Business Opportunities Weblog

August 8, 2006 by Rich Whittle | 1 Comment

Wall Street Journal Online:

Call-center outsourcing firms will employ agents with disabilities. At least two other concerns, however, specifically target the disabled. National Telecommuting Institute, a Boston nonprofit, has about 250 agents working from home at any given time, and a total pool of about 1,000 agents, says M.J. Willard, executive director. Applicants are asked to be certified by their state vocational-rehabilitation system. Most states pay for a computer if needed. Skills required: “Basic computer literacy, a pleasant telephone manner and the rest we can train,” Ms. Willard says. Apply through the institute’s Web site.

Another firm founded last year, Overflow Inc., Plainview, N.Y., retains people with disabilities, veterans and caregivers, among others, for home-based telephone work. Overflow has 88 trained agents and expects to add several hundred more this year, says Rich Florman, executive vice president. Applicants need a computer, broadband Internet access, the ability to speak, hear and think clearly, and good interpersonal skills.

Photo by eyebo.

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Tags: Customer Service, Employees, Work at Home