Call centre’s ambitious aims for recruitment

Aug 15 2008 by Graeme King, The Journal

AN expanding call centre operator is aiming to create 400 jobs over the next 18 months through signing up new clients.

The Respondez call centre on the Sovereign Park estate, Brenda Road, Hartlepool, has employed around 100 staff for the past two years, since buying out the businesses of Viking Outsourcing.

But now the company is in the midst of recruiting another 100 staff, and is aiming to take its workforce to the 500 mark by the beginning of 2010.

The first 100 jobs have been created on the back of winning three new international clients, with positions to be filled including team leaders, trainers, account managers and inbound call centre advisers.

Two of the contracts are with retail clients and one from a wholesaler. They are a three-year deal, another for two years and a rolling 12-month contract.

Sue Marshall, sales and marketing director at Respondez, said: “We have capacity to grow to 300 on the site we are on now, and our masterplan is to get to 500 staff.

“The pipeline we have, the way we are working, we should reach that – the people at a management level are very experienced, so we are very credible with the people we are talking to.

“Our biggest challenge is driving new business. When we win it, we can do it.”

Respondez is part of the Indian- owned group Spanco Telesystems and Solutions which has call centres with more than 4,000 seats across the UK, US, India, Singapore and Middle East.

Marshall said: “Around 18 months to two years ago, this business was acquired by Spanco and they set out to stabilise the business. We have brought in new processes and new people, and refurbished the contact centre to tidy things up. Now the workforce will double in size by the end of October.”

The company says one of its strengths is in the gaming sector, where it provides customer service for companies including Ubisoft, Vivendi and Take2.

The company has recently been responsible for supporting the new Grand Theft Auto 4 game, with staff in Hartlepool offering a multi-lingual service for customers in French, German and Italian.

Respondez also works for some leading charities and a telecoms company.

The staff in Hartlepool work on shifts covering 24 hours a day, but calls can be routed anywhere in the world if requested by clients.

Marshall said: “The accent is very acceptable countrywide. It was a big attraction for us in locating here. It’s easy on the ear and very easy to understand.”

1,000 workers voting on strike action

AROUND 1,100 workers at a Sunderland call centre are voting on whether to strike over low pay.

Shop Direct, formerly Littlewoods, says it has offered its workforce a deal of 4% from October this year, and another 4% in July 2009, and one of three unions on the site has already accepted the deal.

But members of the GMB and Usdaw unions have rejected the deal before them, with GMB members complaining that the initial 4% offer amounts to just 3% over a full year as their original pay anniversary was July but the new deal will only begin in October.

Micky Hopper, regional organiser of the GMB, said: “The way inflation is now, it’s become a lot more difficult for people, especially call centre workers who are not very well paid.

“The company’s offer after negotiations was 4%, but nothing for July, August and September, and that was not acceptable to the membership; the GMB and Usdaw have both rejected it.

“A visit from the chief executive of Shop Direct on Tuesday made it worse. He took everybody off the phones for an hour to explain the offer. Our members are telling us they have had enough.”

A spokesman for Shop Direct said the company had been negotiating with the unions for four months and Unite members have accepted the pay offer, but now Usdaw and GMB were balloting for industrial action.

She added: “Shop Direct Group is committed to the fair and competitive remuneration of its employees and strongly believes that this commitment is reflected in its offer.

“It is therefore, deeply disappointed that Usdaw and GMB members have rejected this offer and that their unions are now seeking support for industrial action.”