Call centre launches search for 200 new employees

Call centre ResQ is on the lookout for 200 new staff as part of its drive to become Seaham’s biggest employer.

The centre opened its doors on the Spectrum Business Park nearly two years ago, with a team of just 12 advisors and currently employs more than 200 people.

Now a new recruitment drive has begun to almost double that number.

“It is a huge but exciting challenge for us,” said head of operations Gareth Haikney, who runs the Seaham centre.

“Contact centres are a big part of the region’s infrastructure and here at ResQ we want to take that one step further, we want to be a contact centre with a difference.

“We care about the people who work here and we want to make ResQ a major player in the North East.

“We already know that we have one of the friendliest accents in the country and the people up here are second to none - why wouldn’t we build a long term sustainable business here?”

Gareth is keen to challenge some of the stereotypes around the industry: “Contrary to popular belief, working in a contact centre can be great fun and seriously rewarding.

“At ResQ we work for many well-known brands. The people that we speak to every day have been supplied directly by our partners and we treat everyone we speak to as if they are part of our family.

“We help our customers decide what is right for them by listening to their needs and ensuring we deliver a first class service on every call.

“About 45% of all our calls are inbound, so that means people are responding to an advert they’ve seen or are simply phoning their service provider to organise an appointment or purchase something.

“The remainder are outbound but we only contact people who have asked to be contacted and in a lot of cases, these people are existing customers

“In order to succeed in this industry the most important factor is attitude, if you have a great attitude we team will give you the skills to be the best in the industry.”

ResQ, which celebrates its 12th birthday in May, has a further 650 staff at its call centre in Hull.

“We’re very passionate about our people and about what we do. This is a fun place to work,” said Gareth,

“People make great friends and we make sure that we provide plenty of guidance and support at the same time. ”

A new recruit to ResQ will attend a two-week induction programme, which provides them with all the knowledge and skills that they need to start the job.

The first eight to 12 weeks will be spent in the firm’s academy, which provides continual support and coaching, after which they will graduate into their respective teams.

Employees work in teams for each client and each team has a strong management support network, which includes a team leader, an operations manager and contact centre manager.

“Most of our managers have worked on the phones and progressed through the business, so they know so much about the job and also what motivates our teams to succeed,” said Gareth.

“I’m not interested in peoples’ backgrounds, age, ethnicity or gender for that matter. I’m just interested in finding like-minded people who are keen to work, are prepared to work hard, have a great attitude, and enjoy having a sense of achievement and belonging.”

Gareth believes that this is a job for the long term as the company has ambitious growth targets and hopes to have the entire building on Spectrum’s Business Park full by the end of 2019.

ResQ was recently awarded the ‘One to Watch’ status by Best Companies after carrying out a staff satisfaction survey, which demonstrated good levels of engagement. Its aim is to make the Sunday Times Top 100 by 2020 if not before.

For more information about opportunities at ResQ or to apply, call 0191 671 9928 or email: [email protected]