In his book, Bottom-Line Call Center Management, David Butler points out,

Most people dislike a long commute to work; some actually despise it…Even though people do commute and realize this is just a cost associated with “doing business,” there is a threshold distance where they will choose not to commute – an invisible line where a location is too far to commute to given the particular job and pay.

This being true, when opening a new call center, the call center operator must take into consideration the three most important things in real estate – location, location, location.  When recruiting agents, the labor shed (that is, the potential pool of labor from which any particular agency can recruit) will be limited by geographic location and pay rate.  The higher the pay rate, the larger the potential labor shed.  In fact, consider the following:

Job 1 – $8/hour and 30-mile commute

Cost of travel: 30 cents/mile, 30 miles each way, 6 days/week=$108 per week in travel costs

Pay: 40 hours/week x $8/hour=$320/week

Take home: $320/week-travel cost ($108/week)=$212 per week

Job 2 – $7.50/hour and 20-mile commute

Cost of travel: 30 cents/mile, 20 miles each way, 6 days/week=$72 per week in travel costs

Pay: 40 hours/week x $7.50/hour=$300/week

Take home: $300/week-travel cost ($72/week)=$228 per week

So – when locating a new call center, be sure to consider location, your labor shed, and the costs your employees will foot in commuting to your location.  And, when recruiting, be sure to consider your pay rate vs. your location in determining your competitive salary range.