Any idea when we get back to doing actual field work and out of the VTC call center trap?
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I don’t think we ever go back, only certain things will be done in person like we do now.
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Unfortunately Jerry Lewis telethons will be here indefinitely with this Trusted Workforce 2.0.
It’s not going to end anytime soon. In person interviews are best for serious issues or issues in general. The government doesn’t seem to care about quality or 75-80% of the interviews and record reviews would be done in person.
Whenever I can get in the field and do the work in person, I take advantage of that but DCSA is becoming the agency of Jerry Lewis telethons.
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The situation as it is has all the earmarks of our positions as field investigators being consolidated into a a call center in Pennsylvania.
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Although I still do a ton of in person attempts.
I also have a lot of in person work. I don’t mind VTC, seems like a work smarter not harder approach to me.
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I just prefer a workday in the field. I could make more money at other jobs in a cubicle than bi will ever pay. Lest not forget. We’re not in the age of Covid. The one thing that keeps jobs in cities across the country is the field work. If the government so decides field investigations could easily be drastically reduced to a handful of people and your job relocated to a call center somewhere. Allowing government to have greater oversight and, to be fair, faster investigations with on site review and case support.
VTC is an excellent pathway to the unemployment office. If you think compartmentalization is not possible you are sadly mistaken. Don’t assume we’re aren’t all subject to DOGE.
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Anyone who likes the idea of less and less field work with no residence verifications, no unemployment verifications, and less references needed to interview for issue resolution should be wary of less and less field work over time especially with no reinvestigations.
I expect 50% less need for hourly investigators and CI’s over the next two years.
There will be less and less need for background investigators as the work becomes current and Investigators burn through work quickly. Now we only interview two to three people on a High Tier investigations vs. six to eight people. Cases won’t take near as long to complete and we’ll burn through the work much more quickly.
in addition, investigations will be reimbursed to vendors and agencies at a much lower rate because of the small number of interviews we conduct and the background investigations take much less time to complete so don’t expect any raises in the near future. In fact, expect a pay cut.
There will be no absolutely no job security in this B.I. industry any longer with everything being done by phone/VTC and very little work being done in person. Not to mention all of the automation of record checks for education records and employment records through the work number, national student clearinghouse, e-verify, etc.
The only ones that will survive are those that want to work from home, conduct VTC, and telephone work. Then the vendors will have us all by the balls and only keep those with 98% quality and 95% timeliness because they have all the power conducting everything telephonically and via VTC. This industry is dying a slow death for everyone that wants to remain in the industry long term.
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Why would you want to? I get more work and Source units done by telephone and VTC instead of spending 4-5 hours driving.
You can go into the field, your choice: field or remote.
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You seem to be missing a big point. If the job can be completed without field work then the need for remote work is gone. As investigations continue to be completed more and more electronically then less and less jobs are needed across the country. As it is I’m already doing work in geographical areas I don’t live in. This taking work away from a local investigator. My expectations are that with a higher reliance on VTC there will also be less reliance on remote workers. I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next few years a lot of remote field workers are getting laid off. I also wouldn’t be surprised if most workers end up crammed into an office somewhere rather than working in your pajamas all day.
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so do i, almost all Subject interviews, and many Sources.
I agree with you 100%……I also see the writing on the wall as I was recently denied an IC position due to low caseload in my area (which is unheard of in my area).
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