Virtual call centers provide option to work at home

The job offers flexibility but isn’t for everyone.

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE

Kandi Genis, of Sewickley, Pa., is rearing a teenage daughter. Anna Harrison, of Pittsburgh works full time as a marketing representative. Lauran Webb is a retired Pittsburgh police officer.

But all three women have found the same way to make some extra cash: working from home answering telephone calls for LiveOps, a Palo-Alto, Calif.-based “virtual call center.”

LiveOps is the largest of several companies, including Alpine Access and Arise, that employ a fully at-home work force. Agents for the companies work as independent contractors and do not receive benefits, but gain the one perk missing from many out-of-the-home jobs: flexibility.

“You can work 40 hours or you can work 10,” said Genis, “and nobody is mad at you if you only want to work 10.”

Genis had worked both as a preschool teacher and in retail while her daughter was growing up, and “agonized” over the time that she was spending away from home.

So when she heard about LiveOps in December, she quickly applied. The company requires that applicants pay $30 for a background and credit check before their applications can be considered, and that they have high-speed Internet and a traditional phone line.

Perhaps because it was the holiday season, Genis was accepted as a “home agent” within days and now works about 40 hours per week taking calls predominantly from people seeking to order something that they saw on an infomercial.

Looking to hire

The speed of her hiring isn’t necessarily typical, however, said Tim Whipple, vice president of agent service. The company receives about 3,000 job inquiries per week, he said, and is planning to hire a total of 4,000 employees before the end of the year. LiveOps, which was founded in 2000, has about 16,000 agents nationwide. The company’s chief executive officer, Maynard Webb, is the former chief operating officer for eBay.

LiveOps agents schedule blocks of time by the half-hour and earn anywhere between $7 and $20 dollars per hour, said Whipple, with payment coming both per minute of talk time and by performance bonuses — for example, an agent might gain a bonus by “upselling” a caller to a more expensive product. Agents are graded on a merit system, with the most experienced and best-scoring agents getting the most lucrative calls.

“If a bottom-line salary number is the most important thing to you, this may not be for you,” said Genis.

Not for everyone

Because of the sales component, the job isn’t for everyone — many people have trouble dealing with impatient customers, pushing additional products or sticking to a script. Additionally, newer or lower-scoring agents might find themselves having to work less desirable hours, such as nights and weekends.