7th July 2010

Ringing the changes at Warrington contact centre

NEW OWNERS HEROTSC PLAN 200 MORE JOBS FOR 600-SEAT OPERATION

THE company which took over one of Warrington‘s biggest contact centres this month hopes to increase the 600-strong workforce by over 30 per cent.

HEROtsc, the UK’s fourth largest operator in the UK contact centre sector, officially took control of the former Vodafone in-house operation in Birchwood Park on July 1 as part of a six-year strategic partnership between the two companies.

As well as safeguarding the long-term future of the 600 Warrington employees who joined the company from Vodafone, HEROtsc hope to utilise the available capacity in the Birchwood Park centre and bring another 200 jobs to the area.

Speaking at the official launch of the latest addition to HEROtsc’ UK network at the Warrington site today (July 7), Chief Executive Officer David Turner underlined the company’s determination to maximise the potential of Birchwood Park.

“This partnership we now have with Vodafone is hugely important to HEROtsc and is particularly significant to our new colleagues in Warrington.

“In difficult times for the economy and the contact centre sector, the longevity of this partnership brings stability to Birchwood Park and the other HEROtsc sites which handle Vodafone business.

“To land this partnership with one of the world’s leading brand names, is a fantastic compliment to HEROtsc and the standard of service and professionalism we give to our customers.

“We are looking forward to learning from our new Warrington colleagues and I have no doubt that they will quickly fit into the HEROtsc operational style and maintain the already high-level of service they give to Vodafone customers.

“Looking to the future, we would hope to use our contacts within the industry and sector experience to bring more work – and therefore more jobs – to our new Warrington site.

“I should stress that our company has considerable experience and a proven track record in making transfers like this work.

“We conducted a similar exercise with a previous client in Yorkshire’s Dearne Valley a few years ago.  Since then, we have steadily built up the workforce there to almost double the numbers that we inherited.

“Our Warrington centre has the capacity to expand and we have willing allies in the local council and Northwest Regional Development Agency in bringing more jobs here.”

From an initial, small Scottish-based operation, HEROtsc have grown to be one of the UK’s largest contact centre companies with 10 UK sites, and one in India.

Although they are part of the global conglomerate Hero Group, their contact centre operation is run solely from the UK and they have built up an industry-wide recognition as experts in a number of customer-service sectors – in particular telecommunications.

Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman of Hero Corporate Services Ltd and HEROtsc, visited the company’s new Warrington centre as part of a UK visit and was similarly optimistic about the company’s future.

“I am delighted to welcome the staff of Warrington into HEROtsc,” said the HEROtsc Chairman. “This is an exciting time for the company and I look forward to the Birchwood Park site quickly becoming a key and thriving part of our network.”

Steven Broomhead, Chief Executive, Northwest Regional Development Agency said:

“I am delighted to welcome HEROtsc to the Northwest, as they take over the contract for Vodafone at the Warrington Call Centre. Working alongside Local Authority partners, the NWDA has been working hard with HEROtsc to make this project a success, safeguarding up to 600 jobs and creating many more.

“This investment is particularly welcome news during the difficult economic conditions and is a boost to the local and regional economy.”

Councillor Ian Marks, Leader of Warrington Borough Council commented: “We extend a warm Warrington welcome to HEROtsc. In the current economic climate, it’s vital that companies invest in their people and we are delighted to see HEROtsc committing to Warrington and committing ot their employees.

“HEROtsc is giving out exactly the right sign that Warrington is a world-class place in which to do business. We wish them a prosperous future and look forward to working together.”

For further information on HEROtsc please contact:
Crawford Brankin on 07730 068802 or 01698 283750 or email crawford@jcbconsultancy.co.uk

Notes to Editors

HEROtsc was formed in 1994 with a vision to provide best in class contact centre solutions to UK-based international businesses. It now manages over 31 million customer contacts for blue chip clients every year.
 
After substantial growth, HEROtsc is the fourth largest in its sector in the UK, with more than 3000 customer contact specialists with 4000 seats across 10 centres in the UK and one in India.
 
HEROtsc has a broad range of blue chip clients across key growth industry sectors, including telecommunications, financial services, technology and the public sector. They include BSkyB, Vodafone, HBoS, Office Depot, Hewlett Packard, nPower and Talk Mobile.
 
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) works to deliver economic success in England’s Northwest by building the competitiveness of its businesses, people and places. Utilising our technical expertise and strategic influence, we help the region’s 250,000+ businesses to develop and grow, as well as supporting international trade and encouraging inward investment. 

Contact Centres and BPO operations are a key industry within the Northwest’s economy, with an estimated 160,000 staff in 400 locations. The NWDA is the only UK region to proactively support the Contact Centre industry, by part funding Call Northwest, an organisation established in 2003 to promote and grow this important sector.

Issued on behalf of HEROtsc by the JCB Consultancy.