Partner Article

Turnover spike sparks southern expansion for Newcastle’s Echo-U

Newcastle contact centre Echo-U has revealed plans to expand into the south of England, following a successful 12-months which saw turnover increase by 50 percent.

Mandy Holford, 49, has been appointed by the business as director of customer service and will be responsible for spearheading the move later this summer which will create 150 new jobs in Bournemouth, taking the firm’s total headcount to 500.

Taking on her new role, Mandy brings with her over 25 years’ experience in customer service and contact centre management. Having worked for the likes of RAC, TRM, BSM, Co-operative Energy and DPD, Mandy has overseen the successful launch of three start-up contact centres.

Mandy said: “As a former client of Echo-U at DPD, I was extremely familiar with its outstanding reputation for customer service, so when the opportunity arose for me to join the company and head up the launch of the new Echo-U South office it was one that was simply too good to miss.

“Echo-U is very much a customer-orientated business with each director remaining heavily involved throughout the life of every campaign and always working to make a difference, something which I am keen to replicate in the south.

“Having previously taken three contact centres from inception through to fully-functioning thriving divisions, I am looking forward to establishing Echo-U’s presence in London and the South of England as we continue to deliver on Newcastle’s success, develop the new team and expand our client portfolio to support businesses in Dorset and the surrounding areas.”

Established in 2001 by David Blakey and Diana Bourke, Echo-U provides customer contact solutions across inbound and outbound call centres, social media and webchat channels.

David Blakey, Echo-U’s director, added: “The Echo-U team is our best asset and to be able to welcome Mandy as part of this is fantastic. Mandy’s enviable experience in customer service and contact centre management, coupled with her knowledge as a former client made her the perfect candidate to direct our expansion outside of our native North East.

“As a business, we are extremely proud of our North East roots and the region will always remain our heartland. Echo-U’s location strategy is very important and we attribute much of our success to being located in the heart of a bustling city like Newcastle as it allows us to attract an outstanding and diverse mix of recruits which is needed for the breadth of campaigns that we run.

“We have outlined ambitious plans for the coming 12-months which will see us build on the success of our Newcastle head office as we continue to significantly increase our headcount – and Mandy’s appointment marks our first steps as we gear up for this exciting period of growth.”

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