Big Dundee employer BT plays key economy role

BT is one of the largest privatesector employers in Dundee and the firm plays an important role in the local economy.

The company says it continues to recruit and invest, as it maintains a focus on providing the best customer service to customers across the UK.

BT Group’s economic impact on the Dundee area was estimated at around £133 million in GVA (gross value added) terms in 2017-18.

The business provides employment to more than 1,300 people locally, with more than 1,000 of them employed at the city’s customer service centre in the city centre.

At its main office in Dundee, BT handles a wide range of customer service inquiries.

Hundreds of agents help customers who are moving home to get their phone, fibre broadband and BT TV services connected.

BT’s consumer sales teams also give advice to new and existing customers on the best options available to them – from upgrading their broadband to ultrafast speeds to getting the latest handsets from BT mobile.

For BT’s business customers, the company has hundreds of agents who support small and large businesses on a 24/7 basis.

Dundee’s business service centre also plays host to one of the first experience labs in the UK, where it tests new ways of supporting its 1.1 million business customers across the UK.

Designed to reinvent the traditional contact centre, the lab trials innovative customer service solutions and feature concepts developed in collaboration with students at Dundee’s Abertay Business School.

Those which prove successful are then extended to other BT centres and operations in the UK.

A team of multi-skilled advisers provides expertise on a range of business inquiries – ranging from new orders to billing and technical support.

Business customers who call in will only need to speak to a single adviser, regardless of the reason for their call. The lab was designed by Glasgow workplace architect Alpha Scotland.

BT takes its role in keeping the nation connected very seriously.

As well as supporting homes, businesses and governments, BT also handles operator assistance calls.

Dundee plays an important role providing a life-saving service and last year answered more than 4.6 million emergency calls, connecting callers to the appropriate emergency service.

It is one of six centres who handle these calls in the UK.

The Dundee centre also handled more than 500,000 directory inquiry calls last year, often from vulnerable customers with vision or hearing impairments.

Playing a vital role in the community, BT workers in Dundee also regularly volunteer in the city.

The staff play a role in supporting local charities and making use of the three volunteering days available to staff each year.

Picture: Kim Cessford. The BT call centre on Ward Road in Dundee.