WHAT YOU’RE SAYING
- "I'd like to learn a little bit more about technology and if I can get paid to learn about it, that's the benefit right there," said Maurice Brown, 26, a Fairfield resident and Hamilton native. Brown visited StarTek's career fair Monday for more information. He is seeking a part-time job in addition to the one he already works now. "A lot of things are going to be happening in Hamilton. I know a lot of people think Hamilton's on a downfall… it's going to come back up."
- "I'm just trying to keep my options open," said Krishonda Dangerfield, 28, of Cincinnati, while visiting the career fair. She currently works in sales, but is looking for a job in customer service. "I've had many opportunities to work in Hamilton, but I always said no because I thought it was too far," Dangerfield said. "It's actually not as far as I thought it was because it only took me about 30 minutes to get here."
A new call center opening in Hamilton has the potential to become StarTek Inc.’s second-largest facility in North America once it ramps up to full operations, said Scott Farmer, site director for the Colorado-based company, which provides business services.
The Butler County city scored its biggest commitment for new job creation in at least a decade when it was first announced in February that StarTek wants to open a new downtown location in an empty building, according to the city’s economic development department. Nearly 700 new jobs will be created, and the first of several job fairs to fill those positions was held Monday in downtown Hamilton.
Plans are for StarTek to open later this year after renovations to the former Elder-Beerman building at 150 High St. are complete.
Businesses that outsource customer service hire companies such as StarTek to answer phone calls, and in some cases respond to customers on social media, as well as provide other services.
The Hamilton call center will be second in size only to the company’s Colorado Springs location. And due to client demand for more customer representative services in North America, StarTek has also announced a new location in Wichita, Kansas, Farmer said.
“Part of it is the management talent we have in the city here already, that we could support a large operation like that,” Farmer said.
“We at StarTek have a number of clients that are in our pipeline. Some deals are waiting to be sold when the North American space is ready. There’s a lot of pending business that’s contingent on us getting additional centers open here in the states,” he said.
Before deciding on Hamilton, StarTek considered other sites in the region, including places in the Dayton area and Middletown, according to local economic development officials and the company.
StarTek already has office space housed at one of its clients in Cincinnati, Farmer said. However, StarTek didn’t previously own real estate in the area.
“Knowing that client has some need in terms of more space with StarTek and that our overall customer base is wanting more space in North America is really what kind of spring-boarded this idea — ‘let’s secure our own real estate somewhere’ — and that somewhere was here in Hamilton,” Farmer said.
When other locations fell through for various reasons, quick-acting Hamilton city leaders responded within 24 hours to StarTek with drawings of how the 150 High Street space could be built-out for its needs.
“We are so excited StarTek chose Hamilton for a location and that furthermore, we’re thrilled it’s downtown where it’s in the middle of everything that’s happening,” said Liz Hayden, business development specialist for the city.
“We think it’s got all kinds of potential to grow and be a really great call center for StarTek and be a great, cornerstone business for downtown,” Hayden said.
Additionally, Hamilton was attractive because of its centralized location between two airports, Farmer said.
“I think the commitment that’s really coming from the city folks really speaks volume to what Hamilton is all about. They’ve been very supportive of us,” he said.
Hiring has begun, and the first of several job fairs to be scheduled was held Monday in downtown Hamilton in the former Fifth Third building at the corner of High and South Third streets. Interviews were conducted on the spot for customer service and technical support job openings.
The former Fifth Third and Elder-Beerman buildings are owned by the CORE Fund, a nonprofit launched at the end of 2012 to invest in downtown-area redevelopment.
Some management jobs for StarTek’s Hamilton site have already been filled, and interviewers were making hiring decisions Monday. Applicants could receive job offers in the coming days contingent on background and drug screenings, Farmer said.
There are 50 immediate job openings due to a business customer whose services are being relocated from Cincinnati to Hamilton, and those hired to do that work could start the positions the first week of May. Training will start at that time in Cincinnati, and the jobs could move to Hamilton in mid-June or as soon as the Hamilton building is ready for StarTek to start moving in, Farmer said.
Hiring for remaining positions will be ramped up as business contracts are finalized, he said.
About 500 to 600 job applicants were anticipated to visit Monday’s career fair.
“I think that really what’s setting (potential hires) apart, is they really have a passion for the customer and really a passion to really serve and that’s what StarTek is all about,” he said.
“We don’t typically like to hire people that are just very transactional, on and off the phone. We really want folks who are listening to our customers and doing what it takes to the best of their ability to really serve them.”
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