Thursday, February 17, 2011
by Kimberly Kohatsu Citibank announced yesterday that it's closing its call center in Albuquerque. This cost-cutting measure could have been devastating for the area, already hard-hit by unemployment. But the move to homesourcing means that 700 employees can keep their pay and benefits the same, while continuing to answer Citibank's calls. It's unfortunate that 50 people will be laid off, but considering the alternative, it's a smart move by Citi. Consider these additional benefits: • The average US call center employee commutes 24 miles a day.

Over the course of a 50-week working year, those 6,000 miles amount to two TONS of CO2. • A physical call center requires 130-200 square feet of space per agent. By homesourcing, a 100-seat call center saves 168,000 kilowatts of energy per year. • Teleworking case studies, including Holland America Cruise Lines, show that allowing workers to report from home helps productivity go up and sick-leave go down. Employee retention and job satisfaction improve as well. But you don't have to have a 750-seat operation to benefit from a Cloud Call Center for outgoing calls or a Hosted IVR for incoming calls. These products are fully scalable, offer detailed reports, and increase efficiency for any size operation. Want to learn more? Join a weekly webinar and have all your questions answered.