Business - Advantages of Homesourcing

Homesourcing is a term that describes the hiring of people who work from their home instead of in an office or other business place. It is an alternative to outsourcing, which involves engaging another company that provides workers to perform a task or project (see also Small office/home office).

Homesourcing refers to hiring employees or engaging independent contractors. Homesourced workers are sometimes required to come to an office for training from time-to-time.

In the USA some of the major companies that have employed homesourcing personnel include Office Depot, JetBlue Airways and UnitedHealth Group. The companies benefit because homesourcing can reduce the stress on facilities, telephone systems and computer systems, which can reduce expenses for these organizations.

Positions that are frequently homesourced include lead generation, sales, accounting and customer service.

An early example of homesourcing in fiction can be found in the 1939 Heinlein book For Us, The Living. 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 key technology.

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.