Liveops Inc., a provider of on-demand virtual call center services for customer service and sales, announced that it has increased its network of virtual customer service agents by 79% since the start of the pandemic, adding 28,794 independent agents to its workforce since last March. Liveops is providing work-from-home contract opportunities to thousands of experienced retail professionals whose careers were disrupted by retail store closures and who have shifted to virtual customer service roles. Some 63% of the agents serving Liveops’ retail clients have previous retail experience, including 51% who previously worked in a physical store.
“With so many stores closing due to the pandemic, we have seen a tremendous pool of skilled, experienced retail associates shift from in-store roles to providing virtual customer care,” said Greg Hanover, CEO of Liveops. “We’re proud to offer opportunities to many of these professionals, especially moms seeking more flexible work-from-home arrangements during a trying time. More than half the agents in our retail network have previously honed their skills in brick-and-mortar stores. As the role of customer care representatives has expanded, these agents are not only providing the empathetic human connection that consumers are looking for, but also serving as an extension of our client brands’ sales teams, helping to drive additional sales.”
As the virtual customer service role becomes more sales-oriented, agents in the Liveops’ network are leveraging the unique skillsets that many of them developed in previous customer-facing roles. These independent agents report that they are turning a high percentage of incoming calls into cross-selling opportunities, to the benefit of Liveops’ brand partners.
