Call Center Reps Sue Convergys for Failure to Pay Overtime
January 6th, 2011Source: Wichita Business Journal
Several Convergys Corp. call-center agents have filed a class action against the company alleging that it failed to pay overtime, a Texas legal journal has reported.
Five employees filed the suit, individually and on behalf of others, in December in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, according to the Southeast Texas Record, based in Beaumont, Texas. The plaintiffs are Wendy Shofner, Sharon Cole, Linda Coppedge, Lisa Carniello and Christina Daily.
The suit claims that Convergys Corp. and Convergys Customer Management Group Inc. did not pay overtime to thousands of employees who performed work before and after their shifts.
A representative for Convergys declined to comment on the suit.
Court documents state that Convergys’ policy is to pay its agents only for time they’re they are logged into their phone systems and available for calls. The plaintiffs allege Convergys has violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The employees seek back wages and …
Convergys Invests in Costa Rica Education
December 20th, 201017th December 2010 – Representatives of Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG), a global leader in relationship management, visited Centro Educativo Villalobos in Costa Rica and presented a donation for vital infrastructure repairs that will help keep the school’s students safe, dry, and comfortable.
Convergys site leader Stephanie Elfenson, Operations Manager Sergio Riley, Employee Relations Manager Giliola Diener, and Team Leader Gabriela Eduarte visited Principal Osvaldo Carranza at the school to present the check.
At the recent dedication of its third contact center in Costa Rica, Convergys announced it was making the donation to the local grammar school, which is located near the new Convergys facility. Convergys also purchased needed books for the school.
A special dance performance put on by the children greeted the Convergys leaders when they arrived at the school. Noted children’s author Ani Brenes was on hand …
Source: www.cincinnati.com and The Cincinnati Enquirer
Convergys Corp., one of Cincinnati’s largest headquarters companies, could be in play. A Wall Street mergers and acquisitions tracker DealReporter, quoting three unnamed sources, this week said Convergys has hired investment bank JP Morgan to explore a possible sale. Convergys officials would not comment on the report.
But investment analysts who cover the company point to signs that indicate the $2 billion downtown-based company that employs 70,000 around the world could be broken up.
Sale of all or part of the company could put the future of 2,200 Convergys employees in the region in question. It could also cast doubt on the future of the downtown headquarters, which the city of Cincinnati agreed to save from moving in 2003 with a tax break valued at $52 million.
“It is plausible” that Convergys could be sold, said Matthew McCormack, an analyst who follows the company for Arlington, Va.-based …
Colombia BPO Update: More Call Center Deals and How Venezuela’s Loss is Bogota’s Gain
April 5th, 2010By Kirk Laughlin
“When (call center executives) from the U.S. go shopping in LATAM, they are amazed at what Colombia has to offer” – Sara Bojanini, Investment Director at Proexport USA
One of the hottest Latin American BPO destinations – Colombia – is about to win a couple more big deals, according to Sara Bojanini, Investment Director at Proexport USA, who sat down recently with Nearshore Americas to talk about the attractions of Colombia and how the country continues to carve out its own identity as a major sourcing destination.
A few weeks ago, we reported that Convergys will be opening a new delivery center in Bogota, and our sources continue to tell us that this project is going through, despite the fact that Convergys has not yet confirmed the project publicly. Another major contact center provider is moving toward establishing a new Colombia facility, according to Bojanini, but she could not yet name the provider.
Convergys Adds More Onshore Seats in Missouri
April 1st, 2010Convergys Corp. plans to hire 160 full-time workers at its sales center in Arnold, Mo.
The workers will provide customer service and sales support for a client in the telecommunications industry.
Earlier this month, Convergys said it was hiring 200 people at its sales center in Hazelwood, Mo., to provide outbound sales support for a client in the landscaping industry. Also in March, the company closed a call center in New Mexico, cutting more than 600 jobs, and announced the hiring of 1,500 temporary workers in Utah to provide support for the U.S. Census.
Cincinnati-based Convergys (NYSE: CVG), has 70,000 employees in 82 customer contact centers and other facilities in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Sonda and Convergys Link Up to Provide New Services to Customers
March 15th, 2010Convergys Corp., which specializes in relationship management, announced that it has formed a new, non-exclusive alliance with Sonda, an IT services provider in Latin America, to offer Convergys’ full suite of technology-based Self-Service and Assisted Service Solutions in the Mexican marketplace.
Sonda employs over 8,000 IT professionals in Latin America and works with a diversified client base including companies in the banking, telecommunications, and insurance industries to drive down costs while improving customer loyalty.
Sonda will offer its clients in Mexico the following Convergys solutions:
-Convergys Intelligent Self-Service Solution, which is an integration of Convergys Intervoice [R] Voice Portal (IVP) and Convergys’ Dynamic Decisioning Solution. The integration of these two offerings takes advantage of the power of speech and Web-based standards, along with enterprise-wide policy management to enable contact centers to provide a more personalized and relevant experience for their customers, while helping to reduce costs and increase …
Exclusive: Can it Get Any Hotter in Colombia? Convergys Commits to Bogota
February 1st, 2010
Nearshore Americas has learned that global contact center giant Convergys, which serves half of the Fortune 50, is setting up a BPO service center in Bogota after receiving clearance to operate in a new free trade zone in the northern part of Bogota.
As many as 2,500 seats will occupied at the center within three years, according to two reliable sources. The center, which should be operational in June, will also offer financial back-office support services.
Colombia is without question one of the hottest outsourcing destinations in Latin America, and its transformation has been one of the biggest stories to hit the headlines in the Nearshore community in the last several months.
Convergys spokesperson John Pratt declined to comment late today on our report.
“This does not come as a surprise, really,” says lead BPO and call center analyst Peter Ryan, of DataMonitor, commenting on the development. “There is a lot of capacity in Colombia and the country has the potential to become the next big thing in South America,” said Ryan, comparing its rise to Chile and Argentina, which have become globally recognized outsourcing centers.
Convergys Cuts 800 From Canada Call Center, Sends Work to the Philippines
January 27th, 2010An Ottawa customer service centre is laying off 800 people, moving work to the Philippines. Convergys notified employees of the layoffs on Monday, after AT&T in the Unites States cancelled a contract with the company.
Employees will keep their jobs until April 18, when the contract officially ends. The move will leave only 100 employees working out of the company’s office on Heron Road.
Convergys confirmed the layoffs in a statement released to CTV Ottawa on Tuesday. When contacted for further comment, company spokesperson Amy Williams said: “I have a meeting to go to. I have nothing more to say.” Outside the company’s office on Heron Road, employees said they weren’t surprised to learn they’d be losing their jobs. “I’m not surprised. It’s the way this business is,” said one worker. “I’ve been laid off before; I’ll be laid off again,” said another.
Employees told CTV Ottawa they were told the …
