Homeshoring

Summary

Homeshoring is the term used for extending an existing call centre into the home or community and using home based staff (agents). Homeshoring has been embraced by the private sector as a cost effective method of attracting and retaining staff that meets the flexible needs of their customers. The DC10 seeks to promote Homeshoring to the public sector and the guidance provided here has been gathered from experts from across the public and private sector as a result of their direct experience of implementing or planning flexible working models.

Homeshoring may be viewed purely as flexible working or may be implemented as part of a wider project to address worklessness and improve social inclusion by supporting people from disadvantaged communities into work. The public sector can play a vital role in this flexible working agenda by updating HR policy to recruit a proportion of its workforce from those who are economically inactive and by working with the private sector, via economic development activity, to encourage them to offer flexible employment opportunities to disadvantaged people.

The homeshoring model provides a real opportunity to people who are economically inactive or based in rural communities to find a way into meaningful and well paid work, as was proved in the Nottingham’s homeshoring pilot in 2007/08.