Member Article

Upcoming Newcastle call centre to offer £17k starting salaries

A Suffolk call centre operator says it chose Newcastle as the location for its latest division because of the strong. North East work ethic, and will offer starting salaries of nearly £17k.

As reported by Bdaily, Call Connection plan to open a Newcastle quayside base, and will create 100 jobs within the first 12 months of operating.

The firm says its recruitment partners have already been inundated with over 500 applications for the customer service posts.

Managing director Graeme Kalbraier said he hoped the initial £1m investment would lead to further growth of the Ipswich-headquartered outfit’s North East operation, and ultimately even more jobs.

He told Bdaily: “We decided we wanted a second call centre and set about looking for a vibrant place. Newcastle is exactly that type of place and it has very positive people.

“We think the people of the North East have an extremely good worth ethic - and that is shown in studies, research that we’ve done and personal observation. It’s also true to say the cost of living in the North East is lower than other parts of the country.

“We want to employ the best people and that means the package and salaries we’re going to pay in the North East are going to be identical to those we offer in the South East, in every way.”

Call Connection starters, with no experience, will get £16,750, rising to £19,500 after six months. Agents would be expected to earn bonus on top of this.

Graeme hopes the salary scale will attract the best customer service candidates.

He added: “We’re very confident we’re going to find high quality people in Newcastle. The process of recruitment is quite straightforward.

“The agency will do an initial workshop and interview before forwarding the best candidates onto our own process. From here they will undergo extensive workshops of up to 2 hours and then the successful candidates from that stage will have a one-to-one interview.”

Call Connection act as a lead conduit for insurance providers. Their call centres direct customers to big name brands most suited to their needs.

NECC chief executive, James Ramsbotham, said: “The creation of over a 100 new jobs is fantastic news and further evidence that the regional service sector continues to bounce back strongly following the recession.

“Call Connection’s significant investment is a clear demonstration of the company’s commitment to the North East and their belief that our talented and friendly workforce can deliver this exciting new project.”

Those interested in the Call Connection posts can find more information via the company website, or by contacting Adecco and Randstad’s Newcastle offices.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .