The evolution of contact (call) centres in northern Ontario.

• Author: Pullia, Frank
• Position: A WINDOW TO THE NORTHWEST

The recent announcement by Superior Propane to open up a sales and administration office in Thunder Bay that would eventually employee up to 100 people (with wages ranging from $35,000 to $100,000) clearly indicates that Northwestern Ontario has come a long way towards a knowledge-based economy. Such transition is still ongoing, and not without challenges.

In the last decade, there has been substantial growth in the number of call centres, while jobs continue to be lost in the traditional resource-based sectors, like forestry. This in turn has helped create a perception that these centres only provide minimum wage jobs, and that we may be better off without them. This article will look at the actual experience to-date and the changing global consumer trends that are driving the demand for such services. Hopefully, this will provide the reader with a more balanced perspective.

Business and societal changes the driving forces behind call centres

Like it or not, the huge U.S. economy continues to exert an enormous influence over Canadian business practices since our gross domestic product is heavily reliant on U.S. market demands. The continuous need to meet changing customer requirements and needs and keep costs down, are forcing companies to operate around the clock in a globally competitive environment. Such business and societal changes and the resulting drive to outsource non-core operations have been the driving forces towards the explosive growth of contact centres. We may not even be aware of it, but Canadians are using them on a regular basis when they call their bank, insurance company, or make hotel and airline reservations. These are what we call inbound operations, and comprise around 80 percent of the contact centre business. Only 20 percent is actually outbound, but unfortunately most people think that is the other way around because at one time or another they have been called on the phone by a sales agent.

Canada as a logical service provider

The initial growth in call centres was in and around major cities like Toronto, with banks and large organizations filling in buildings with their own telecommunications centres. Continuous demand meant that U.S. companies started looking at Canada as a natural place to outsource, given the cost advantage (labour and health care costs, and exchange rate providing a 25 percent savings). The cultural, technological, language, and time zone similarities, allowed both U.S. and Canadian...