The Philadelphia Inquirer - March 30, 2006

Answering the Call: Homeshoring, Not Offshoring, Keeps Customer-Service Jobs Inside the U.S.

"St. Julien-Thomas is homeshoring, a new and expanding practice that allows customer service agents to work from home instead of in centralized call centers. Some large American companies are even bringing some of their customer-service operations back from India, the Philippines, and other offshore locations to take advantage of homeshoring.

"Industry analysts estimate there are 140,000 home agents, who field sales calls, customer complaints and questions...

"The number of home agents will more than double to 330,000 nationwide by 2010, Stephen Loynd, a senior analyst at IDC Corp., predicted.

"...Since August, St. Julien-Thomas, 28, of Williamstown, has been working as an independent 'cyber-agent' for WillowCSN, a Miramar, Fla., company that recruits workers for home-based customer service.

"'I'm my own boss. I can schedule my own hours,' St. Julien-Thomas said. 'I'm just happier. There's no more office politics. I didn't realize how much that was bringing me down.' She had worked in customer service previously at a call center."