Herald News New Jersey - October 1, 2006  

Outsourced Jobs Returning Home

"...Willow, a cyber agent staffing company based in Florida, has seen a 50 percent growth in the number of representatives in New Jersey in the last two months.

"'It is notably higher than other places in the country,' said Mary Bartlett, a Willow executive.

"...About three months ago, Basak applied for a cyber position with Willow, whose 3,200 agents assist 37 national companies. Applicants must take a computer test, behavior assessment and answer a mock call. All of it is done remotely.

"New agents select the companies they want to answer calls for, and determine their own schedule. They must have their own computer, high-speed Internet and a telephone line reserved for service calls.

"They are paid per minute of telephone activity or number of calls handled. Hourly rates at Willow rage from $10 to $15, before extra incentives. Employees do not receive benefits, but can get discounted health insurance through the National CyberAgent Association. Basak says he's averaged around $14 an hour working such unappealing shifts as 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. It hasn't yet interfered with his full-time job at a Bergen County shipping company.

"'I'm playing around with the schedule and seeing how my body does with it,' said Basak, who claims average coffee consumption. Working as a cyber agent clearly isn't for everyone. 'They have to be highly motivated,' said Fluss, who said computer knowledge and a quiet work environment are other essentials. 'The last thing the customer wants to hear is a dog barking.'

"Basak has always been an entrepreneur, running a home painting business while a Rutgers University student. He said his friends can't quite grasp his unusual part-time job. 'You need to be a certain type of person to want to do all this work,' he said."