Homesourcing
Encyclopedia
Homesourcing also known as homeshoring is "the transfer of service industry employment from offices to home-based employees with appropriate telephone and Internet facilities". Homesourcing is best thought of as a combination of outsourcing
and telecommuting
.
Homesourcing refers to hiring employees or engaging independent contractor
s. Homesourced workers are sometimes required to come to an office for training from time-to-time.
Traditionally, employers were most likely to homeshore call-centers and other customer service processes. However, this trend is changing as employers realize a wider variety of work is amenable to homeshoring. Knight Ridder
Newspapers reports "it's no longer just call centers and information-technology jobs. Now it's architects, accountants, tax preparers and financial analysts."
According to researcher IDC Homesourcing is expanding by about 20% a year and homesourcing is "on track to explode".
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
and telecommuting
Telecommuting
Telecommuting or telework is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links...
.
Homesourcing refers to hiring employees or engaging independent contractor
Independent contractor
An independent contractor is a natural person, business, or corporation that provides goods or services to another entity under terms specified in a contract or within a verbal agreement. Unlike an employee, an independent contractor does not work regularly for an employer but works as and when...
s. Homesourced workers are sometimes required to come to an office for training from time-to-time.
Traditionally, employers were most likely to homeshore call-centers and other customer service processes. However, this trend is changing as employers realize a wider variety of work is amenable to homeshoring. Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by The McClatchy Company on June 27, 2006, it was the second-largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspapers sold.- History :The corporate ancestors of...
Newspapers reports "it's no longer just call centers and information-technology jobs. Now it's architects, accountants, tax preparers and financial analysts."
According to researcher IDC Homesourcing is expanding by about 20% a year and homesourcing is "on track to explode".
Companies using homesourcing
US,UK and European companies which have employed homesourcing personnel include:| Firm | Based | Founded |
|---|---|---|
| 1-800-Flowers.com | ||
| Automatic Data Processing Automatic Data Processing Automatic Data Processing, Inc. Automatic Data Processing, Inc. with about $10 billion in revenues and approximately 545,000 clients, is a provider of business outsourcing solutions. ADP offers a range of human resource, payroll, tax and benefits administration solutions... |
Roseland, New Jersey | |
| Arise Virtual Solutions Arise Virtual Solutions Arise Virtual Solutions Inc, based in Miramar, Florida, is a founding provider of the homeshoring concept, a type of outsourcing in which customer service inquiries are routed to individual people working out of their homes.... |
Miramar, Florida | 1997 |
| J. Crew | ||
| JetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways Corporation is an American low-cost airline. The company is headquartered in the Forest Hills neighborhood of the New York City borough of Queens. Its main base is John F. Kennedy International Airport, also in Queens.... |
Salt Lake City, UT (customer support) | 1998 |
| McKesson Corporation | ||
| oDesk ODesk oDesk is a company with a global job marketplace and a series of tools targeted at businesses that intend to hire and manage remote workers. Based in Redwood City, CA, oDesk was founded in 2003 by Greek entrepreneurs Odysseas Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis.... |
Sunnyvale, California | 2003 |
| Office Depot Office Depot Office Depot is a supplier of office products and provides many services. The company's selection of brand name office supplies includes business machines, computers, computer software and office furniture, while its business services encompass copying, printing, document reproduction, shipping,... |
||
| Wyndham International | ||
Advantages of homesourcing
- Worker preference – homesourced workers often need to work from home or strongly prefer to work from home. They appreciate this opportunity, and therefore are loyal.
- Reduced costs for the employer as homesourced workers often provide their own telephone equipment and computer systems. Employer also saves on cost of office space.
- Using homesourced workers that are local to the area where they are calling precludes the prejudice that is sometimes created from regional accents, mannerisms and rates of speech.
- Possible tax advantages for the worker using part of their home for business purposes.
- It provides the employer the ability to provide work to individuals who through disability are unable to travel to a workplace.
In popular culture
- An early example of homesourcing in fiction can be found in the 1939 HeinleinRobert A. HeinleinRobert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
book For Us, The LivingFor Us, The Living: A Comedy of CustomsFor Us, The Living: A Comedy of Customs is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, written in 1938 but published for the first time in 2003...
. The character of Diana, a nationally renowned dancer, is shown performing in her own home for a broadcast audience, which sees her dancing on sets added by the broadcasting company to her original feed. The mechanism for this homesourcing is not described technically, but it appears to be similar to a high-definition video signal interfaced with something like modern chroma keyChroma keyChroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
technology.
See also
- Human CapitalHuman capitalHuman capitalis the stock of competencies, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience...
- Information technology consultingInformation technology consultingInformation technology consulting is a field that focuses on advising businesses on how best to use information technology to meet their business objectives...
- Offshoring IT Services
- OutsourcingOutsourcingOutsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
- The World Is Flat
Further reading
- Thomas L. Friedman, The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. 2005 ISBN 0-374-29288-4