Call center hub

Contact center jobs growing by leaps and bounds in the Fox Valley

Story by John R. Ingrisano

“Hi, thank you for calling XYZ Corporation. How may I help you?” 

I don’t know about you, but when I call for computer support or to place an order, I am always curious, so I ask, “Who are you and where am I calling?” I’ve gotten responses such as Juan in Mexico City and Corinna in Manila. But lately, well…

Forget Bangalore or Bangkok. There’s a booming call center industry right here in the Fox Valley. So, the response might be, “This is Linda in Neenah.”

Not only is the “Help Wanted” sign out big time, but the Highway 41 Corridor is becoming a major call center hub. 

Coming into its own
Call center hubs generally perform three possible functions, explained Mike Pierron, sales and marketing manager with Landmark Staffing Resources in three locations throughout the Fox Valley. Some provide inbound customer service and support. Others consist exclusively of outgoing call centers focusing on solicitations. Finally, some do both sales and service.

What surprises a lot of people is the sheer size of the industry in the Fox Valley. Take Oshkosh-based Miles Kimball Company, for example. The catalog and mail order business, which started in 1935, employs approximately 730 people, hiring an additional 900 seasonal workers in November and December, explained Beth Bush, customer relations manager.

There’s as many as 5,000 call center jobs throughout the Fox Valley by some estimates, bolstered by an estimated 1,300 jobs at West Business Service’s two locations in Appleton and approximately 800 jobs at Alta Resources in Neenah. The former Park Plaza Mall in downtown Oshkosh not only houses Miles Kimball corporate and call center operations, but is also home to promotional product distributor 4imprint (about 400 employees) and the Fox Valley-based call center for athletic shoe retailer Eastbay (about 350 employees).

Though exact numbers are hard to come by, the key word is “Growth,” says Ginny Sattler, associate dean of the business, health and services division at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, which launched a unique call center certificate program this past year to help better develop an incoming workforce for area call centers. She mentioned four of the local companies are in the process of looking for hundreds of new hires this summer alone.

Why the Fox Valley?
There are a number of reasons the call center industry is experiencing a boom locally. For one thing, explained Sattler, “so many companies have changed to using the phone instead of sending out salespeople.”

“More immediately,” she added, “there is the price of gas. At the same time, the trend is highly technology driven. Businesses really are global.”

Call center operations are among the most cost efficient ways to reach customers across the country or around the globe and provide critical service.

On a national level, many companies are discovering there is no need to go overseas with their call center operations – as had been the trend for much of the past 15 years – because they have a pool of capable employees right here in the U.S.

The greatest advantage the Fox Valley has to offer the industry, explained Landmark Staffing’s Pierron, is “a reliable and affordable labor pool, along with a work ethic that is well known and respected.” 

Miles Kimball recently brought its call center operation back from Las Vegas last year with the help of a state Department of Commerce Technology Zone tax credit. The catalog and Internet retailer did it for two reasons: costs and the difference between the labor pools in the two areas.

“Not only are the costs of space and wages and miscellaneous operational expenses considerably higher in Nevada than in Oshkosh,” said Bush, “but the Midwest work ethic is key to lower turnover and higher productivity. There are good people in both areas, but the work ethic and dedication are significantly higher in Oshkosh.”

When asked if Miles Kimball could reduce its costs by outsourcing this service to Asia or Mexico, Bush quickly agreed.
“You bet. It would be considerably less expensive to run operations overseas, but Miles Kimball looks at customer service as a core competency. We choose to pay a little more to maintain that core competency.”

Like many companies, Miles Kimball has found that the cheaper costs possible by going overseas are often lost by lack of oversight control and poor skills.

“We know two companies that had outsourced customer service to India,” explained Pierron. “They have since brought them back to this area. That’s because customers are now more demanding, less willing to put up with unsatisfactory customer service.”

Plus, when it comes to sounding like an articulate American on the phone (a big factor in customer satisfaction these days), Wisconsinites tend to speak with a “Standard Midwestern” accent – the typical voice of choice for network television broadcasters – that works anywhere from New York to southern California.

Still, there are challenges
The Fox Valley seems perfect for its role as a growing call-center industry hub. However, there are some problems. The biggest challenge is finding and keeping good help.

“There are so many more jobs than bodies right now,” said FVTC’s Sattler. 

Turnover is also a problem. “It’s better here than in Las Vegas,” explained Miles Kimball’s Bush, “but turnover plagues the call center industry no matter what the business.”

This is partly because of lower-than-average unemployment rates in our area. There are simply not enough qualified men and women to fill all the available positions.

Another real problem is lack of qualifications, added Bush. “This is such a different environment than many other industries. Some people who come in have no idea what real-time customer service is all about.”

FVTC’s Sattler agrees.

“To my surprise, there are many people who are not qualified. They have never touched a computer, have no typing skills, no experience.”

This concern is bluntly summarized by Edward E. Gordon in his book, The 2010 Meltdown: Solving the Impending Jobs Crisis. He writes, “Millions of young Americans, covered with tattoos and body piercings, are unable to speak proper English and are unwilling to read a book or a newspaper.”

Building a local solution
The need to fill the labor pool with qualified workers has led to some creative solutions. Miles Kimball, for example, recruits in the more rural areas outside of Oshkosh.

“We reach out to about half a dozen small towns in the area without big employment opportunities,” said Bush. “We’ve enjoyed very positive results.”

Staffing companies in the area also have considerable expertise developing short-term workforce solutions.

“We work with companies that need to expand and contract their labor forces seasonally,” said Pierron.

Perhaps the best long-term solution to providing adequate call center staffers has been the creation of the 12-credit Contact Center certification program at FVTC. Last year, a number of business owners and northeast Wisconsin executives came together to share their concerns about the lack of trained call center employees at a New North meeting, explained Sattler. Recognizing that they had a common problem, they banded together to find a common training solution.

“They came to FVTC and asked the tech school to help them. That led to focus group studies and a pilot program, which was launched recently, with good results.

“Employers gave us direction of what they needed,” adds Sattler. “This includes computer skills, technical skills to operate equipment, as well as oral speaking skills and stress management.

“From our first pilot program, four were hired right away,” said Sattler.

The initial success of the pilot programs has led to scheduling of additional programs this summer and fall. Sattler reported more recently that students are often receiving job offers during the first week of entering the program at FVTC – with the condition that they continue and complete the program while starting out at their new call center job.

What’s ahead?
In a word: Growth.

“The potential for jobs along the Highway 41 corridor from Green Bay to Fond du Lac over the next eight to 10 years may be as many as 10,000,” predicted Pierron.

FVTC’s Sattler agreed.

“There’s going to be more and more growth.”

She also sees where businesses can grow with the economy in this area by expanding their call center operations for marketing and customer service. 

Bush, with Miles Kimball, appreciates the long-term potential.

“By keying in on the Midwest work ethic, the competitive cost of doing business, which is more favorable here than in larger cities, and the new certificate program – all these are going to help prepare the labor pool next year and in the years ahead.”

John Ingrisano is a Wisconsin-based marketing strategist and business journalist and a regular contributor to NEW North B2B. His monthly column, “Focus Small Business,” appears in Corporate Report Wisconsin. He can be contacted at john@TheFreestyleEntrepreneur.com.