The new contact centres will be larger than traditional call centres and house a wider range of services in one location, according to Westpac's general manager for customer service, Peter Hanlon.
"We are currently in final negotiations to occupy a new facility in Brisbane with services being relocated from the existing site in late 2003," Hanlon said in a statement. "Two hundred and fifty additional jobs would be created in the new and larger Contact Centre as a result."
Westpac is in final negotiations for two more sites, one in Launceston that will create an additional 300 jobs over the next three years and one in Perth, which will create another 300 jobs over the next 12 months, according to Hanlon.
"Call Centre functions would be gradually migrated to the new contact centres over the next three years," said Hanlon. "Affected employees at the centres having functions migrated to new centres would be assisted with re-skilling and opportunities, where possible, to transfer to other positions within Westpac. Staffing levels in impacted centres would also be managed down through natural staff turnover."
While it's good that the Australian call centres are growing one must ask why.
Is it a response to long customer wait times on hold?
Or is it to provide extra staff to make outgoing, cold calls that spruik for business?
And perhaps putting some of the 300 call centre staff back into branches would not be a bad idea either.