Teleworking

Support reps generally have the personality traits necessary to effectively work from their homes, including the self-discipline to answer customers' questions on their own. Support reps typically take ownership of customers' problems, and they ask others for assistance as a last resort often only when they're about to escalate a customer's request for help to a higher-level rep.

Cost savings are among the clearest benefits of employing teleworkers to support customers.

According to consultant John Heacock, who works from his home in Parker, CO, companies that allow reps to telework reduce their facility expenses by about two thirds.

One reason is that you can keep your support center smaller if you don't have to make room for every rep. You can cut the fully allocated cost of supporting each employee, with workstations, computers, phones and cable, from $35,000 to as low as $10,000.

An equally important benefit of allowing support reps to work from their homes is that it presents your company with another way to attract and retain this group of employees. You're able to bring...