Don’t you just love it when you see a news headline that incorporates the launch of a ‘work-at-home’ initiative? Well I know I certainly do! What more could you ask for?

This is exactly what Convergys has announced this week. Apparently this has gone down well in the U.S. and Convergys is trying it in the UK. Bring it on!

Convergys has begun seeking UK clients to support the home agent rollout and is targeting clients who need UK-based agents or support in multiple languages.

The home agents receive calls ranging from billing and informational service to technical assistance from customers of Convergys clients in a variety of industries.

Candidates will require a quiet place to work inside their home (who has a quiet home?), a PC that meets Convergys’ minimum standards, cable or DSL high-speed Internet access, and a noise-cancelling headset.

However Britain’s Forensic Science Services’ are not getting such a cushy deal. They don’t get to work at home but they are said to have experienced an increase in efficiency and cost-effectiveness as a result of the recent work conducted by Capgemini UK plc.

Capgemini has upgraded the organisation’s core SAP system, installed a new costing and monitoring system and processed a new management information system for better visibility of customer service and financial outcomes. Well that’s got to make an improvement.

Not only is it now possible to work from home and Britain’s Forensic Science’s are up to speed technology wise, ferries are now using social networking platforms to improve service predictability. IBM has worked with Red Funnel ferries, operating on the South Coast, to use Twitter to keep travellers and road transport operators informed of their timing and whereabouts. There are no bounds to the social networking wave engulfing the world.

What a mix bag of outsourcing ingenuity. The Round-Up will be keen to see more of the same next week.