y y
• For Agents
– Increased retention
– Improved p
p performance
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16. Benefits of a Virtual Workforce
Screened
Experienced Specialized
and Trained
• More experienced • Have relevant • Background
workforce subject matter checks
• Higher rate of expertise • Personality
college
ll • T i d on b
Trained brand,
d profiling
fili
experience culture and • Web-based and
possible products via web- instructor-led
• Bilingual based or training
recruiting easier instructor led • Web based HR
Web-based
• More training systems and tools
management • Can be located
experience anywhere
• Higher rate of worldwide
customer service
experience
• 15 years of work
experience
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17. Implementing a Virtual Call Center
Infrastructure and System Considerations:
I f t t dS t C id ti
• Technology
• Communication platform- phone, email, chat
• Systems- WFM, Call recording, LMS
• S
Security
it
• Security Compliance- PCI
• Agent- Credit and criminal background checks
• Workstation, systems & network
• Recruiting and screening methodologies
• Remote learning tools and approach
learning-
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18. Implementing a Virtual Call Center
Management Considerations:
Management Tools
• S it h supervisor view, call recording, quality
Switch i i ll di lit
tool, technical support systems
Communication
• Internal secure chat
• Data dashboard
• Resource portal
• LMS
Culture
• Leadership structure
• Tele work policies and procedures
• Results oriented- performance based scheduling
oriented
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19. Implementing a Virtual Call Center
Key Cost Considerations:
• Software licensing fees
• Telephony charges
• Hardware purchases/installation
• Remote recruiting
• Computer based training
• Distance management program
• C
Communication channels
i ti h l
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20. VIPdesk Case Study – Catalog Retailer
Virtual call center model enabled client to transfer
traffic out of 2 brick-and-mortar call centers to
home-based agents
• Exceeded dollars/order goals through 2007
holiday season while ramping agents to double
capacity (56% of agents had less than 30 days in
production)
• Reduced AHT by 31% over the first year of
y y
program operation
• Reduced shrinkage by 14% over two months
• Handled 200%+ of forecasted volumes during
seasonal periods where weather significantly
impacted client’s i t
i t d li t’ internal center
l t
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21. Additional Research
• Read VIPdesk’s case study featured in, “Going
Green: Outstanding Green Business Practices”
– Available online at:
http://www.vipdesk.com/info/pdf/Going_Gr
een_Guidebook.pdf
• Working Mother Magazine’s 2008 Best Green
Companies
– Available online at:
http://www.workingmother.com/web?service=vpage/1844
– THE BODY SHOP AMERICAS
– BENJAMIN MOORE
– SUNDANCE CHANNEL
– BAYER
– METHOD
– STONYFIELD FARM
– NIKE
– TIMBERLAND
– UPS
– HP
– SUBARU OF AMERICA
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22. Questions?
• Submit your questions now using the
“Questions” function in the Webinar
interface
• You can also email questions to
press@vipdesk.com
press@vipdesk com or call 703-837-3507
for follow-up after today’s Webinar
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23. Website: http://www.vipdesk.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/vipdesk
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vipdesk
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/companies/vipdesk
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/vipdesk
Via RSS: http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/23095083.rss
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