HOORAY!

RED OAK — Seventy-five previously unemployed Montgomery County residents are back to work today after DIRECTV formally opened its new call center in Red Oak earlier this month.

Following a brief ribbon cutting ceremony Feb. 7, the first phone call came into the call center shortly after 11 a.m., Dave Baker, DIRECTV senior vice president said in an interview with the Express.

“Everything is up and running and going great,” he said of the call center, located in the former Community Distribution Services building.

The facility serves as a dispatch center to route DIRECTV technicians to service or installation jobs. The center will also serve as a liaison between the customer and technicians when a work order is generated.

Baker said they hired more about 75 new employees, in addition to 45 that transferred from a Stanton call center.

Filling the vacant positions was a cinch, Baker said.

“We held a job fair in December in Red Oak, and filled nearly all the spots,” he said. “We had a really strong response, with a lot of strong applicants. We were really pleased with the overall applicant pool.”

With 120 total employees, Baker said there is room for expansion as the portion of the facility they are leasing has 150 seats.

“There are some opportunities for growth in the future,” he said. “But right now, we are where we think we need to be in terms of employees.”

In addition to having a qualified applicant pool, DIRECTV was also able to capitalize on a lot of CDS’ equipment, including cubicles and office furniture.

“We had to purchase some things, but we try to reuse anything we could,” Baker said.

Baker added the help DIRECTV received from the Red Oak Chamber and Industry Association, Iowa Workforce, and community members has been invaluable.

“The overall response from the community has been exceptionally warm,” he said. “We felt very welcome, and the response we received has only reinforced our decision to expand to Red Oak.”