After outsourcing much of its customer service during the last eight years, Terasen Gas is bringing back more than 250 call centre jobs to B.C. as part of its plan to update and improve its customer service infrastructure.
The company announced Thursday that at least 150 new call centre jobs will be housed in new office buildings in North Burnaby’s Willingdon Park. It will lease 50,000 square feet of space in a LEED Gold building located on Still Creek Drive. The remaining jobs will be located in a call centre it plans to locate in Prince George.
The bulk of its customer service and billing services are currently outsourced to CustomerWorks LP, with roughly 1.3 million inbound customer calls managed from call centres in New Brunswick, Ontario and Oregon.
Terasen Gas spokesperson Kirsten Walker said the repatriated jobs will contribute $25 million to B.C.’s economy, according to an economic impact assessment prepared for the company by KPMG, once the two contact centres are up and running in January 2012.
She noted, however, the new call centres are only part of a $115.5 million project to update and improve the company’s entire customer service system. Updates include a new customer information system that will provide more detailed information for customers regarding billing and energy consumption.
“With the in-house customer care services and updated technology, we’re going to be able to provide additional ways to reach us and include some self-service options and online options,” said Walker. “Those will also help us expand our efficiency and energy conservation programs.”
Terasen’s application to the BC Utilities Commission last June for project approval noted that bringing customer services in-house will allow them to better control the quality of service.
“When service levels provided by CustomerWorks LP have not met the contractual requirements, CustomerWorks LP has been required under the contract to pay penalties. Recently, the number of penalties paid by CustomerWorks LP has been increasing … Having direct control over core elements of the customer service function provides the flexibility to make adjustments to customer care before service levels decline.”