The beauty of a virtual call center is that it is essentially like any other call center, except for the fact that it’s representatives are not limited to the confines of a specific geographic location. Employees of a virtual call center can work from anywhere, although most work from home. Working from home is convenient for both the employer and the employee. The lure for the employee is that they do not have to make a daily commute, they can have more flexible schedules, and they can have a casual dress code. For employers this means big savings on rent and utilities, and their pool of potential employees increases without geographical boundaries. Employers can also monitor their employees progress virtually and get detailed status reports.These dual benefits can also result in lower turnover rates.

Virtual call centers work as long as the employee has a high-speed internet connection. There are different technologies that can be used in virtualization, however, at Northwinds Contact Solutions we use voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) which, simply stated, is transmitted through the internet rather than a phone line. This allows it to be more versatile because you can make and receive phone calls from anywhere as long as you have a reliable internet connection.   

The virtual model is also useful for business’ whose calendar year may be more seasonal. This works well because they don’t have to worry about maintaining facilities that they won’t use on a year-round basis. Bricks and mortar businesses can benefit from having even a portion of their employees work virtually. Furthermore, the virtual model is an excellent option for people with disabilities who may not be able to leave their homes due to medical reasons.

The success of VoIP systems are evident in companies such as Jet Blue which has one of the largest call centers in the world which is not even a physical call center since all their call center representatives work from home.