Conduit UK doubles its Welsh workforce over the past 12 months

High performers can defy recession says fast-growing outsource operator.

One of Britain’s leading outsource call centre operators which has recruited around 1,000 workers in Wales since the start of the economic downturn, says it believes high-performing firms can defy the recession and continue growing by making a major difference to their clients’ businesses.

Conduit UK, which operates two major contact centres in Cardiff and one in Swansea, has increased the size of its Welsh workforce from 1,000 to 2,000 over the past 12 months and it disclosed today (5th November) that it intends to double in size again over the next two years.

Recent growth has been driven by new contracts from prestigious clients such as Sky, and by the expansion of existing contracts with big names such as Vodafone. It has also won substantial work from the UK Department of Health and recently began running the 999 Emergency Services for Ireland.

News of Conduit UK’s further growth intentions came during a visit today ( 5th November) to its Cardiff city centre operation at Hodge House, by Welsh Assembly Government Finance Minister, Andrew Davies. The firm’s Managing Director, Neil Evans, said the outsourced contact centre sector was a highly-competitive environment where providing very cost-effective services and an excellent customer experience were no longer enough.

He said: “To become a strategic long-term partner to global brands such as Vodafone, significant investment is needed in staff skills, business analysis, process improvement, reliable and innovative technology, detailed industry expertise and understanding. The over-riding approach is a relentless focus on the client’s business, and on making it better.

“I am delighted to say that we have the calibre of workforce in Wales that can deliver this kind of service, and that is why we’re still bringing jobs to Wales at a time when the economy generally is facing some pretty tough challenges,” he added.

Mr Evans predicted that jobs growth would continue among the industry’s top performers - those that adopted a strong client-led approach - and would accelerate as the recovery took effect and more firms sought external support to meet rising market demand.

During the visit The Minister was briefed on Conduit’s client strategy and ambitious growth plans, which involve doubling the size of the business again over the next two years. In addition he was told how the firm’s staff receive in-depth training to deal with the complex demands of its clients’ products and customers, and how its strategy is focused on maintaining performance leadership amongst multiple competitors in a mature market where “champion-challenger” rules apply and only the best performers grow and prosper.

Afterwards the Minister commented: “The contact centre industry is now a very significant part of our economy and it is encouraging to see that, by achieving the highest standards and efficiencies, and adding real value to their customers, Welsh-based firms in this sector can continue creating jobs of many different kinds, even in the current climate. “The Assembly Government is committed to boosting the competitiveness of Welsh industry and that means developing our skill base and implementing world-class management,” he added.

Mr Evans maintained that strong, efficient and competitive operators, totally committed to their clients’ businesses, would be those who would survive in future, irrespective of the state of the economy. “It is already evident from our knowledge of the market that those merely providing “bums on seats” are a rapidly dying breed,” he said.
He added: “Many firms which need to scale down their operations to cope with the recession are likely to look to good outsourcers to help them generate the savings needed now, and enable them to start growing again without the significant risks and costs involved in trying to deliver everything in house. Outsourcing will undoubtedly be a sensible option for many businesses over the next year 12-18 months.”

5/11/1009

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