Affiliated Computer Services Inc., a Xerox Corporation affiliate, plans to hire 660 employees at its Federal Way call center in the coming months.
Affiliated Computer Services (ACS) provides business process outsourcing and IT solutions to clients worldwide. The company is hiring employees in Federal Way as well as another 600 at a Lacey location. The added staff is needed to provide services to a leading wireless telephone provider, Xerox spokesman Bill McKee said.
Most of the staff will field customer service calls for clients. They will primarily answer inbound phone calls, McKee said. ACS is also seeking individuals to fill management, training and technical service positions.
Preferred applicants will be people friendly. They will not be required to specifically have call center experience.
“We are looking for people that have a great way with people; we would prefer customer service experience,” McKee said.
The bulk of the jobs will start at a pay rate just above Washington’s minimum wage of $8.55 per hour. Employees can expect to see wages around $9 per hour during the initial four- to six-week training period, McKee said. Pay will then increase to about $10 per hour, he said. Wages are performance-based following that.
Hiring has begun and will continue over the next few months. The Federal Way ACS location will be accepting applications and undertaking the hiring process, McKee said.
The jobs are much needed and could really help locally unemployed residents, said Dini Duclos, Federal Way City Council member and CEO of Multi-Service Center. People are feeling pressure to provide for their families, she said. If some of the unemployed are able to find work, it will free up resources, such as those offered at the Federal Way Food Bank, to others in need, she said.
“Right now anything that gets people back to work will be beneficial for the City of Federal Way and the (King) County cities,” Duclos said.
Having more people employed in Federal Way could also directly benefit the city. ACS employees will undoubtedly be purchasing goods, such as food and other commodities, in Federal Way before they head home for the day, Duclos said.
“All in all, it’s a win-win situation,” she said.
ACS was founded in 1988. It has finance and accounting, human resources and data centers in Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America and South America, according to its website at www.acs-inc.com.
The company employs more than 34,000 customer service agents who staff 150 call centers worldwide. These employees engage in more than 1 million customer interactions per day, according to information provided by McKee.
Xerox acquired ACS in February for $6.4 million. The Federal Way call center was opened in March 2009. The company hired about 250 individuals to staff the facility.
Statewide, ACS employs roughly 2,500 individuals, not including the 1,260 employees it plans to hire in the South Sound in the upcoming months, McKee said.
For potential applicants
ACS is located at 3300 S. 344th Way Suite 210 in Federal Way. Applicants are advised to stop by the location between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. for an application or call (253) 835-5555 for more information. To learn more about ACS Incorporated, visit www.acs-inc.com.
