Increasing use of Virtual Cost Centers

The Wall Street Journal reports the increasing use of Virtual Call Centers: “You've heard of offshoring. What about home-shoring? That's a term some use to describe companies' tapping U.S. workers to answer tech-support and customer-service calls -- from home.”

"These at-home workers handle hotel and airline reservations, roadside assistance, tech support and sales calls। Retirees and near-retirees watching retirement accounts shrink may find such work-at-home opportunities a way to earn extra cash."

"Despite the economic slowdown, some of these firms plan to continue hiring। For instance, Hilton expects to hire more at-home agents in January, says Russ Olivier, a senior vice president at the company। Alpine Access will hire 250 more agents this year, and 1,200 in the first quarter of 2009, says Chris Carrington, CEO of the Denver-based firm."

"He says the growth is driven largely by companies moving call-center operations back to the U।S। from overseas -- in part because wages and other costs are rising in other countries, but also because communication difficulties can result in customer backlash."

"The jobs often require some experience. Mr. Carrington says Alpine hired just 2% of applicants this year. And while flexibility is a perk -- in general, agents set their schedules about a week in advance -- many of the jobs are part time, with pay ranging from about $8 to $14 an hour. Many of the companies don't offer benefits."