Outsourcing, offshore outsourcing, global sourcing, insourcing, outforcing … Here’s another one for the glossary: homeshoring. Actually, most of us just call it “telecommuting.” But, whatever you call it, it’s one rather interesting way to address outsourcing worries:
A report released Tuesday from research firm IDC says a number of companies are turning to a new method to meet call center challenges: getting workers to handle calls from their homes. So-called homeshoring or homesourcing in certain situations can boost productivity while cutting costs, according to researcher IDC. The practice also can avoid a potential pitfall of sending such work overseas, IDC suggested: foreign agents less familiar with U.S. customers … IDC said companies are turning to homeshoring in response to call center challenges such as the need for superior agent quality, frequent turnover and the seasonal nature of the business.
I’m very keen on telecommuting for a lot of different reasons, some of which are explained here.