Sykes looks to expand as workforce tops 1,000

● US outsourcer marks 20th year in Scotland by recruiting 145

0 Les Torrance, Sykes’ senior director in Scotland, doesn’t mind that few have heard of the firm Sykes, the outsourced customer support firm, is looking to take on more than 140 staff in Scotland after its workforce here passed 1,000 for the first time.

The expansion comes as the US group marks its 20th year in Scotland since it created its European hub in Edinburgh.

Staff at the Sighthill base in the capital handle customer communications for clients including Sony Playstation, Motorola and wellington boot firm Hunter. They also work for two international banking groups and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Last year the site handled some 7.6 million customer “interactions” across phone, email, web, chat, social media and digital self-service.

UK turnover has now topped £20 million for the first time and Sykes is recruiting for additional staff with some 145 vacancies.

Les Torrance, senior director for Sykes in Edinburgh, said: “Despite being a major employer and interacting with thousands of customers every day, few people know about Sykes because every interaction is done under our clients’ names.

“We have been at the forefront in our sector, pioneering new approaches in the digital age and providing firstrate training and long-term employment opportunities to our people.”

The Edinburgh site, which employs staff from 34 countries, operates round the clock and deals with queries in more than 20 languages. The company also operates a fulfilment centre in Galashiels, carrying out work for UK and multinational clients.

Sykes is a Nasdaq-listed billion dollar organisation with 50,000 employees in 70 centres worldwide. Founded in 1977 by John Sykes, the company initially focused on engineering services but in 1992 acquired a company which took it into the inbound customer support market for the first time. It went public in 1996 and has since expanded into more than 20 countries.

In November it reported third-quarter revenues of $407.3 million (£291m), up 5.6 per cent on 2016. Full-year revenues are expected to be around $1.57 billion.