Lisa Bernard-Kuhn reports:
Cincinnati Bell is doubling the number of its local call center operators – adding 200 jobs to the region.
The company said Tuesday that StarTek Inc., Cincinnati Bell’s customer care and call center services vendor, will hire up to 136 home-based positions in the region. The two companies also will bring 200 call center positions to Greater Cincinnati in the next 18 months.
Total new jobs, however, will be about 200. In May, Cincinnati Bell announced it’s cutting the number of hourly workers because of its expanded relationship with StarTek. About 137 union workers received voluntary severance packages as a result, a company spokesperson said. StarTek has said it plans to recruit many of the laid-off workers.
Cincinnati Bell said the partnership is part of its commitment to providing quality service in an efficient manner.
“This demonstrates our dedication to our customers and to the communities we serve,” Ted Torbeck, president of Cincinnati Bell Communications Group, said in a statement.
Cincinnati Bell has maintained approximately 3,100 employees in the region over the past five years.
StarTek will offer full benefits and paid training for the positions. The pay rates were not available Tuesday. Hiring begins immediately, with all applications required to apply online at www.startek.com.
The positions are part of the StarTek@Home program, meaning those hired will be able to work from home.
Job applicants must be 18 years old and have a high school diploma. Applicants must also have a telephone connected to a landline, a computer and high speed Internet.
Cincinnati Bell’s overall wireline revenues have declined 1 percent this year. Wireless revenues are down 11 percent so far this year.
In the company’s other segments: IT services and hardware revenues are down 6 percent. Fioptics subscribers have jumped 41.4 percent to 47,000 as of June 30. And its data center business, CyrusOne, has seen revenues surge 157 percent in two years. The company plans to spin off that data business.
