London company to create 300 ‘work from home’ jobs across NI
A LONDON provider of homebased customer service staff has announced 300 jobs in Northern Ireland after a near £6m investment.
Sensée said the jobs would be contact centre roles working from home and provide opportuniteis for people facing barriers to work “as a result of location, personal or family circumstances”.
Roles include agent, manager and support levels with an average salary of around £19,000 a year.
Economic development agency Invest NI offered £900,000 of support towards the jobs, which Sensée intends to create by 2022. But many could be filled over the next few months.
Sensée works with many wellknown brands, including Bupa, Hastings Direct and Allianz, providing service and support for their customers.
Rob Smale, Sensée chief operating officer, said: “Our skilled home-based service adviser team work for well-known brands on an outsourced basis, either as continuously available resources or to handle peaks in customer demand.
“Currently we employ about 700 staff across the UK, all of whom work from home. We offer the security of full employment contracts with guaranteed hours and with flexibility to choose work days and times. There’s also no commuting, saving our people time and money, and a social element that creates great teamwork and companionship. Northern Ireland has many rural communities that we’ve met with that want to be able to work from home so we know there are people who will be looking for home working roles with us. The quality of people and availability of people here suits our business model.”
Mr Smale said that most staff provide their own computers and other equipment, but that the firm was working with councils here on how to help people who can’t afford that money up front. He also addressed concerns over slow broadband speed in rural areas.
He added: “One thing to highlight is that we don’t need super-fast broadband. We need 3MB download speeds. Most rural areas do have the standard to support what we do.”
First Minister Arlene Foster Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Economy Minister Diane Dodds all welcomed the multi-million pound investment.
Mrs Foster said: “We are delighted to announce 300 new jobs for Northern Ireland. Uniquely, these are not limited by geography, they are accessible to everyone no matter where they live.
“As an Executive we are committed to strengthening our economy and commend Invest NI for their work.”