Call center receives heavy interest in jobs

By Thomas V. Bona

BusinessRockford.com

ROCKFORD — Financial Management Systems has already gotten more than 500 job applications for its new Rockford call center, and it has done hardly any public outreach.

Schaumburg-based FMS — which does contract debt collection, customer service and other work for government and private groups — generated buzz this spring when it announced the Rockford site, saying employees can make as much as $40,000 a year.

“They are pretty high-quality jobs, especially for a call center,” said Sarah Petrovich, director of the Rockford Area Career Clearinghouse. “It’s one of the few companies in town that’s doing a large hiring.”

Although the company already has interviewed for management positions, hiring for most jobs will start Aug. 1. Employees will have some training in Schaumburg, with the Rockford call center opening around Sept. 1.

FMS expects to start with 25 to 30 employees here, expanding to between 50 and 100 in six months. The company hopes to hire 350 people within two years.

Salaries start at $20,000 to $30,000 a year, plus benefits, but employees who perform well can get thousands more in bonuses. The average pay at the facility, including management, is expected to be $40,000 a year.

Besides call center and management jobs, there are openings in information technology, customer service and administration.

While the company prefers people with call center and third-party collections experience, they will consider those new to the field “depending on how the interview goes and what skills and qualities they demonstrate,” said Paul Dodson, director of branch operations in Rockford.

“A lot of us have started with no experience, including myself, and were trained,” he said. “Sometimes they turn out to be your better-quality professional collectors.”

FMS has worked with Rasmussen College, The Workforce Connection and the Rockford Area Career Clearinghouse on getting candidates but hasn’t yet done any advertising or public events.

“We’re getting tremendous interest. One person comes to interview, and all of a sudden eight more people come,” CEO Balaji Rajan said. “It’s a wonderful thing. The market is good for hiring good people.”

The fast-growing company does more than make and receive phone calls. It also has patented technology to prevent fraudulent payments from the government to identity thieves and to track down people who default on their loans.

But Rajan wants to be known for more than debt collection. The company is expanding into other forms of customer service, including counseling college graduates on how to avoid defaulting on their loans and helping government agencies launch new programs.

The call center will be at Prairie Area Library System’s building on Morsay Drive near Alpine Road and East State Street.

Contact staff writer Thomas V. Bona at 815-987-1343 or tbona@rrstar.com.

 

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