Published: April 30, 2007 10:14 pm         

StarTek increasing wages and employees

StarTek opened in Enid seven years ago as an inbound call center representing nearly 10 cell phone companies.

On Monday, the company an-nounced it would boost its starting wage and hire 50 more people in the coming months. The announcement shows the company’s commitment to its future in Enid, according to David Phipps, StarTek’s site manager in Enid.

“It’s a huge deal,” he said. “We’re very excited.”

StarTek’s starting wage is moving from $7 an hour to $8.25 an hour, Phipps said. Existing employees also will receive a 75 cent per hour raise.

“It accounts for everyone who works on the phones. We are a call center,” he said.

Everyone at the operation will make at least $8.25, while some who have met attendance and performance goals could make up to $9 per hour, he said. StarTek also offers seven weeks of training before an employee is released on the floor.

The company currently employs about 500 people in Enid, and Phipps said he would like to go to 550 by the end of the year. He said the new total shows StarTek’s renewed commitment to the city, and a celebration of seven “great years.”

The additional hires will bring StarTek’s total Enid payroll to $8 million. The company also has spent $700,000 to $800,000 in the last two years for capital improvements, such as new carpeting and new computers. Enid historically is one of the company’s best-performing call centers, Phipps said.

Enid won the company’s top site award in 2006 based on financial performance.

The Enid center is a totally inbound call center for cell phone customers, Phipps said. Employees do not call out to sell anything.

Promotion is done almost totally from within the call center, said Phipps, who started out working on the phones and rose to site manager. Most of the supervisors and operations managers started working on the phones. Fifty of the original employees when the call center opened in Enid still are employed there. They now have their own marked parking places as a reward for their longevity, Phipps said.

The company offers a new medical plan, plus a company match for the employee 401K with immediate vesting when the employee begins work, he said.

StarTek also is part of the community, participating in several community events, including Leonardo’s Discovery Ware-house, Toys for Tots, blood drives and Relay for Life.