“Whilst Europe and the US embrace the concept of tele-commuting, working from home, etc, India is typically more comfortable with a traditional office with structured hours. There is a strong need for a mindset shift in employees, their parents and society,” says Patrick David, executive vice president, global human resources and corporate communication, HTMT Global Solutions.

Apart from the human aspect, the other key thing which would be of major consideration is network security. The IT operations need to be monitored at multiple levels in order to enhance the business objectives and to safeguard the interests of the consumer. According to experts, things like digital rights management (DRM) can work to secure the operations when it comes to things like copying or taking printouts of any data. The technology primarily focuses on protecting the Web content and its products are available from various vendors.

“Broadband is a prerequisite for agents to be able to work from home. This is a big challenge, which needs to be overcome. Also in today's complex business environment clients are really concerned about security issues, and therefore it is imperative to consider various technology options to safeguard their interests,” says SV Ramana, CTO, Genpact.

Also, all the processes cannot be shifted to home. For instance, while processes related to telemarketing can be shifted to home agents, companies find it difficult to shift stringent applications or technology-based processes. A proper evaluation is therefore required to ascertain the processes that can be accessed from home.

Further, building out a sample work-at-home set-up in the corporate office using a cable modem or DSL set-up can make it easier for the IT department to understand and resolve connectivity issues at the later stage.

“The concept of home agent is completely new to India. There is hardly any structured service delivery that currently operates on this model. It will take time to gain acceptance” Raju Bhatnagar, VP, BPO and Government Relations, Nasscom	“Vertex UK is witnessing huge demand from many clients recently, and as a result, over the coming months, we will be engaging additional operational staff as home agents” Manpreet Singh, vice president, solutions & technology, Vertex (India)	“We see this option being explored by most of the BPOs as they bring strong value to operations. We expect Indian BPOs who are currently in the evaluation phase to get into deployment in the next 6-12 months” Ketan Shah, BU head, contact centers, Avaya Global Connect

“From a technology perspective, it's important to determine if the company will use PSTN or VoIP for connectivity. For the most part, contact centers are mainly using VoIP for at home and remote agent set-ups. It provides greater flexibility and potentially some additional cost savings,” says Rajeev Soni, general manager, South Asia and Middle East, Aspect Software.

Also, if the contact center uses VoIP, it's important to work with carriers to deliver service level agreements for the delivery of voice packets.

In addition, the contact center should have a proper backup plan, if there is a partial or complete outage at the agent's place.

Another area which requires adequate planning is to manage and support the IT assets of home agents. Mostly, it is the company which needs to provide the PC, and telecom-related gear for home agents, as well as pay for the Internet access or phone lines. Further, the manager and the staff member would also need to establish mutually accepted targets in order to have proper clarity on the issues and expectations from the agent working from home.

Benefits Aplenty
There is no dearth of talent in India; the only thing which creates obstacles at times is the poor infrastructure and lack of support from the responsible authorities. Movement of some of the BPO organizations to tier-2 cities has already helped them to make substantial profits and generate myriad employment opportunities for the youth and retired people. Also, considering the untapped potential of Indian housewives, the concept of home agent has a lot more potential to succeed in the market as compared to any other country.

Commenting on the relevance of home agents in the Indian context, Manpreet Singh, senior vice president, solutions and technology, Vertex (India) says, “Home-working in India is not something which has really come to fruition. However, if there were options to be more flexible in certain circumstances, the staff would have to perform an assessment in line with our global home-working policy”

The home-working concept is not a new initiative for Vertex, with a number of employees in Vertex UK already exercising this option. “Vertex UK is witnessing huge demand from many clients recently and as a result, over the coming months, we will be engaging additional operational staff as home agents,” added Singh.

Further, the concept allows agents to dedicate more time toward their families to maintain the right balance between professional and personal lives. This reduces the exertion from recruitment and training, leading to a positive impact on the bottomline. These benefits coupled with cost savings in terms of time to commute can lead to higher employee satisfaction and therefore a low attrition rate. According to various studies, adaptation of this model for a longer period can lower the attrition rate upto 50%.

“This concept is already catching up with the Indian youth. A large number of students pursuing technical education are providing technical support for a variety of leading brands, all from the comfort of their homes or hostel rooms. Says Navin Joshua, executive director, vCustomer India. At present, over 10% of the company's total employee is working from home. It also claims to provide continuous online support and training to ensure quality.

The Road Ahead
In the long run, the home agent concept can prove to be the next revolution for the Indian BPO industry. However, to set the game field, proper evaluation and support is required from the government and the industry. Issues such as power backup, poor roads, connectivity, etc, need to be resolved to popularize the concept among BPO.

Further, effective mechanisms should be developed to keep players in the game for longer durations.

“In the US there have been standards that have been drawn by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for security for telecommuting and broadband communications. Similar standards need to be developed in India as well,” says Raju Bhatnagar of Nasscom.

In addition, in order to maintain the quality preposition, companies need to consider security and protection of customer data and information.

Despite these concerns, the concept is heading to gain substantial toehold from companies interested in lowering their overall costs, while maintaining their customer- services. Though the concept may take some time stablished improved infrastructure, education and proper talent management skills, it can certainly address the basic challenge of providing opportunities in rural and semi-urban areas. And also help the Indian BPO industry to continue its growth story in the global market.

Jatinder Singh
jatinders@cybermedia.co.in