"TeamTonic is a remote management toolkit which connects managers, planners, supervisors and remote workers to bring them together under one virtual roof. It provides team chat rooms, secure mail, RT reporting and monitoring as well as scheduling and activity tracking."

"Beyond the enablers such as Citrix and a remote agent ACD, a robust chat product is essential along with appropriate virtual community systems. These will help develop a sense of community and drive performance."

"The same technology they use for office employees."

"An ACD system that allows them to view the phone status of their workers in conjunction with a CHAT (not IM) system to communicate with all at home workers."

"IPT and IPCC have enabled this model ."

"There is plenty of technology - even basic microsoft office has features to help"

"Secure remote sessions with double authentication into enterprise and client systems (i.e. DMZ terminal launchpad)"

"We are currently using Siemens switch for our phones with reporting capability ( avg talk time, avg work time, etc. Payroll system that shows what time agent logs into the computer. Care Enhance Call Center application that documents all encounters with clients."

"VOIP and call recording are huge in any customer facing remote or onsite team. Save some money and know the Voice of the Customer."

"Hosted diallers, Hosted CRM, Hosted inbound skillls based routing, home PC screen pop with script and all customer detials, all now avauilable as integrated systems"

"Technology solutions today make it easier to monitor and manage an employees activities in real-time as well as monitor the duration a remote worker is connected to the corporate network AND has activity on the network. (i.e Not just VPN'd into the network, but accessing databases, intranet, etc. that are typically required to perform job duties and responsibilities.)
Having a reliable, secure solution that enables management to observe calls, record calls, screen captures, etc. & monitor as if they are in the office is key. My recommendation for business managers is to first identify their requirements - consider all options based on what makes sense and applies to their specific business - which will translate into technology options should include:

1. Will or Do the Agents have at least basic tech-troubleshooting knowledge (recommended)
2. Ability to work independently
3. Collaboration tools like instant messaging & web collab, (recommend they have multiple communication channels/options available to the agents AND supervisors
4. Easy access to supervisors and subject matter experts
5. Access to 24/7 Helpdesk
6. Agent training (on-site vs eLearning)
7. Home distractions - working from home isn’t for everyone
8. Requirements for Call Recording and Quality Monitoring?
9. Requirements for integrating Workforce Management
10. Security and Federal or Legal requirements (i.e. HIPPA for healthcare)"

"Chat lines and messenger extremely important and a dedicated supervisor to remote workers to assist with equipment issues and coaching and monitoring"

"Communication tools are key--from instant messaging to tele- and vide-conferencing, an intranet, and file-sharing. It is necessary for remote team members to be able to communicate as easily with their colleages as they would in a centralized location."

"1.) Email/Chat/ Video conference/Voice chat. 2) Task/Project management systems. 3) Remote Login"

"It is fundamental that a remote worker is allowed access to the same information that an office worker has, so the deployment of secure remote access to company servers, databases, CRM systems and other management information is imperative. The speed of the network also needs to be fast and effective, so that the remote worker is allowed to work at the same speed as the office worker. Access to the same telephony system as the office is also useful, so that calls can be received, transferred and made in the same way as the office telephones. IP telephony is excellent for this. It is also a good touch if the remote worker is given a camera and mic/telephone extension so that they can see the office environment and speak to staff directly, if and when they want. If it is a two way mic and camera setup, the office can also see the remote worker too. The technology offered to the remote worker needs to be used to allow them to work seamlessly like they would in the office and have exactly the same tools available to them. This will allow them to be monitored and measured on their performance in the same way as the office based workers."

"Security and routing technology is important"

"Any technology available in the market is able to do this. It is more of the people behind the engines who need to get used to it and manage their people remotely."

"The proper systems need to be in place to support remote agent. A quality ACD to monitor quantity, a monitoring system to review calls and give feedback, and an e-learning
system to communicate any changes"

"After general statistical reporting, call monitoring is the most critical. Webcasting for training, reviewing and generally staying in touch is a priority."

"Remote desktop, time management software and VPN access along with periodic audits"

"Performance Management and Process Management. A good communication system should be in place. Remote workers should have the feeling of ownership, as company employees."

"Technology should not be a limitation. Today it is easy to build a secure virtual contact centre and use workforce optimisation tools to manage and develop the personnel. The complication is how to then provide appropriate feedback to the advisors/agents and create/maintain the virtual team."

"Most good contact center technology allows manager to monitor remote agents the same as if they were in the office"

"I could name a dozen decent names on here that will help businesses set up their remote agents, to be honest there is just too many out there at the moment that will help them get going but what I would say is make sure that the software ticks all the right boxes. Also consider a bespoke platform as this will give you much better results than a generic package."