ABINGDON — Getting to work for 100 Southwest Virginia residents will soon be a seriously brief commute, depending on how fast one can get out of bed, into the shower and to the kitchen table.
Or wherever in the house a home-based workstation may be.
U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., and DirecTV’s Gary Qualls announced Tuesday the California-based satellite television corporation will hire 100 “remote agents” across Boucher’s sprawling 9th Congressional District to join the company’s customer service work force.
A DirecTV vice president of business and operations development, Qualls said his company has about 1,120 “remote agents” already working out of their homes across the country. The company refers to its scattered band of work-at-home employees as its “Virtual Call Center.”
“This truly is a special and unusual economic development announcement,” Boucher said during a presentation at Virginia Highlands Airport. “This is truly a unique employment opportunity and truly a first for the 9th District.”
Qualls said DirecTV employees who work out of their homes earn the same pay and benefits as employees who staff company offices. He said about 12 percent of DirecTV’s customer service representatives currently work out of their homes.
Southwest Virginia’s push since the late 1990s, engineered in large measure by Boucher, to invest in a fiber optic/broadband network prompted DirecTV to focus on the region for its latest “remote agent” expansion, Qualls said.
Five years ago, Qualls said his company toured the region for a potential traditional call center — a part of Boucher’s Showcasing Southwest Virginia program to woo business and industry — and was most impressed by the commitment to building a regionwide broadband/fiber optic network. Qualls said the company was also impressed by the region’s network of community colleges and work ethic.
“This is an integrated community with a solid work force,” Qualls said, and while it took five years to get to this point, the company is “chomping at the bit to get this program going” to “bring the job to the employee.”
Boucher and Qualls said home-based “remote agents” will receive a starting salary of $10 an hour, plus all company health and other benefits, plus have an opportunity to make an additional monthly bonus of up to $650 depending on job performance.
Benefits include paid holidays and vacations; medical, dental and vision coverage with company contribution after 60 days; life insurance; flexible spending accounts; tuition reimbursement; and a 401(k) retirement plan with a company match.
Another benefit? Free DirecTV for the home.
“There is no commute, you don’t get caught up in (workplace) fashion wars, and no office politics,” Qualls said of some of the job advantages. In return, he said DirecTV gets loyal, hardworking customer representatives.
“A happy employee is a great customer service person,” he said, and the company also gets an incredibly flexible work force, particularly when juggling work hours.
The first 100 DirecTV “remote agents” to be hired will be paid while attending a six- to eight-week training program as soon as next month. Boucher encouraged job seekers to attend a job fair April 6 at the Southwest Virginia Technology Development Center in Lebanon for one lead to those 100 positions.
Job seekers can also contact their nearest Virginia Employment Commission office or visit www.vec.virginia.gov for more details.
Interested individuals may also contact Convergys, DirecTV’s call center partner, at http://careers.convergysworkathome.com.
“My prediction is this will only be the beginning,” Boucher said. “I think the DirecTV (remote agent) work force will grow, potentially to 1,000 jobs or more. This is a great program. I’m sure it will work extremely well here in the 9th District.”
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