Call centres, help desks, and customer service organisations are preparing to enter the Irish Contact Centre of the Year Awards in a bid to receive recognition for their role in an industry that is set to double in employment terms by the end of the decade.
The Contact Centre Management Association (CCMA), a non-profit organisation run by professionals in the industry, is calling on companies to register their entries now. The winners will be announced by RTÉ presenter Miriam O'Callaghan at the awards' 10th annual ceremony on November 16th at the Burlington Hotel, Dublin.
The event "provides organisations with an opportunity to celebrate with their teams and peers the achievements of the Irish industry in an increasingly competitive global market", says Maurice Whelan, chairman of the CCMA. "I am consistently impressed at the quality and standards of the organisations within our industry, which I believe contribute to our reputation, North and South, of delivering an excellent customer service on the world stage."
Whelan says the number of people working in contact centres will rise to as high as 40,000 by 2010, from an estimated 20,000 at present. In June alone, at least 1,350 call-centre jobs were announced for Ireland.
Telecom provider Imagine said it would create more than 300 new jobs at its contact centre in Armagh, while Genzyme said in June it expected to add 50 jobs in Waterford city by the end of this year. Imagine estimates the new jobs will bring an extra £4 million (€5.79 million) in annual earnings to the area. In the same month, Northern secretary Peter Hain announced the creation of 1,000 call-centre jobs for Northern Ireland by Indian company ICICI OneSource.
In the Republic, internet retailer Amazon.com, famous for its online bookshop, promised in March to create 450 new jobs at a call centre in Cork to support its websites for the French, British and German markets.
However, the contact centre industry in Ireland is facing increasing competition from lower-cost locations such as India, where multinationals like PC maker Dell are adding call-centre jobs.
The CCMA was established in October 1999 to develop professionalism within the Irish call-centre industry. The association aims to promote recognition of contact centre management, from team leaders to directors, as well as communication between the industry and its customers. The CCMA also provides access to formal and informal education for its members.
The association has created a wide range of categories for the annual awards competition, in an effort to make the event suitable for entry by as many sectors as possible. In addition to the main Contact Centre of the Year Award, the CCMA's other honours include best use of technology, best training programme, and best customer service delivery.
The awards will be sponsored this year by software company IT Solutions and its partners Aspect and Vertint, payment services provider Realex Payments, and contact centre services company Sabio. The media partner for the event is The Irish Times.
