Printer-friendly versionSend to friend

U.S. call centers are increasingly turning to “homesourcing” in addition to the infamous outsourcing they’ve been doing with customer service jobs. A report by the research firm IDC says there are roughly 100,000 workers in the U.S. working from their homes as call center representatives. Some companies are finding that using this method can cut their costs while avoiding problems associated with shipping that work overseas. Some customers have discovered they’re dealing with overseas representatives who often aren’t familiar with U.S. customers. But home-based U.S. workers solve that problem. The research company Forrester has estimated that by 2015 more than 3 million U.S. service jobs will be sent offshore. But this new trend may mitigate that job exportation.