Verizon call center may add 300 jobs in Spokane

Will advertise openings Sunday; applicants rush Job Service office

Verizon’s plans to hire up to 300 directory assistance operators led to a rush on the Job Service office Friday.

Becky Kramer
Staff writer – The Spokesman-Review

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=011704&ID=s1472958&cat=section.business

Dozens of people stopped by or called for applications, and were referred to Verizon’s toll-free job hotline.

"We’ve had a lot of interest," said Marla Hobbs-Hill, a Job Service supervisor. "They’re seen as desirable jobs because they offer a benefit package."

Unlike many of the new jobs created in Idaho, the directory assistance positions are union. Beginning operators will earn a starting wage of $7.31 per hour, plus health care and pension benefits, and operators can advance to $12.65 per hour.

"I think Verizon will have no problem filling its employee needs," said Steve Griffitts, president of Jobs Plus, a job recruitment agency in Kootenai County.

The announcement comes less than two months after Kootenai County’s largest call center employer laid off 400 workers, and in the Christmas aftermath, as many retailers are reducing their ranks of workers.

Verizon will begin advertising the positions Sunday, and plans to start hiring shortly, said Kevin Laverty, company spokesman in Everett. The company hopes to attract a pool of 1,600 local residents from which to choose.

Verizon is adding 1,000 new operators this year at eight locations in Idaho, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Florida and Pennsylvania.

"Even though the overall volume of Verizon’s operator assistance and directory assistance is down over the last few years, we have had considerable success in offering our (services) to other businesses in the industry," said Kitty Linder, president of Verizon LiveSource, a Verizon subsidiary.

Idaho operators will take calls from cell phone customers who get their service through AT&T Wireless. Verizon signed a four-year contract with AT&T to provide the service.

Laverty said he could not speculate on whether the contract would continue after four years, but said that would be Verizon’s intent.

Call centers are one of the region’s fastest-growing, but most volatile, industries. About 1,200 Kootenai County residents earn a living through their telephone headsets. The industry employs about 5,000 people in Spokane County.

Coeur d’Alene lost about 400 call center jobs in November, when Center Partners lost a large contract and closed its Coeur d’Alene facility. But call center operations in other parts of the state are growing rapidly. Dell Computer recently shut down a call center in India, and added more jobs in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Idaho’s abundant labor pool, time zone and competitive wage rates continue to attract call centers to the region, said Dwight Johnson, spokesman for the Department of Labor.

"There have been some that, given the downturn in the economy, have struggled," he said. "The ones that have greater success are those that handle inbound calls, rather than outbound sales solicitations."

A consultant approached Jobs Plus last fall about siting a directory assistance center in Coeur d’Alene. But he didn’t reveal his client.

"We spent a lot of time highlighting the benefits of the Coeur d’Alene area with him," Griffitts said.

In addition to scenery, Kootenai County has a high unemployment rate. Last year, about 7.1 percent of the workforce was looking for a job.

Unbeknownst to Jobs Plus, the area had another advantage. Verizon already employs 350 workers here in two facilities.

"We already had a building there, set up to be a call center," Laverty said. "The workforce was the other piece. It’s been very consistent and productive."

The new employees will work out of the Verizon facility at 7400 Mineral Drive, which has room to accommodate 300 additional workers.

Not all of the calls they’ll handle will be for directory assistance, Laverty said. Many wireless companies also offer a broad array of other informational services.

A business traveler, for instance, might dial a number on his cell phone to ask about dining choices in an unfamiliar city. He could end up talking to an operator in Coeur d’Alene.

•Becky Kramer can be reached at (208) 765-7122 or by e-mail at [email protected].