The most significant difference between a traditional call centre and a virtual one is that, in the latter, employees work from home rather than a central location. At Face Facts Research we understand the problems that traditional call centres can present. For market research agencies (and ultimately the client) the costs of a traditional call centre today can be astronomical and, therefore, result in high project costs with a comparatively low return.

It is not just the employer and the client who benefit from the use of a virtual call centre as there are clear benefits for the employee too.

Here are a few of the key advantages:

Low costs - As employees are working from home they do not have to worry about incurring any travel costs. A particularly helpful factor for the employee during this period of ever rising fuel and public transport costs.

Flexible working hours – Virtual call centre employees can work as little or as often as they like. This is useful for those individuals who have family and other commitments to take care of. These people may choose to work a morning shift whilst young children are at school for example. For others it may be easier to work evenings and keep their mornings free to run errands. Alternatively, employees may prefer to work on the weekends rather than during the week. Working from home allows employees the freedom to work outside the normal 9-5 work hours and manage their own time effectively. It is simply up to them.

Employee wellbeing - For some of us the commute to and from work can be the most stressful time in our day. The idea of sitting in a car in standstill traffic or waiting at the bus stop in the rain is not only a waste of time but is completely unnecessary. Virtual call centre employees avoid this stress by cutting out the commute and working in their own surroundings. Unlike the traditional call centre which is known to be noisy and crowded, the employee has control over their own working environment. This more peaceful environment makes for a more pleasant experience for the respondent too. An interview is bound to yield better results when an interviewer is not being drowned out by a hundred other people talking in the background, right?


Many naysayers will tell you, is all well and good providing employees with flexi-time and ensuring that we consider their wellbeing but, organisations still want to feel assured that the agency they work with is able to help them meet their objectives.

To that we say, here at Face Facts we focus on producing high quality, accurate and reliable information for our clients, and having a virtual call centre does not impact our capability to do so. We are proud to say that our ISO 20252 accreditation fully applies to our Virtual call centre and we have the most stringent quality assurance procedures in place to give our clients peace of mind.

Our virtual call centre staff consistently meet the targets set by us and our clients. This is because we only employ individuals who have experience in working over the telephone and we have a rigorous training procedure to ensure that they are confident. Our CATI Manager is responsible for ensuring that everything is runs smoothly and is constantly available to the employees should there be any problems. This means that all parties’ needs are met, ensuring the virtual call centre continues to be a resounding success.

If you are interested in using a virtual call centre for your research project then get in touch with us and we will be happy to share our knowledge with you and even put you in contact with clients who have happily converted to the virtual way of life!

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