Call center to bring 700 jobs

By Bryan ChambersThe Herald-Dispatch

Article from the Huntington Dispatch

December 20, 2006
HUNTINGTON -- A company that specializes in outsourced customer management services will open a call center near Huntington and hire 700 people by June.
PRC will open its inbound call center in late January at the former Arch Coal building located off of W.Va. 152. The building was home to Applied Card Systems for several years until it closed in May.

PRC will hire 100 people to start, then hire and additional 100 workers every three weeks until it reaches 700, said Bob Johnson, PRC's talent acquisition manager.

"This is a nice Christmas present for the community," Jerry McDonald, president of the Huntington Area Development Council, said during a news conference Tuesday at HADCO's office. "There are a lot of people who were faced with leaving the area when Applied Card shut down, but now they have an opportunity to stay in Huntington."

Based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., PRC manages customer relations for several companies, including US Airways, British Airways and American Express. The company now employs more than 14,000 employees at 27 locations worldwide.

Johnson would not disclose wage information, but said it is "top of the line" when compared to other call centers in the area. The company also provides a comprehensive benefits package, including health and dental insurance after 90 days, 401(k) retirement accounts, life and disability insurance and tuition reimbursement programs, he said.
"We even offer pet insurance," Johnson said.

McDonald said PRC's move to Huntington is largely because of Terri Duncan, a Spring Valley resident who was one of 300 Applied Card Systems workers who lost their jobs in May.
Duncan, who was Applied Card's vice president of call center operations, said she began a national search for a new job several months ago because she figured she wouldn't be able to find another job in Huntington. During a telephone interview with Johnson this fall, Duncan mentioned that the former Arch Coal building would meet PRC's needs if it ever thought about locating in the area.

The job interview quickly turned from questions about Duncan to questions about the building, Huntington and West Virginia, she said.

"I told (Johnson) about the valued work ethic in West Virginia and how attrition rates were comparatively low to call centers in other states," Duncan said. "In a matter of a few weeks, PRC was in Huntington. In my years of experience with call centers, I've never seen anything move this quickly."

Duncan, by the way, has been hired as a site general manager with PRC and will oversee the daily operations at the Huntington call center.
Johnson said PRC's decision to move to Huntington took less than two months from start to finish. With the closing of Applied Card in May, the company knew it would have a workforce to meet its needs, he said.

"The readiness of the building played a big part as well," he said. "It's a turnkey operation that provides opportunity for growth."

PRC could eventually employ up to 1,000 people, Johnson said.