Projections for job growth may look gloomy overall, but companies that have sizable call center operations may be able to expand them without incurring large capital expenditures — and they might be able to hire better-qualified people.
The business model for accomplishing this is called a home agent program, and it’s growing in popularity, according to a study just released by CB Richard Ellis’ Phoenix-based Labor Analytics Group.
Home agent programs are expected to grow during the next several years, for a number of reasons: They allow a company to hire better workers from a larger geographic pool; they help employees manage commuting costs and other work-related expenses; and they allow a company to build its work force without having to invest in additional office or warehouse space.
“We deal with a lot of clients where labor is really driving their operation,” said Kara Burns, LAG’s associate director of consulting. “One of our clients asked us, ‘Who is using home agents, and should we be using home agents?’”
Thus, the study was born. Surveys were sent across the country to hundreds of CB Richard Ellis clients. Fifty-eight responses were received.
Although the company is predominantly associated with its real estate brokerage division, it has invested in various lines of research to help clients make better real estate-related decisions. Labor issues are an intrinsic factor in deciding whether to lease, purchase or sell land.
When the information was collected late last year and synthesized during the first quarter of 2009, it became clear to Burns and her team that home agent programs are growing and are likely to continue.
That might sound like bad news for CBRE, which makes the lion’s share of its money transacting real estate. But Craig Henig, the firm’s senior managing director in < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags” />
“With more companies considering virtual operations and looking for implementation strategies, CBRE’s knowledge of this growing trend will help our firm become the leading adviser on labor and real estate strategies,” Henig said.
In fact, the recent Home Agent Survey indicates that allowing call center personnel to work from home is more of a human resource issue than a real estate expense.
Nearly 66 percent of the respondents said they are using home agent programs. Of those with active programs, nearly all plan to grow them by 10 percent to 25 percent during the next three years.
Of those companies not using home agents, about 42 percent said they might do so within the next two years.
According to the survey, nearly 60 percent of home agent programs are implemented to increase employee satisfaction. That’s followed by improving employee retention and increasing the labor pool. Real estate savings was a factor only 50 percent of the time.
“We just started last year, and we’ve created a hybrid model,” said Mark Skoog, director of global marketing for eTelecare. “We have people who work primarily from home, but not exclusively from home.”
It’s a small segment of the work force, though, and much of the impetus came from gas prices topping off at more than $4 a gallon last summer.
“We’ve got 1,500 employees in the metro area, and most of them are call center agents, but not even 100 work from home,” Skoog said.
Nevertheless, the company probably will increase the number of home agents here and throughout the
“The home agent business model is something we could roll out in other locations if we need to,” Skoog said.
Another company with a large component of call center agents is
Companywide, fewer than 10 percent of call center agents are allowed to work from home, but spokeswoman Erin Mohan expects that number to jump dramatically during the next three years.
“We’re very consumer-driven, and we believe we could achieve more cost savings,” Mohan said. “We also believe the home agent program will help us attract and retain high performers.”
Researcher Burns is hoping the home agent model brings additional benefits to the nation’s work force.
A handful of home furnishing boutique owners across the Valley are rallying together to insulate themselves from the recession.
What started as a loose network of friends within the same industry is developing into a formal group recently named Arizona Home Boutiques. The group is launching a Web site aimed at bringing together niche boutique home furnishing retailers across the Valley.
“It’s really so far been about information sharing,” said Debbie Frank, owner of
Members include Frank; Rebecca Masterson of
Frank and Smith met last year as they worked on an industry event in
The philosophy behind the group is to create a supportive network of those within the independent home furnishings and decor business. The gatherings so far have taken place at a local restaurant and via phone conversations, with customer referrals, specific item queries and industry trends among the common topics of conversation.
“This is about grassroots marketing and networking. The best way to generate business is through word of mouth or a referral, and if I can get an item from one of my colleagues for my customer, that’s important. My customer is happy, and I am keeping the dollars in the local community,” Smith said.
Frank said the group is open, but will screen its members to ensure the businesses complement one another and that members aren’t too close to one another geographically. To qualify, a business must have a retail storefront and be independently owned.
“This is really about networking with people who really understand the challenges and where you are. … We want to be able to leverage ourselves, because we aren’t these big retailers,” she said.
Get Connected
Arizona Home Boutiques: www.azhomeboutiques.com
New research from the Brookings Institution shows the Valley’s rising unemployment rate and falling home values position the area as one of the nation’s weakest economically.
The first MetroMonitor study from the
The study divides the metro areas into five categories based on overall economic strength, and the
“
Overall economic performance in the cities was determined in four ways: change in employment rate from peak levels; one-year percentage-point change in unemployment rate; change in gross metropolitan product from peak levels; and one-year change in home values. All data are current through the first quarter of 2009.
Metro areas in
While
“While some areas of the country have experienced only a shallow downturn and may be emerging from the recession already, people living in metro areas that are now performing weakest economically should prepare themselves for a long recovery period,” according to study co-author Alan Berube.
The rankings for the
According to the report, cities such as
While
The Valley also performed poorly in housing measures, ranking 92nd in the one-year change in housing prices, with a drop of 16.6 percent. The national average drop was only 6.3 percent.
“
The
While the economy is in worse shape here than most other areas of the
“The state and
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Brookings Institution: www.brookings.edu
How
1st: Increase in average wage (4Q 08 vs. 1Q 09)
38th: Change in gross metro product (4Q 08 vs. 1Q 09)
92nd: One-year change in home prices
98th: Change in unemployment (4Q 08 vs. 1Q 09)
Economic Performance
Strongest cities:
Weakest cities:
Source: Brookings Institition
In most Valley cities and towns, local officials don’t consider a construction project abandoned until a year has passed since the last brick, beam, pipe or panel was put in place.
As a result, dozens of stalled office, retail and condominium projects will be declared dead this year, their construction permits voided and their properties inspected for long-term safety hazards. more…
An upscale Ahwatukee Foothills neighborhood of
The study, commissioned by real-estate Web portal and e-commerce site Cyberhomes.com, compared median home prices to median household incomes, and then adjusted for other factors such as the quality of schools, commute distances and job opportunities. more…
Developer Jeff Cline apparently has lost Elevation Chandler, a 10.6-acre construction site that was to be a hotel and luxury condominiums at the intersection of Loops 101 and 202.
A trustee sale was held Monday, and there were no buyers, leading the mortgage holder, California-based Point Center Financial, to believe it has taken the property. more…