Jobs boost for two UK call centres
With outsourcing becoming a sensible option for many businesses, UK call centres need to recruit accordingly.
Read on to find out more…
Conduit to double size of workforce
Outsource call centre operator, Conduit, which has recruited around 1,000 workers since the start of the economic downturn, has announced that it intends to double its workforce over the next two years.
The company says it believes that high-performing firms can defy the recession and continue growing by making a major difference to their clients’ businesses.
Conduit UK, which operates contact centres in Cardiff, Swansea and Plymouth has increased the size of its workforce from 1,000 to 2,000 over the past 12 months, driven by significant expansion of existing contracts with Sky and Vodafone. It has also won substantial work from the UK Department of Health and recently began running the 999 Emergency Services for Ireland.
News of Conduit UK’s further growth intentions came during a visit to its Cardiff city centre operation at Hodge House, by Welsh Assembly Government Finance Minister, Andrew Davies.
The firm’s Managing Director, Neil Evans, said the outsourced contact centre sector was a highly competitive environment where providing very cost-effective services and an excellent customer experience were no longer enough.
He said: “To become a strategic long-term partner to global brands such as Vodafone, significant investment is needed in staff skills, business analysis, process improvement, reliable and innovative technology, detailed industry expertise and understanding. The over-riding approach is a relentless focus on the client’s business, and on making it better.”
“I am delighted to say that we have the calibre of workforce that can deliver this kind of service, and that is why we’re still creating jobs at a time when the economy generally is facing some pretty tough challenges,” he added.
Mr Evans predicted that jobs growth would continue among contact centre sector top performers - those that adopted a strong client-led approach - and would accelerate as the recovery took effect and more firms sought external support to meet rising market demand.
During the visit the Finance Minister was briefed on Conduit’s client strategy and ambitious growth plans, which involve doubling the size of the business again over the next two years.
In addition he was told how the firm’s staff receive in-depth training to deal with the complex demands of its clients’ products and customers, and how its strategy is focused on maintaining performance leadership amongst multiple competitors in a mature market where “champion-challenger” rules apply and only the best performers grow and prosper.
Afterwards the Welsh Assembly Government Minister commented: “The contact centre industry is now a very significant part of our economy and it is encouraging to see that, by achieving the highest standards and efficiencies, and adding real value to their customers, Welsh-based firms in this sector can continue creating jobs of many different kinds, even in the current climate.
“The Assembly Government is committed to boosting the competitiveness of Welsh industry and that means developing our skill base and implementing world-class management,” he added.
Mr Evans maintained that strong, efficient and competitive operators, totally committed to their clients’ businesses, would be those who would survive in future, irrespective of the state of the economy. “It is already evident from our knowledge of the market that those merely providing “bums on seats” are a rapidly dying breed,” he said.
He added: “Many firms which need to scale down their operations to cope with the recession are likely to look to good outsourcers to help them generate the savings needed now, and enable them to start growing again without the significant risks and costs involved in trying to deliver everything in house. Outsourcing will undoubtedly be a sensible option for many businesses over the next year 12-18 months.”
Pictured above from left to right: Scott Evans - Team Leader, Becky Burrows - Team Leader, Jess Cooksley - Team Leader, Neil Evans - Managing Director, Andrew Davies - Finance Minister and Kim Hughes - Team Leader.
Firstsource wins new contract which will create 150 new jobs in Londonderry
Firstsource Solutions has announced that it has won a contract from a new telecommunications client and as a result, will be recruiting 150 new members of staff.
This announcement follows Firstsource’s recruitment campaign for over 100 new employees for its existing Londonderry business last month.
Firstsource was recently named Investor of the Year in the recent UK Trade & Industry UK-India Business Awards, for its creation of over 1,200 jobs in the UK. This is the largest number of UK jobs made by an Indian company
in the last three years, according to the Financial Times FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) market index. The jobs were created at Firstsource’s contact centres in Londonderry and Belfast, which were established in 2006. The new contract will take Firstsource’s total number of employees in the UK to over 1,500 within the next six months.
Matthew Vallance, President of Firstsource, said: “This new contract confirms our Northern Ireland operations as centres of excellence for the telecommunications sector. We are delighted that our business continues
to show strong growth and that we are able to create more jobs in the region.
Our delivery centres play a vital role in delivering first class customer services for some of the world’s leading companies and we are very proud of the achievements of our staff. We are also very pleased to be
recognised for the contribution we are making to the local economies in Londonderry and Belfast.”
Firstsource won the Best Telecommunications Outsourcing Project from the National Outsourcing Association in October.
Invest Northern Ireland’s Chief Executive Alastair Hamilton, said: “Invest NI has worked closely with Firstsource since its original investment in 2006 and the company’s rapid growth since then demonstrates that
Northern Ireland was the perfect location from which to develop business in the EMEA market. By securing a new client and a new contract, this globally respected firm can now offer additional career development opportunities, tapping into the North West’s strong skills base.”
Also in the news this week…
Convergys Continues to Expand
Convergys is expanding in the Philippines plans to hire approximately 4,500 more agents between now and the end of February for its twelve contact center facilities in the Philippines.
With approximately 18,000 employees today, Convergys in the Philippines is well on its way to surpassing 20,000 employees in the near future.
“Convergys contact center agents continue to deliver superior relationship management services on behalf of our clients and that’s why there’s a global demand for their expertise,” said Marife Zamora, Convergys Vice President and Country Manager. “The continued demand from our blue chip international clients to place their operations either partially or fully in the Philippines is a testament to the quality of service our agents provide on a daily basis.”
