STAFF at a new call centre/marketing centre on the Gaoth Dobhair Business Park are celebrating their first Christmas.
Manchester-based digital marketing company, SLM Connect, opened its doors for the first time in October. It currently employs twenty-three staff with part of plans to create 125 new jobs on the site before the end of next year.
The company, which delivers customer contact solutions for a number of blue chip mobile operators, is managed by Carrigart man, James Moran, who has moved back from the UK to manage the operation.
The new company, SLM Éire Teo, offers contact centre and business processing outsourcing (BPO) solutions to its clients from its new facility.
SLM Éire Teo will focus on offering both business to business (B2B) and business to customer (B2C) service solutions via multichannel marketing activities from Gaoth Dobhair.
A Computer Science graduate from the University of Chester, Mr Moran spent the past few years working in Manchester for a US technology company.
“We shared a building in Manchester with the guys from the call centre and I got to know them. They were looking to expand their business and were looking at possible locations in Scotland and Wales and I suggested why not Ireland? I used to go to school with Joe McHugh (Fine Gael Junior Minister) so I reached out to him and he set the wheels in motion.
“Once they came over here they quickly fell in love with the place. They received a genuine warm welcome and on their way back to the airport they phoned me saying that they had found the right place,” he said.
Mr Moran was then asked would he be interested in helping them set up a presence in Ireland.
“I gave me the opportunity to return home and live with mum (Philomena) back in Carrigart. It’s a forty minute commute but what a lovely drive. It most certainly beats being stuck on the ring road around Manchester,” he said.
Although the company has only been operational for less than ten weeks, Mr Moran said that he was delighted with the staff who have been drawn from the Gweedore and Dungloe areas and as far north as Dunfanaghy.
“The age profile of our staff would be that bit older than Manchester but we find that they’re more mature, very loyal and committed to their work. More importantly, my bosses are really delighted with the calibre of workforce available here in Donegal,” Mr Moran said.
SLM staff start work at either 10am or 11am and finish at 6pm or 7pm depending on what campaign they’re working on.
“At present, it’s primarily the mobile telecoms market – O2, Three and Vodafone – and some of the major energy suppliers too,” he said.
Údarás na Gaeltachta completed the redevelopment work required at the SLM facility and recruitment is ongoing.
“We’re very happy with the first cohort of workers that we’ve employed and we can see future team leaders and managers coming out of that group. We hope to have fifty staff in place by Easter and have it at full capacity by the end of next year – it can hold 125 staff,” he said.
Anyone interested in working with SLM call centre/marketing centre on the Gaoth Dobhair Business Park is asked to send their CV to jobs@slmireland.com or james@slmconnect.co.uk
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