Outsourcer Sustains Job Expansion in U.S.

Sitel has made headlines more than once this year, most recently announcing several hundred new hires for its contact centers in N.M. and N.Y.

Hiring Locally Instead of Outsourcing

In October, the company announced plans to hire a total of approximately 485 new contact center employees as a result of expansions in its Amarillo, Texas, Corning, N.Y., Augusta, Ga., and Andalusia, Ala. centers. Sitel made an effort to hire locally by partnering with employment organizations in each state to host on-site job fairs. Though the company was unable to discuss with ICMI any specific plans for future expansion, the majority of these new positions are expected to be permanent: A positive indication that the contact center industry, and the U.S. job market, are gradually recovering from the recent recession.

Steady Growth for U.S. Call Center Jobs

Sitel may be experiencing steady growth, but is the rest of industry following suit? It may be too soon to tell, but an increasing number of companies are announcing plans to hire in the U.S. Earlier this year, more than ten major organizations joined the Jobs4America Coalition, with plans to significantly increase hires for 2012 and beyond. Many of these companies have already begun hiring, or announcing plans to hire.

US Airways stated on November 1, 2011 that it has returned 400 previously-outsourced call center jobs back to the U.S. as part of an agreement with the Airline Customer Service Employee Association - CWA and IBT.

Another company recently held a job fair in Halifax County, Va. for a new call center expected to open in February 2012. The company hopes to fill about 150 positions.