The Wall Street Journal reports the increasing use of Virtual Call Centers: “You've heard of offshoring. What about home-shoring? That's a term some use to describe companies' tapping U.S. workers to answer tech-support and customer-service calls -- from home.”

"These at-home workers handle hotel and airline reservations, roadside assistance, tech support and sales calls। Retirees and near-retirees watching retirement accounts shrink may find such work-at-home opportunities a way to earn extra cash."

"Despite the economic slowdown, some of these firms plan to continue hiring। For instance, Hilton expects to hire more at-home agents in January, says Russ Olivier, a senior vice president at the company। Alpine Access will hire 250 more agents this year, and 1,200 in the first quarter of 2009, says Chris Carrington, CEO of the Denver-based firm."

"He says the growth is driven largely by companies moving call-center operations back to the U।S। from overseas -- in part because wages and other costs are rising in other countries, but also because communication difficulties can result in customer backlash."

"The jobs often require some experience. Mr. Carrington says Alpine hired just 2% of applicants this year. And while flexibility is a perk -- in general, agents set their schedules about a week in advance -- many of the jobs are part time, with pay ranging from about $8 to $14 an hour. Many of the companies don't offer benefits."

Four real work-at-home jobs

MSN Money reports: "After the birth of her daughter, Carrie Opara knew she didn't want to return to her old job as a mental-health counselor. But finding legitimate work she could do at home was no small feat."

"She tried a multilevel marketing plan and wound up in debt. She looked on the Internet and found plenty of scams. Finally, she heard about LiveOps, a Palo Alto, Calif., call center that hired people to work out of their own homes."

"Within two years, she was earning about $2,000 a month working 30 to 35 hours a week from her home in Columbia, Md. -- about what she'd made previously as a counselor. Her shifts can be as short as 30 minutes, although she typically works five-hour blocks while her 6-year-old is in school, plus some nights and weekends when her husband, a certified public accountant, can take over child care."

News station provides advice on work-at-home jobs

WCPO.com reports: "With the economy as bad as its been in 25 years, and new layoffs every day, more and more of us would love to find a work-at-home job that really works."

"Sharon looks like any other customer service rep..."

"'May I get your name, address, and date of birth please?'"

"...with one big exception. She handles claims for a major insurer in a spare bedroom in her house, earning almost $10 an hour working hours of her choosing.Sharon tells me "I love working from home. "

"It gives you extra time, I can sleep in, I dont have to fight traffic."Sharon worked in a busy call center until she got the chance to work part time in her own home, courtesy the marketing company Convergys."

NEW Customer Service Companies Inc. is expanding its Bowling Green workforce

The Lane Report details N.E.W.'s expansion: "NEW Customer Service Companies Inc. is expanding its Bowling Green workforce and plans to double its staff by next May, putting the company well ahead of its previously announced hiring schedule."

"In May of this year, the Virginia-based company – which provides extended service plans and buyer protection programs for consumer products – announced plans to establish its work-at-home program in the Bowling Green area. At that time, NEW said it would hire around 120 people over the course of the first year and would continue to hire at that pace, creating a total of around 350 new jobs within three years."

"Now, the company expects to come close to 350 employees within only one year. NEW currently has a staff of 160 in the Bowling Green area and plans to add 160 jobs by May 2009, bringing the total number of jobs to 320. "

Call center workers sue American

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports, "American Airlines is being sued for alleged age and gender discrimination for targeting its downtown call center for closure this summer."

"Thirty employees, mostly women over 40, this week sued the suburban Dallas-based airline in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati and accused the carrier of offering inferior severance and only half-hearted assistance in getting other positions with the company. Their lawyer, Eric Deters, is seeking class-action status."

"American said last fall it would shut the facility at the historic Bartlett Building at Fourth and Walnut streets after the carrier learned its landlord wanted to convert the building into a hotel or condos once the lease expires this summer."

"The roughly 450 employees were offered the option of doing their job from home or transferring to another call center elsewhere in the country, but Deters claims those options have been rigged to discourage most employees from selecting them."

"For example, home-based employees would not only have taken a pay cut and reduced benefits, but also have been required to report to Dallas in person at their own expense if their equipment failed until the problem was solved."

"Deters said the work-at-home program was canceled because not enough people signed up."

Home-based agents are saving the environment

From Yahoo.com, "West Corporation, a leading provider of outsourced communication solutions, today announced the results of an internal study showing the tremendous positive environmental impact of its home agent solution, West at Home, and the overall industry-wide benefit of home-based agents."

"According to the results of the study, West's home-based employees prevented an estimated 17,000 metric tons of air pollution from reaching the earth's atmosphere in 2007. By eliminating the need for lengthy commutes to the office, West at Home agents also reduced gasoline consumption by more than 2 million gallons and saved approximately $22.9 million in commuting expenses."

"Total industry estimates are staggering, when considering the growth estimates from Interactive Data Corporation's (IDC) report, Home-Based Agent 2005-2010 Forecast and Analysis: Converging Economic Forces to Drive the Expansion of Homeshoring in the United States. According to the report, there were an estimated 112,000 home-based agents in 2006 across the United States and that number was projected to grow to approximately 300,000 by 2010."

Arise is looking for bilingual agents

Customer Interaction Solutions magazine reports, "Home-based agent service provider Arise Virtual Solutionsannounced today that it is actively seeking to recruit at least 250 bilingual customer interaction professionals with French and German language skills to handle multilingual customer requests from its technology and retail clients. The French and German language program follows Arise’s successful Spanish-speaking program. The company states that bilingual agents, on average, may earn 20 percent more by putting their language skills to use."

"Arise recruits, screens and certifies thousands of what it calls Arise Certified Professionals (ACPs) that invest in their own training and equipment to answer calls, e-mail and provide interactive chat services from their home offices. Operating as individual small businesses, or Virtual Services Corporations, ACPs choose specifically when and with which Arise clients they would like to work. Arise’s says that its mission is to match the capabilities of its professionals with the goals of its clients and the needs of their customers – inspiring trust and creating results for those it connects."

"'Many of our retail and technology clients serve customers around the globe, as well as a growing international population within the U.S.,' said Jared Fletcher, Vice President, ACP Admissions and Certifications at Arise. 'We want to ensure we can provide the most flexible customer care solutions based on growing client demand for these language skills. At the same time, there are hundreds of potential agents across the nation that could be paid a premium for a skill that comes naturally to them,' he added."