By JILIAN MINCER
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
November 29, 2005; Page B6
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

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There are a lot of things Peggy Griffiths likes about her job as a virtual call agent. The former business analyst no longer worries about suits, traffic or overtime. She decides how long she is going to work and when. Ms. Griffiths usually spends a few hours a day handling calls for Teleflora, a unit of closely held Roll International. Customers don't know the master gardener is at home in Prescott, Ariz., rather than at their local florist.

Ms. Griffiths is among a growing number of Americans now working as virtual call-center agents. While thousands of jobs have gone to offshore call centers, others are returning or moving from brick-and-mortar call centers to people's homes, thanks to new technology and a changing work force.

High-speed Internet connections and patented software enable employees to plug in and take calls at home, day or night.

About 118,500 of the approximately five million customer-service, help-desk and other service providers are virtual agents, said Jack Heacock, senior vice president of TelCoa, The Telework Coalition, an advocacy group.

"There's a clear movement afoot to find alternatives to offshore, but offshore continues to grow," said Basil Bennett, chief executive and president of WillowCSN, a south Florida virtual call-center company. Willow uses nearly 3,000 virtual agents in 30 states for its clients, which include Fortune 500 companies.

Technology and a changing work force are fueling that growth, as is frustration with overseas call centers and an increased demand for high-quality agents.

Some companies with their own call centers use virtual agents to handle overloads or for emergencies.

"You have a pool of people who can move in and out on an as-needed basis," said Robert Laubacher, a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

That appeals to Virgin Atlantic Airways, a Willow client for almost two years. "Willow has provided us with plan B," said John Riordan, vice president of customer service at the airline.

West Corp., a call-center company based in Omaha, Neb., has more than doubled the number of its virtual agents in the past year, to 7,300 at the end of September from 3,400 in 2004. While the company launched its West at Home service about a year and a half ago to save money, it has been well-received by clients, who consider it a cost-effective, higher-quality alternative to offshore call centers.

"It gives us a lot of flexibility to handle call spikes," said Dave Pleiss, vice president of investor relations and public relations for West.

Mr. Bennett of Willow attributed much of his company's success to the quality of its employees. A typical call center employs entry-level workers who are in their early 20s. Annual turnover usually is 60% to 100%. Willow, like most virtual call centers, employs a lot of older workers. The average age of its employees is 38, and more than 80% have a college education. Half of the agents have been in management positions, and many are individuals with physical disabilities.

"Instead of 50 to 60 hours a week, I work 10 to 20 in shorts in the summer and in sweats in the winter," said Ms. Griffiths, who took early retirement at 49 from her previous job, but wanted to work part time.

ARO, a virtual call center, started almost 20 years ago in Kansas City, Mo., as a brick-and-mortar call center. In late 1997, it decided to try virtual callers because "we could not recruit the right type of people," said Michael Amigoni, ARO's chief operating officer.

The company was serving life-insurance companies and needed a more stable and skilled work force. Annual turnover, he said, was about 60% to 80%.

That changed when ARO started advertising in 1997 for people who wanted to work at home. "We found the people applying were baby boomers, who had lots of experience working and were attracted to the job because they were in a different mode," Mr. Amigoni said.

Turnover now is 7% to 8% a year.

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