Convergys Expands Customer-care Business into Pictou County

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT--Convergys Expands Customer-care Business into Pictou County

Convergys Corp., one of the world's most successful new-economy companies, is expanding its business presence in Nova Scotia with the opening of a customer-care centre in Pictou County.

Convergys's newest location, in New Glasgow, will, within three years, employ at least 265 people to provide what it calls its "high-tech, human-touch" approach to serving its clients' customers. The Cincinnati-based company also operates a successful customer-care centre in Dartmouth.

"Convergys is certainly proving the old maxim that nothing succeeds like success," said Gordon Balser, Minister of Economic Development. "The company has had such great success at its Dartmouth centre, it only made sense for it to examine Nova Scotia again when it came time to expand. It looked at our quality workforce and our investment climate, and it decided that this was the best place to launch a new customer-care centre."

The Dartmouth centre employs approximately 2,000, twice the number Convergys had projected when it arrived in the province several years ago.

"Convergys's success in the customer service industry is predicated on the success of the individuals that the company employs," said Gloria Griffin, its senior director of planning and site development. "Because Convergys must rely so heavily on its employees, it is essential for the company to employ highly skilled, dedicated individuals. We are quite certain that the people of Pictou County will enable us to grow a successful operation here."

Convergys's decision to invest further in Nova Scotia is matched by a government decision to invest in Pictou County's economic growth through a payroll rebate to the company. Under the agreed- to plan, the government returns a percentage of the company's payroll to a maximum of $6.5 million over five years after it has created and maintained a specific number of jobs annually. Convergys expects its New Glasgow payroll to exceed $7 million annually by 2004.

"In effect, Nova Scotia is receiving a return on investment by way of jobs, tax revenues and economic spinoffs before having to make the actual investment," said Mr. Balser.

"Our payroll rebate program has been designed to take into account the fiscal realities of our province while adopting a best practice in investment attraction and business growth," said the minister. "Our rebate is a strategic tool that allows Nova Scotia to go out and attract new business or to help those wishing to expand in the province. This kind of new investment is absolutely necessary if we are to build our economy and generate revenues to strengthen our social systems."

The Convergys centre in New Glasgow will occupy 37,500 square feet (3,375 square metres) in the Aberdeen Business Centre under a lease agreement with Atlantic Shopping Centres Ltd. Previously a shopping mall, the 400,000-square-foot (36,000-square-metre) business centre recently underwent extensive renovations to accommodate a mix of office and retail tenants.

The company will soon begin the process of hiring the first group of employees. It plans to begin training by mid-September. Employees will use advanced communication and trouble-shooting skills to provide technical support to the customers of Convergys clients.

Convergys employs more than 45,000 people in 50 state-of-the-art customer-contact centres, data centres and other centres throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Israel. The company estimates that it handles more than 1.2 million telephone and Internet-based contacts every day on behalf of its clients, through more than 40,000 toll-free numbers and 22,000 Web-enabled workstations. Clients include such industry leaders as AT&T, Compaq, Palm Computing, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, Sprint, and Toys "R" Us.

The Dartmouth operation is one of the company's largest centres, and New Glasgow becomes its seventh location in Canada. The company has more than doubled its Canadian workforce in the past two years.