Buffalo, New York call centers. (RE: Locations).Not only is Buffalo, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of noted as the birthplace birth·place n. The place where someone is born or where something originates. birthplace Noun the place where someone was born or where something originated Noun 1. of one of the major food groups, the Buffalo Wing, it also has distinguished itself as a premier location for call centers and customer support office operations. I had the distinct pleasure of sampling all of these treats during my visit. The tour was arranged and coordinated courtesy of Buffalo Niagara "Buffalo Niagara" can refer to a variety of things in the vicinity of Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls. Geography
Western New York refers to the westernmost region of New York State. State and the Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is the portion of Ontario, Canada lying on the south shore of Lake Ontario. It stretches from the Niagara River in the east to Hamilton, Ontario in the west. Lake Ontario lies to the north and Lake Erie to the south. of Ontario Ontario, city, United States Ontario, city (1990 pop. 133,179), San Bernardino co., S Calif., near Los Angeles, in a region of vineyards; inc. 1891. , Canada Canada (kăn`ədə), independent nation (2001 pop. 30,007,094), 3,851,787 sq mi (9,976,128 sq km), N North America. Canada occupies all of North America N of the United States (and E of Alaska) except for Greenland and the French islands of . Colleges And Universities There are over 100,000 full-rime students attending 30 colleges and universities in the region with approximately 20,000 graduates annually. Some of those institutions and their enrollments are: The State University of New York (body) State University of New York - (SUNY) The public university system of New York State, USA, with campuses throughout the state. at Buffalo is one of the nation's premier research universities with strengths in engineering, life sciences, medicine, pharmaceutical science and information technology. Niagara Community College offers a call center management program and a call center service representative program. Labor Force The labor force of the area is approximately 750,000. The age group distribution as a percentage of population shows that 19.6 percent of the regional population is between the ages of 20 and 34 and 28.2 percent is between the ages of 35 and 54. The average commute TO COMMUTE. To substitute one punishment in the place of another. For example, if a man be sentenced to be hung, the executive may, in some states, commute his punishment to that of imprisonment. time in the area is 20 minutes. Call Center Overview There are 16,685 people employed at 45 customer contact centers and back-office operations in the Buffalo area according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a recent study of operations in the area with 50 or more employees. This means that 2.2 percent of the labor force is employed in this sector. With increased specialization A career option pursued by some attorneys that entails the acquisition of detailed knowledge of, and proficiency in, a particular area of law. As the law in the United States becomes increasingly complex and covers a greater number of subjects, more and more attorneys are by call center type and function with wages to match, the area should easily absorb an additional 10,000 call center workers. There is currently a concentration of financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. and collection agencies in the area. The companies, their location, type of operation and number of employees are listed in Table 1. Wages The average customer service job pays $10 to $12 per hour with the published average for the area at $10.08 to $10.92 per hour. Generally, a competitive benefits package is also provided, making the overall compensation package for an agent quire quire 1 n. 1. Abbr. qr. or q. A set of 24 or sometimes 25 sheets of paper of the same size and stock; one twentieth of a ream. 2. attractive. According to an area wage and salary survey published in 2000, customer service manager salaries range from $28,496 to $94,000, with an average annual salary of $43,807. Skill Levels Customer service. Most operations hire high school graduates with related experience for their customer service staffs. According to the employers, they are seeing good candidates for their customer service positions. The individuals possess good computer, keyboarding and team-work skills. Information technology. Area operations In maritime usage, operations conducted in a geographical area and not related to the protection of a specific force. arc hiring four-year college graduates from the local labor market labor market A place where labor is exchanged for wages; an LM is defined by geography, education and technical expertise, occupation, licensure or certification requirements, and job experience . Companies with leading edge operating software are able to attract individuals with competitive IT skills. General support functions. Employers are successfully recruiting and hiring from the local labor pool with ample supply. Attrition Rates Noun 1. attrition rate - the rate of shrinkage in size or number rate of attrition rate - a magnitude or frequency relative to a time unit; "they traveled at a rate of 55 miles per hour"; "the rate of change was faster than expected" Attrition rates among customer service operations range from less than 10 percent all the way up to 25 percent, with the majority of attrition Attrition The reduction in staff and employees in a company through normal means, such as retirement and resignation. This is natural in any business and industry. Notes: due to spouse spouse A legal marriage partner as defined by state law relocation RELOCATION, Scotch law, contracts. To let again to renew a lease, is called a relocation. 2. When a tenant holds over after the expiration of his lease, with the consent of his landlord, this will amount to a relocation. , life stage issues and promotion. Employers are satisfied with the worker loyalty and strong work ethic work ethic n. A set of values based on the moral virtues of hard work and diligence. work ethic Noun a belief in the moral value of work . Its worth noting that these attrition rates are among the lowest in the country. Real Estate There is a total of 8.5 million square feet of class A and B space in the area. Vacancies in class A range from 7.5 percent in the suburban market to 12.5 percent in the central business district. Vacancies in class B range from 8.6 percent in the suburban market to 18.5 percent in the central business district. Lease rates for class A are in the $20 range, and class B rates are in the $15 to $16 range. Telecommunications Communicating information, including data, text, pictures, voice and video over long distance. See communications. Infrastructure Buffalo is regarded as one of the top 25 wired cities in the United Stares and boasts of more than 106,000 miles of fiber optic cable Noun 1. fiber optic cable - a cable made of optical fibers that can transmit large amounts of information at the speed of light fibre optic cable transmission line, cable, line - a conductor for transmitting electrical or optical signals or electric power installed in the area with 12 major fiber optic trunk A communications channel between two points. It generally refers to a high-bandwidth, fiber-optic line between telephone switching centers (central offices). Telephone "trunks" handle thousands of simultaneous voice and data signals, whereas telephone "lines" are the wires from the lines crossing the U.S. - Canada border. According to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Cambridge; coeducational; chartered 1861, opened 1865 in Boston, moved 1916. It has long been recognized as an outstanding technological institute and its Sloan School of Management has notable programs in business, (MIT MIT - Massachusetts Institute of Technology ) study, Buffalo ranks 22nd in Internet Internet Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the capacity. Touring And Visiting I was able to meet with several call center executives in the area, as well as tour a few operations. I was impressed im·press 1 tr.v. im·pressed, im·press·ing, im·press·es 1. To affect strongly, often favorably: with the employers' assessment of their ability to recruit and retain talent at their respective operations. I met with some companies who were, in fact, increasing headcount by several hundred as we met. I was equally impressed with the employers' commitment to providing a nurturing work place, demonstrated by nor only the compensation packages provided, but also by key amenities. These benefits include higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. classes being conducted on sire, with workers encouraged to attend for personal and professional development. This, I believe, will become more commonplace in the call center workplace as companies accept and embrace the fact that the well-trained and empowered call center agent is the competitive difference. Buffalo-Niagara region has quite a bit to offer the professional contact center. I encourage you to learn more about the area by visiting their Web site www.buffaloniagara.org. Please do nor hesitate to contact me at jbeattyncs@aol.com or jbeatty@callcentersites.net, and remember to visit www.callcentersites.net, the official site for the latest information on call center and back-office locations. For information and subscriptions, visit www.TMCnet.com or call 203-852-6800.
KEY POPULATION CENTERS IN THE AREA INCLUDE:
Amherst Immediately North of Buffalo
Cheektowaga Location of Buffalo Niagara
International Airport
Clarence 20 miles East of Downtown Buffalo
East Aurora 17 miles Southeast of Buffalo
Ellicottville About an hour from Buffalo
Elma 12 miles from Downtown Buffalo
Grand Island 9 miles from Downtown Buffalo
Hamburg 10 miles South of Metro Buffalo
Lancaster 13 miles East of Buffalo
Lewiston 20 miles North of Buffalo
Lockport 20 miles Northeast of Buffalo
Niagara Falls 16 miles from Downtown Buffalo
Orchard Park 11 miles South of Buffalo
The Tonawandas Situated between Buffalo and
Niagara Falls
West Seneca 10 minutes from the Buffalo Airport
Youngstown 35 miles Northwest of Buffalo
THE EIGHT COUNTIES OF THE BUFFALO NIAGARA REGION AND THEIR POPULATION
ARE:
Allegany 49,927
Cattaraugus 83,955
Chautauqua 139,750
Erie 950,265
Genesee 60,370
Niagara 219,846
Orleans 44,171
Wyoming 43,424
Regional Total 1,591,708
The Buffalo-Niagara Falls MSA is 1,170,111
Source: Census 2000
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Alfred University 2,400
Canisius College 4,800
Erie Community College 5,400
Jamestown Community College 2,000
Niagara County Community College 3,000
Niagara University 3,000
St. Bonaventure University 2,700
SUNY * at Buffalo 23,600
SUNY College of Technology at 3,100
Alfred
SUNY College at Buffalo 11,200
SUNY College at Fredonia 6,300
SUNY College at Geneseo 5,600
* State University of New York
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Table 1
Current Customer Contact Centers And Back-Office Operations
There are currently over 16,000 jobs in western New York provided by
businesses with customer contact centers or back-office operations. A
sample listing of the employers is provided below and each facility is
plotted below.
Customer Contact Center And Back-Office Employers In Western New York
with 50+ Employees
COMPANY LOCATION
AAA Western/Central NY Williamsville
The ABC Companies Buffalo
Account Solutions Group Amherst
Aldelphia Communications Tonawanda
Albert F. Stager Orchard Park
Allstate Insurance Company Williamsville
Azerty Incorporated Orchard Park
BankAmerica Mortgage Corp. Amherst
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of WNY Buffalo
CIGNA (ACE) Amherst
ClientLogic Buffalo
Computer Task Group West Amherst
Creditors Interchange Cheektowaga
Destinations.com Buffalo
Equifax Risk Management Amherst
Eric-Niagara Insurance Association Williamsville
Fireman's Fund Williamsville
Fisher-Price East Aurora
First Niagara Bank Lockport
Fleet Bank West Seneea
GE Capital Depew
Gibco, an Invitrogen Corporation Grand Island
HSBC Direct Banking Buffalo
HSBC Mortgage Corporation Depew
ICT Group, Smartline Division Depew
COMPANY SCOPE OF OPERATIONS
AAA Western/Central NY Travel club operations
The ABC Companies Collection agency
Account Solutions Group Collection agency
Aldelphia Communications Telecommunications sales/cust.
service
Albert F. Stager Claims adjusting
Allstate Insurance Company Back-office/claims adjusting
Azerty Incorporated Computer services, software
development
BankAmerica Mortgage Corp. Financial services back-office
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of WNY Healthcare back-office
CIGNA (ACE) Insurance back-office
ClientLogic Computer services, software
development
Computer Task Group Computer services, software
development
Creditors Interchange Collection agency
Destinations.com Travel services
Equifax Risk Management Collection agency
Eric-Niagara Insurance Association Insurance adjusters
Fireman's Fund Invoice expense and report
processing
Fisher-Price Invoice expense and report
processing
First Niagara Bank Financial services back-office
Fleet Bank Financial services back-office
GE Capital Collection agency
Gibco, an Invitrogen Corporation Customer service for biotech
manufacturer
HSBC Direct Banking Financial service back-office
HSBC Mortgage Corporation Financial service back-office
ICT Group, Smartline Division Financial service back-office
COMPANY EMPLOYMENT
AAA Western/Central NY 175
The ABC Companies 150
Account Solutions Group 120
Aldelphia Communications 120
Albert F. Stager 70
Allstate Insurance Company 100
Azerty Incorporated 300
BankAmerica Mortgage Corp. 900
Blue Cross/Blue Shield of WNY 300
CIGNA (ACE) 100
ClientLogic 1,550
Computer Task Group 500
Creditors Interchange 325
Destinations.com 70
Equifax Risk Management 125
Eric-Niagara Insurance Association 50
Fireman's Fund 50
Fisher-Price 55
First Niagara Bank 300
Fleet Bank 400
GE Capital 290
Gibco, an Invitrogen Corporation 200
HSBC Direct Banking 500
HSBC Mortgage Corporation 550
ICT Group, Smartline Division 700
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