Call center's move result of fast work

Michael Hilmer took the call on a late Friday afternoon a couple of weeks ago, a Friday that was barely more than a month before his company absolutely had to have a new call center in Reno ready for operation.

Talks for a location, Hilmer learned, had fallen through. An already difficult schedule to get the center in operation Hilmer's One Contact Inc. had signed the contract with the customer only in early July was about to become nearly impossible.

His orders to the executive team of the company headquartered in Toronto: Have a new location in place by Monday morning, three days hence.

They succeeded, and Hilmer was back in Reno last week to announce that One Contact will begin operation of the new call center on Sept. 17.

The center at 1175 Financial Blvd. is expected to employ 150 within six months, a number that could increase to 200 within five years.

"This is why we win deals," Hilmer said over coffee shortly before he made his company's announcement. "We know how to move mountains."

One Contact doesn't disclose the names of its clients, but Hilmer said his company's center in Reno initially will be handling calls for the loyalty program of a major wellness retailer.

"The nice thing about loyalty programs is that the callers are happy," he said. "Our employees don't burn out."

The company expects to add call-center services for a second loyalty program from the Reno facility early next year.

"We want to market this site hard," Hilmer said. "We want to keep this site full."

Along with its headquarters facility at Toronto, One Contact also is opening a call center at Fort Myers, Fla.

He said the company doesn't send call-center jobs offshore because its executives believe that the cultural knowledge of North American employees provides an important advantage to the clients of One Contact.

"Our callers are our customers' customers," he says.

One Contact provides inbound and outbound call-center services for clients in sectors including utilities, wellness, retail, financial services and telecommunications and cable.

Originally, Hilmer acknowledged, the company didn't give a serious look to Reno as it scouted sites for its new call centers.

But the site-consulting firm working with One Contact Dallas-based Arledge Partners encouraged Hilmer's team to give northern Nevada a second look.

They found the supply of workers the company needs, not only to meet its immediate needs but to ensure that additional staff is available to meet growth.

Nevada JobConnect, which is fielding applications for One Connect, has committed to the company that workers are available. The company will begin hiring team leaders and site managers this week.

"When we see good candidates in the pipeline, guys like me relax," Hilmer said.

The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada worked closely with the company to expedite city permits, answer questions and clear hurdles to meet One Contact's aggressive schedule.

Among the factors weighed by the company were facilities cost, security, telecommunications access and the support of local governments, Hilmer said.

In the next two weeks, One Contact will finish installation of the sophisticated data and voice networks in the building it leased. It will get desks and workstations installed. It will load software onto computers.

And on the morning of Sept. 17, it will go live with a major contract with a major customer.

One Contact ran a pilot test for the client last year, so it has some knowledge of the work already, Hilmer said.

Said Mike Kazmierski, EDAWN's president and CEO: "Any day that we add 200 jobs to our community is a good day."