WillowCSN CEO Angie Selden:  US Home-based Call Centres To Grow 300 Percent

By Dj Varma

Founded in 1997, Willow CSN, Inc in USA introduced and patented the first virtual call centre capability.  Since then, it has grown from strength to strength, and spawned a number of copy cat operations.

Willow is America’s leading provider of virtual customer contact centre solutions.  Its happy clientele include 12 Fortune 500 companies.  Their employees’ works from home and as many as 80 percent of them are graduates.  The employee turnover is a quarter of any Call Centre in USA.   Positive articles in New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other international media have made it a role model in the Call Centre industry.  Time will tell if this concept of Homesourcing takes off in a big way in India.

Techgoss put the following questions to CEO Angie Selden.

Q.   How did you first think about this idea about Homesourcing of Call Centres in 1997?  It is brilliantly simple.

A. (Angie Selden) -  The founders of WillowCSN came up with the idea to help people with disabilities find legitimate work-from-home job opportunities.  Since that time, improving technology has enabled this concept to grow enormously.  At the same time, Willow realized that there are many types of people for which this type of work is suited, including retirees, stay-at-home moms, college students, and military spouses.

Q.  What were the challenges in the early years?

A. Technology – before broadband, Willow was limited to a certain geographical region.  In addition, the phone line connection system was costly.  However, now Willow agents only need broadband access and a dedicated phone line to serve customers.  This opens the pool of talent for clients to anyone in the continental United States, which is better for both Willow and its clients.

Q.  You are 30-40 percent cheaper than the traditional Call Centres in US and Europe.  You save on office expenses;  Agents pay for their own training etc.  Agents accept slightly lower salaries for the convenience of working from home.  Do you think this is the role model for ALL call centres in the future ?

A. As clients experiment with blended solutions – i.e. utilizing traditional call centers, agents overseas, and home-based agents, we are finding that the home-based agent portion of business is continually growing.  This doesn’t mean that bricks-and-mortar centers will be obsolete, but as client demands become more specific in skill sets and agent profile requirements, they are realizing that Willow can provide this better than the others.

Q.  How do you get such a highly qualified workforce - 80 percent of your Agents are college graduates ?

A. Willow has an extremely stringent application process.  As client demands become more sophisticated, we need to deliver the exact type of agent that the client wants.  To our advantage, we have a very large pool to choose from – essentially anyone that wants to do this type of work from home. 

Q.   How do you manage to keep turnover to less than a quarter of call centres in usa ?

A. The agent profile for Willow representatives is what sets the company apart from traditional call centers.  Willow’s agents are typically older, more educated, and skilled in specific areas based on client needs.  Add to that the fact that they are working from home and working for some of the most recognized brands in the US - Willow’s agents are happier overall.  In addition, many agents make more money than they would at a traditional bricks-and-mortar call center since they are paid by their performance.

Q.  How do you manage to keep quality when people work from home with crying
babies and cars in the driveway ?

A. Willow has a zero tolerance noise policy, and its agents take this very seriously.  Agents are monitored constantly to ensure clients are receiving quality (and superior) customer service.

Q.   Do you have any clients who outsourced to Philippines, India and then took the contract back and gave it to you in USA ?

A. We have clients who have tried a variety of outsourcing strategies.  The fact that many clients are expanding their contracts with us is proof that the home-agent concept is making strides as a valid, cost-effective, and efficient solution.

Q.  What are the industries your agents can support ?  Can they support a very technical role fixing hardware and software for say IBM ?

A. Willow has the capability to staff according to a client’s need.  Currently, Willow does utilize tech support agents.  The company also focuses on the sales side, with agents specializing in up-selling and cross-selling.   Willow also works in the travel/hospitality industry where agents not only book reservations but “sell an experience” of a destination and work to maximize the client’s profit (and in turn, their own).  The beauty of the home-based work concept is that we have an extremely large pool of potential agents to choose from. 

Q.  You have been profiled by Wall Street Journal,  New York Times and most
mainstream media in USA ?  How much did business improve after these profiles ?  Who much has your business grown in the last few years ?

A. Willow’s business has grown immensely over the last few years.  We are currently servicing 37 clients and 12 Fortune 500 companies.  One of the biggest differences the company has experienced in the last year is recognition by some of the biggest brands in the US. 

Q.  In Australia they Call Centre industry will actually grow this year.  How much business do you think will traditional Call Centres in USA loose to low cost countries like India ?

A. I can’t comment on the traditional call center industry, but the virtual call center industry has only grown every year since its inception.  IDC analyst Stephen Loynd has predicted that the home-based industry will grow 300 percent by 2010. 

Q  Would you ever open up offices in countries like Philippines, India, China etc ?

A. The company is currently focusing on further expansion in the United States.