Happy Friday: Call Center News Stories

A Healthy Work Environment
Sitel Philippines, a call center organization, possesses a distinctive healthcare program that takes great care of its employees. “Our Health, Our Wealth,” was created to assist the call center agents with all of the hardships that they have to deal with. When it first began, the program insured 1,600 employees at two sites, but has now spread to three more sites. “Our Health, Our Wealth” allows agents to attend lectures concerning catching sleep during shifting schedules, maintaining a healthy heart, correctly utilizing ear devices, and avoiding unhealthy habits. Along with this, they receive blood work, bone screening, electrocardiogram tests, and nutrition surveillance. These services don’t stop with the agents, though. It also includes the communities and families of the employees. Sitel is also working with Baguio city government, Lingap Center, and HopeHouse to provide a multitude of services. It was the only company in the call center industry to be awarded the Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence Award by the American Chamber of Commerce Philippines. Read the full story in the Business Inquirer

Flourishing Costco Opens New Call Center
Costco Wholesale Corporation has officially outgrown its call center in Issaquah, Washington, forcing the company to open a new one to accommodate other employees. The new center is located in Yakima, and ran Costco $2.6 million for the 36,000-square-foot building. There is no exact amount of employees the organization is looking to hire for the location, but Jim Sinegal, CEO of Costco, plans to hire locals. Currently, Costco Wholesale Corporation has 529 warehouses in the United States, Canada, England, Mexico, and Asia employing approximately 236,000 workers. Read more in the Yakima Herald.

New Call Center Needs Agents
Alorica, Inc. has recently opened a new call center in El Paso, California, and is encouraging people to apply. For the month of January, Alorica is seeking to hire 250 employees and 700 by the end of 2008. These positions could lead to higher-skilled positions, the company said. Alorica currently employs 7,100 people and is headquartered in Chino, California. Read more in the El Paso Times

Erwin Agrees to New Call Center
Governor Sptizer has decided to place a new call center in the town of Erwin, New York. Sitel will place a call center in an Erwin building formerly used to be a photonics facility. It will provide people in the area with about 600 jobs. Read all about it on News10Now.com.