Convergys Employment: Requirements for Working at Home

During the country's current recession, where layoffs are up and traditional workplace hiring is down, work-at-home employment has become high in demand. More importantly, people seek the most reputable work-at-home jobs. One such company that requires no membership fees and that was listed as the top 100 on the 2006 Information Week 500 list of innovators worldwide is Convergys. Convergys hires home agents to work in a call center environment to respond to calls from top-notch companies. These positions include customer service, technical support, or sales. Convergys employs agents within 20 states that may be found on the website www.convergysworkathome.com.

In order to be a home agent, Convergys requires that agents have some basic equipment. This includes a personal computer with high speed internet (DSL or cable), a phone with a mute button, USB headset with a built-in digital signal processor, and a wired router that will be connected to the PC to gain access to Convergys network (Convergys website contains a link to the Dell Store where this router may be purchased). In addition, an agent must possess a personal computer than contains the following software: Internet Explorer 6.0 SP2, Windows XP or Vista, Windows Media Player 9.0 (free @ www.microsoft.com), Adobe Acrobat Reader 6.0, and Adobe Flash Player plug-in version 9.0 or above installed (free @ www.adobe.com). On its website, Convergys also mentions speed recommendations for one's PC and internet. Specifically, an agent's PC must have 1 GB of RAM for Windows XP users and 2 GB of RAM for Vista users, 12 GB of space on the hard drive, and a 2.8 GHZ processor. It is also preferred that an agent have a 17 inch monitor and one USB port on the PC. As for the internet, the upload speed must be at least 500 kbps and the download speed must be 1.5 mbps.

To ensure that an agent meets all of the system requirements, Convergys conducts a Voice Quality Evaluation using a Voice Over Internet Protocol (voIP) router to monitor the quality of voice and network connection. In other words a test phone call is transferred over the network through the router without using a standard phone line. For a further explanation of voIP consult the website www.tech-faq.com. Once an agent meets all of the computer specifications, Convergys conducts a personal background check and offers paid training.

In considering if Convergys is an ideal work-at-home job, jobseekers must determine whether they are comfortable with a call center job that demands superior customer service skills. Agents must also examine whether they have the computer software with speed requirements or whether they will need to invest in them. Keeping in mind that Convergys is a noteworthy company, applying for their home agent position is worth a try.

Sources

www.convergysworkathome.com

"How Does VoIP Work?" www.tech-faq.com