Downtown’s Bayside Mall has signed a seven-year lease with Star Tek of Denver, Colorado to house a new 40,000-square-foot inbound call centre and 500 workers.
The new call centre will fast-track hiring and training in order to be up and running by mid-December. The first 250 employees to be hired will start November 1, with the second 250 expected to be in place by the end of January.
Star Tek had heard Sarnia has the labour pool to provide enough workers, said Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley. They were also interested in finding a location that could be easily converted for their use.
“An inbound contract requires them to be up and running by December,” he said. “This had to be pulled together very, very quickly.”
“We have a reputation for being call centre friendly,” Bradley said. Market surveys show Sarnia will have little trouble in providing enough employees to the new one at Bayside Mall. Bradley said the number of call centres in Sarnia is a strong sign of healthy diversification in the workplace. “We’re successful because of the timing issue and the good relationship that exists here between labour and business.”
When it opens, Star Tek will have a $9-million payroll.
Taken from the “Sarnia Observer”, September 16, 2003
Posted in: SLEP News