The Lowdown on Call Centers

Things were tough all over for the call and service industries last year. Plagued by a number of domestic closings yet buoyed somewhat by a number of new and expanding near-shore and offshore centers, the industries weren’t much different from a lot of others in 2002, a year that found Americans dealing with the aftereffects of Sept. 11 and a national economy that couldn’t shake its slump.

Across the nation, a number of companies are either shutting down or downsizing their call and service centers. In Norfolk, Va., for example, three centers pulled out of the area within three months time. Trilegiant planned to lay off 200 in April if it didn’t replace a key contract; Affina Corp. closed up shop and left 280 jobless; and American Airlines shut down a 560-person reservations center.

The start of the year yielded similar announcements across the nation. In Savannah, Ga., Pitney Bowes closed its call center and laid off about 200 workers. Honolulu got hit with a double whammy when Verizon closed a 65-employee center just a few days after Genesys Teleconferencing closed a 115-employee center. In Buffalo, N.Y., TeleSpectrum Worldwide closed a call center and terminated 846 employees because the center’s lone client did not renew its contract.

Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and the Caribbean as likely locations for near-shore options, while India and the Philippines lead the offshore pack. Interest is also growing in places like South Africa, China and Eastern Europe, he says. Most-active industries include financial services, technology, and consumer products and services on the offshore side, says Sokol, while telecommunications has remained focused solely on domestic outsourcing.

If a new Gartner Inc. report is any indication, some of the call and service center jobs lost in the United States in 2002 and 2003 may eventually end up overseas. In “Multi-Site Contact Centers: Considering Offshore Sourcing as a Strategic Component,” the group says the lure of overseas locations for call and service centers is compelling because of the large, talented labor pool, direct and significant cost advantages and time zone differences.

Source: Biz Sites Magazine.