Report shows companies’ outlook on work from home models as an alternative to traditional operations.
7/30/2020 9:00
By Michael Lamm
Corporate Advisory Solutions
Companies in many industries have implemented work from home (WFH) practices in response to COVID-19, but the long-term impact remains to be seen, especially for the accounts receivable management (ARM) industry.
ACA International member company Corporate Advisory Solutions (CAS) predicts advances in technology and escalations caused by the COVID-19 pandemic will cause the expansion of the WFH model to become a permanent change and a worthy alternative to traditional operations for most ARM businesses, according to its Q2 2020 Tech-Enabled OBS Market Report.
Before the global pandemic, WFH was a minor topic of conversation and not a noteworthy market trend. However, the past few months have reshaped the industry’s perspective entirely. For example, it has been reported Inktel, a global call center provider, has moved 90% of its 1,500-person workforce to a WFH model following the pandemic, according to the CAS report. It has also been reported TTEC Holdings’ Engage division, one of the largest call center operations in the world, transitioned 80% of its employees to WFH as well.
The difference in priorities on a company-to-company basis compared to the beginning of the year is astronomical. According to a client survey by Alorica, only 14% of clients were interested in WFH as a long-term strategy. 90% of companies had little to no WFH outsourcing experience prior to the pandemic. After COVID-19, demand has skyrocketed, with 90% of Alorica’s clients using globally staffed WFH models.
Additionally, companies are reporting that agent productivity and customer experience WFH results have been in line with or better than brick-and-mortar results. Although this massive and sudden change has been considerably successful considering the initial hurdles that were in place, this market shift has demonstrated that the model will require a reengineering of the entire operational value chain to continue to succeed long after the pandemic subsides.
Michael Lamm, managing partner of CAS, hosts the ACA Cast podcast series Leadership Fuel With Michael Lamm. He is also a frequent contributor to ACA International's award-winning Collector magazine.