Recruiters may soon be looking for call centre staff who can work from their own homes if the US trend of setting up ‘virtual call centres’ takes off.

In the US more than 112,000 call centre agents use new technology to work from home, and experts predict that UK employers could soon follow suit. The move could help call centres in the UK cope with chronic recruitment shortages, high staff turnover and the customer service issues associated with offshoring.

‘Homeshoring’ could also help employers attract underused groups of people such as women returning to work, the long-term unemployed, older people and people with disabilities.
In the UK, the AA already has about 250 call centre staff working from home.

Sally Wells, managing director of recruiter Teleresources, said homeshoring would alleviate skills shortages, drive down staff turnover and help thousands of people back into work.
“There are tens of thousands of people out there who are available to work in this way. For too long call centre directors have struggled to find staff willing to fulfil certain key shifts and spent millions relocating operations,” she said.