Work’s calling

Bloomfield call centre to hire more than 30 new workers

Bloomfield call centre seeking 33 per cent growth in workforce.

There are seats for close to 200 agents at IO Solutions’ Bloomfield call centre in western Prince Edward Island.

So far, about 70 of those seats are occupied but the company hopes to have another 30 filled by September.

That’s when IO (Inbound-Outbound) Solutions expects to be handling a significantly larger volume of inbound calls for its one cellular phone client.

It’s a combination of students heading off to university and getting new phone plans and an expected launch of new products that’s driving the need for new employees, said Christa Costain, the company’s inbound accounts manager.

The company currently has 90 employees in Bloomfield, including managers and trainers, so the new hires would represent a 33 per cent increase in the workforce.

That’s just a starting point, says Costain.

“The sky’s the limit,” she added, explaining IO Solutions is prepared to hire more than 30 new workers.

While acknowledging the nature of the work “is not for everyone,” Costain notes that 35 to 40 per cent of IO Solutions’ Bloomfield employees have been with the company since the Bloomfield site opened in August 2012. The company also has a call centre for the same client in Montreal.

Site manager in Bloomfield, Tammy Meggison, said she’s hoping for a full class when the next round of training starts Monday. Classroom training lasts four weeks during which time trainees receive minimum wage. Employees are monitored closely during their first four weeks answering calls and one team leader is on the floor for every 15 agents to provide assistance. The rate goes to $11 per hour, plus bonuses and incentives, after the initial four weeks of training. There are opportunities to earn incentives as well as performance payouts which could add up to hundreds of dollars a month.

Carrie Butler from Alberton has been with the company for almost three years and says she enjoys the work.

“I like the people. The job is good and I like to talk,” she said.

Her brother, Connor, started working at the call centre while still in high school and recently switched to full-time.

ERIC MCCARTHY/TC MEDIA Ruby Costain, left, a member of the staff at IO Solutions since the company opened in 2012, and Krystal Gillis, who has been an agent for 22 months, handle customer calls. The Bloomfield call centre is set to hire 30 new workers.