Saskatchewan attracts financial, retail and service industry call centers

Telemarketing, Jun 1995

Saskatchewan, a vast prairie province in Western Canada, is on the leading edge of advanced telecommunications technology. Its many advantages as a telemarketing center are attracting the attention of financial, retail and service industries across the country.

The success story began in 1992, when Sears Canada announced it would establish a major telemarketing center in Regina, the province's capital city. The major retail organization, with retail stores, catalog centers and sales agents across Canada, opened the $2-million call center in the summer of 1993 with 230 workstations, later expanded to 365. Call volume rose dramatically during the first year, going from 3 million calls in 1993 to 6 million in 1994.

D.D. Radford, general manager of Sears Catalog, Western Canada, described what drew the company to the prairie province. "We located our call center in Saskatchewan for several reasons. SaskTel pioneered in fiber optics and now offers one of the world's most advanced digital networks. It is more than a supplier: it is a partner. We were also attracted by the quality and affordability of living here, and by the people: they are friendly, well-educated, with a strong work ethic and the longest job-tenure rate in Canada," Radford said.

The province's unique blend of business advantages include a positive business climate, low business costs, a world-class technological infrastructure, and a government that encourages business development.

Start-up and operating costs are relatively low, and the price of building new facilities or renting existing space is less costly than in most other provinces. Employers also benefit from no payroll tax, and no employer costs for public health care. Saskatchewan offers relatively low labor costs, while the low cost of living and attractive lifestyle ensure a stable, high-quality workforce.

Saskatchewan has the country's least-regulated telecommunications environment as SaskTel, a government-owned utility, is not regulated by the federal Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). SaskTel offers competitive long-distance rates, and touch-tone network access rates that are among the lowest in major Canadian cities. The provincial government has further encouraged the development of call centers by eliminating the provincial sales tax on toll-free telephone services.

As an investment in Saskatchewan workers and a partnering exercise with Sears, the provincial government pledged a maximum of $600,000 to the company's specialized employee training. Sears provides an intensive training program which includes 50 to 60 hours of classroom and hands-on training for employees prior to actual customer contact.

The success of the call center's initial development phase in August 1993 allowed Sears to accelerate its plans and complete the project expansion one year ahead of the original target late in 1995. The facility has been enlarged to 30,000 square feet from 18,000 square feet, and additional jobs have been created.

The business advantages that attracted Sears have resulted in additional call centers being established in Saskatchewan. The Royal Bank established its small-business payroll unit in Regina, employing 60 people and paying wages and benefits of more than $2 million annually. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce chose the city as the site of a new national call center for telephone banking, where it will create the equivalent of 500 full-time jobs.

Most recently, the Canadian Cancer Society announced that it will establish a national call center in Regina, which will be a clearinghouse for information on cancer and its treatments. Saskatchewan's strengths in health care and expertise in information-processing and telecommunications were strong factors in the decision. SaskTel is providing technical support for the operation, which will be housed free of charge at Sears' Regina call center location. Besides donating space, Sears will distribute the society's information through its huge marketing networks.

These types of alliances are creating a win-win situation for the business community and the province, and are strengthening Saskatchewan's reputation as a center of excellence for call centers.