QF to consolodate call centres to Hobart

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lovestotravel

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Qantas Transformation Update: Australian Call Centres to Consolidate to Hobart

Qantas says 450 call centre jobs to go

450 jobs to go.... Not sure how that will work given wait times already can be lengthy!





From the QF site

Qantas will consolidate its three Australian call centres into one facility based in Hobart by 2016 as part of its previously announced $2 billion transformation program and associated reduction of 5000 jobs.
The consolidation, which follows a comprehensive three month review, will ultimately result in the closure of its Brisbane and Melbourne call centres.
Qantas Domestic Chief Executive Officer, Lyell Strambi, said operating three call centres in different states was simply not efficient, particularly as customers increasingly turn to online, mobile and social media to communicate with Qantas.
“We are facing some of the toughest conditions Qantas has ever seen, which means we have to look at ways to become more efficient and remain competitive,” Mr Strambi said.
“Having call centres in three different states presents a number of challenges including property costs, duplication of management and operational complexity.
“In addition, more people are using online channels to manage their travel needs. Since 2005, call volume has halved and we now see thirty times more visits from customers to qantas.com than we receive in our call centres. This is a long-term change in customer behaviour that we expect to continue,” he added.
Qantas has invested in new customer service technologies in recent years and by the end of this month, one million people will have downloaded the Qantas app for mobile devices – a channel that did not exist 12 months ago.
Mr Strambi said that consolidating three Australian call centres into one location would ensure Qantas continues to provide the level of customer service that people expect, as well as delivering significant cost savings for the business.
“We are proud that we answer calls from Australia, in Australia, but it is not efficient to have three sub-scale facilities,” he said.
“Hobart was the logical choice for us to base our Australia call centre operations because of the modern facilities, the space available within the existing site and the ongoing costs of operating there.
“The Tasmanian Government has been very supportive of our Hobart call centre and is passionate about the future of Qantas Group operations in the State.”
Mr Strambi said employees in the Brisbane and Melbourne call centres will be offered re-deployment to Hobart, including payment for relocation costs, should they wish to move interstate.
“We will commence an expression of interest process with our employees to understand how many would like to move to Hobart. Employees who choose not to move interstate and remain employed until the closure of their centre will be provided redundancy packages,” he said.
“Today’s decision in no way reflects on the contribution of our contact centre workers. We want to thank all of our employees for their hard work.
“These are decisions we make in full knowledge of the impact on our people, but also the need to protect thousands of Australian jobs across the Qantas Group by taking action to strengthen our company.”
This announcement does not impact Qantas’ New Zealand call centre operation which has operated for over 10 years and mostly handles calls from English speaking customers from outside of Australia.

Background



  • Qantas has operated its call centre in Hobart since 2000 and currently employs approximately 200 full time equivalent employees.
  • The Brisbane call centre, which employs around 200 full time equivalent employees will be closed by 2016.
  • The Camberwell call centre, which employs approximately 250 full time equivalent employees will be closed by mid-2015.
  • Qantas will provide affected employees with transition support and redundancy packages in excess of regulatory requirements.
  • Qantas will continue to use call centres in overseas markets answering calls originating from non-English speaking customers in locations like Japan and South Africa.
 
Interesting to see, perhaps mainland Australia will start outsourcing to Tasmania due to the lower wages and cost of operation with the bonus of still obtaining Australian staff.
 
What they have failed to mention in the article is how many jobs will be created in Hobart centre, and I am guessing by the omission of such a fact means that the Hobart centre won't increase to an extra 450 seats (Bris and Mel combined). So overall a cut in the number of total seats is what it sounds like.
I expect wait times will increase, now if only they increased the booking options on the website so I didn't have to call up!
 
Hopefully the function of the Plat desk will be maintained as that's one of the major benefits of WP IMHO.

Thats already being done from Hobart based on the conversations I have had. I think its fair to say the wait times will increase though.
 
Hopefully the function of the Plat desk will be maintained as that's one of the major benefits of WP IMHO.

Indeed, and I don't find wait times too bad, but then again... :p

I recall being told the HBA centre was really good though, so it looks like they picked the right one.
 
Indeed, and I don't find wait times too bad, but then again... :p

I recall being told the HBA centre was really good though, so it looks like they picked the right one.
I have certainly had the best results from HBA. The other two could be hit and miss.

With no mention of jobs being created in Tassie, it looks like no-one is getting the option to move.

Edit: I stand corrected. 300 jobs to be created to add to the 246 already in Hobart.

Jobs boost for Tasmania as Qantas announces it will close two mainland call centres and base its operations in Hobart | The Mercury
 
I have certainly had the best results from HBA. The other two could be hit and miss.

With no mention of jobs being created in Tassie, it looks like no-one is getting the option to move.

Edit: I stand corrected. 300 jobs to be created to add to the 246 already in Hobart.

Jobs boost for Tasmania as Qantas announces it will close two mainland call centres and base its operations in Hobart | The Mercury

I noted the SMH skipped that part in the QF PR

Mr Strambi said employees in the Brisbane and Melbourne call centres will be offered re-deployment to Hobart, including payment for relocation costs, should they wish to move interstate.
“We will commence an expression of interest process with our employees to understand how many would like to move to Hobart. Employees who choose not to move interstate and remain employed until the closure of their centre will be provided redundancy packages,” he said.
 
Re: QF to consolidate call centres to Hobart

Always terrible news to hear when people are being made redundant or have to move cities for work. Many of the QF crew in CNS are in their final weeks before their move to other bases in other cities. Situations like this can put a lot of pressure and stress on people, and I hope that the staff can deal with this. Hopefully Qantas is providing as much support as they can in these situations.
 
I feel for those staff who are offered the move having to say no for a variety of reasons and are unable to take up the offer. Pay outs only last for so long, being unemployed in this day and age remains still without your job at end of the day.
 
I have certainly had the best results from HBA. The other two could be hit and miss.

With no mention of jobs being created in Tassie, it looks like no-one is getting the option to move.

Edit: I stand corrected. 300 jobs to be created to add to the 246 already in Hobart.

Jobs boost for Tasmania as Qantas announces it will close two mainland call centres and base its operations in Hobart | The Mercury

ABC quoting the Tas Premier (very chuffed) as saying 400 new jobs; also Vic Opposition leader decidedly un-chuffed! Tas govt offered some incentives to Qantas to do the move. Details not announced yet.

Call centers are a modest enterprise down here, due to wages and many overheads being lower than many 'mainland' cities. Also, with limited opportunities in Tas compared to mainland, people at the call centers here are often content to make it "their job", rather than it being just a holding thing until something better comes up. Hence perhaps they are more contented when on the line.
 
I must say that calling Qantas is always a painless and cheery exercise in my experience. Keep up the good work guys!

p.s. Don't make me regret the above...
 
Hobart ... the new Manila! A new take on "off-shoring". A good move by Qantas, avoiding the temptation to move a lot of these services outside Australia, where even though English may be fine, problem solving skills may not be a strength.
 
Hobart ... the new Manila! A new take on "off-shoring". A good move by Qantas, avoiding the temptation to move a lot of these services outside Australia, where even though English may be fine, problem solving skills may not be a strength.

Most of the time, the English is anything but 'fine'!
 
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Hobart ... the new Manila! A new take on "off-shoring". A good move by Qantas, avoiding the temptation to move a lot of these services outside Australia, where even though English may be fine, problem solving skills may not be a strength.

Qantas has already off-shored the telesales 10 years ago, the growth in work done by the NZ operation has been of concern to the ASU for years.
 
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