Agero Moving Call Center

[TowNews]

Agero to close Sault office in April

Agero has notified the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation that it will close its Sault Ste. Marie facility as of April 2020.

 

Jordan Allard, from the city's corporate communications department, says the EDC notified the city of the company's plan.

 

The call centre began operating in October of 2004 as Cross Country Automotive. The company, which operates 24/7 roadside assistance lines, switched to the Agero brand during a period of expansion in 2011. At the time, the Sault operation was one of the company's largest in North America.

Today's news appears to herald an end to the Sault's call centre industry (with the exception of a small call centre operated by OLG). Sutherland Global Services, which also launched in 2004, vacated its purpose-built EDC-owned facility earlier this year. That site has since been purchased by boat and power-sports retailer North Shore Auto Sports.

Update
Katherine Patty, public relations manager at Agero Inc.’s head office in Boston, Massachusetts, tells SooToday that notice of the Apr. 30, 2020 closure was given today to employees as well as municipal and provincial agencies.

“I know the individuals that have worked for Agero have done amazing work,” Patty said.

“We consider all Agero employees to be heroes, acting every day to help consumers who need roadside assistance.”

“We are thankful for the work of every employee at our Sault Ste. Marie location and will make sure they are properly supported over the next six months.”

 

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Why Agero is moving all 300 of its Sault jobs to the U.S.

Agero Inc,’s 300 Sault Ste. Marie call centre jobs are being moved south of the border as part of a new focus on key American assets, George Horvat, chief operations officer of the Boston-based company, tells SooToday.

All jobs at Agero’s 15-year-old Sault call centre will be moved at the end of April to Agero facilities in Tuscon, Arizona and Clarksville and Tri-Cities (Kingsport, Johnson City and Bristol) in Tennessee, Horvat told us.

“We believe that the best path forward is focussing on our core U.S. facilities,“ he said in a phone interview Monday afternoon.

Sault employees and municipal and provincial officials were advised of the job losses Monday morning.

Horvat said the decision was made because of the prohibitive cost of technology upgrades needed in Sault Ste. Marie, as well as travel difficulties posed by our “remote“ location and the company’s wish to consolidate its personnel management.

Agero started call centre operations here in October, 2004 as Cross Country Automotive, providing 24/7 roadside assistance to distressed motorists.

Back then, the business was simpler.

Customers used their phones to communicate by voice with the call centre.

But over the past decade, iPhones and other smartphones have become considerably more sophisticated.

Today, customers contact Agero using a variety of sophisticated phone-based services and apps, Horvat said.

The Sault facility needs technology upgrades that are prohibitively expensive, he said.

Horvat says discussions are being held with employees and provincial labour officials about pre- and post-layoff support for Sault workers.

“We recognize that this site has been in the Agero family for more than 15 years,” he said.

“We are taking every possible measure to make the transition as smooth as possible.”

The closure of Agero’s facility will signal the end of bricks and mortar call centres in Sault Ste. Marie with the exception of a small facility operated by OLG, but Horvat said a significant number of home-based agents continue to work for other companies here.

 

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Agero Grows Contact Center Workforce, Will Bring 275 Jobs to Tennessee

October 22, 2019 09:00 ET | Source: Agero, Inc.

 

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 22, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Agero, Inc., a leading provider of B2B2C driver assistance software and services, today announced plans to significantly strengthen its presence in Tennessee with the addition of 275 new jobs at its contact center in Clarksville, representing a 42 percent increase of the site’s employee base. The personnel growth, which is supported by a physical facility expansion, is anticipated to bring Agero’s statewide workforce, across both Clarksville and the company’s Tri-Cities location, to over 1,500. Further to this, 200 other jobs are planned to be added across Agero’s three U.S. facilities over the next few months.

 

For over 40 years, Agero has provided safe, smart, software-enabled roadside assistance, accident management, connected car and consumer affairs services for automotive manufacturers and insurance providers in North America. Agero’s regional contact centers handle incoming calls from vehicle owners, acting on behalf of clients’ that offer these programs through Agero as part of their policyholder and warranty packages.

 

These new jobs, part of Agero’s investment in its U.S. on-shore presence, will strengthen the company’s delivery of thoughtful and empathetic assistance at the scale of millions of events annually, providing the human touch motorists need during times of stress. The additional personnel will reinforce Agero’s highly-trained agent force across Clarksville’s more than 15 diverse programs, including roadside assistance, consumer affairs and connected vehicle services, three specialized service event escalation teams and the Agero Provider Advocate Group.

 

To support this workforce growth, the Clarksville facility – Agero’s largest – has been expanded with an additional 13,921 square feet of production floor, more than double the previous work space. Over 100 new workstations are already open and more are planned to be installed by the first quarter of 2020.

“The Clarksville contact center truly represents all that Agero has to offer: from our enhanced digital capabilities, to our unique hands-on approach to escalations, to our extensive provider network management experience,” said George Horvat, Chief Operations Officer, Agero. “Expanding this facility is a vastly important part of Agero’s delivery of exceptional service to millions of consumers annually.”

 

Located in Tennessee’s fifth-largest city – recently named Money Magazine’s “Best Place to Live 2019” – Agero’s Clarksville contact center is considered one of the premier facilities in the region. Drawing on a robust and diverse local talent pool, including Veteran workers and military families, the center has experienced over 300 percent employee growth since opening in 2012. Much of which has been through friends and family referrals, illustrating the center’s high morale and employee satisfaction.

 

“Clarksville is a thriving, vibrant city that plays a significant role in the continued success of our contact center and Agero’s business overall,” said Will Fugette, Clarksville Contact Center Director, Agero. “Our employees are hardworking and driven, and enjoy being every day heroes for consumers in need. The plan to grow the center – in both physical footprint and with additional personnel – is incredibly exciting and we look forward to welcoming our many new associates.”

 

The company will be interviewing for a variety of positions. Applicants can apply online at Agero.com/careers.

 

About Agero
Agero’s mission is to safeguard consumers on the road through a unique combination of platform intelligence and human powered solutions, strengthening our clients’ relationships with their drivers. We are a leading provider of driving solutions, including roadside assistance, accident management, consumer affairs and telematics. The company protects 115 million vehicles in partnership with leading automobile manufacturers, insurance carriers and other diversified clients. Managing one of the largest national networks of service providers, Agero responds to more than 12 million requests annually for assistance. Agero, a member company of The Cross Country Group, is headquartered in Medford, Mass., with operations throughout North America. To learn more, visit www.agero.com and follow on Twitter @AgeroNews.

 

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