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By GREG JUNEK
Business Editor

A home-based customer care center will establish itself in Tyler, perhaps creating as many as 480 jobs in four years, economic development officials said Thursday.

Sterling, Va.-based National Elec-tronic Warranty (NEW) Customer Service Companies Inc. will expand its contact center operations to the Tyler area, with home-based jobs delivering technical troubleshooting for DirecTV.

The company bills itself as “the leading provider of extended service plans, buyer protection services and product support, providing coverage to more than 150 million consumers.”

NEW representatives, speaking at a news conference on the Tyler Junior College West Campus, said the jobs would be full-time and part-time.

Tom Mullins, president and chief executive officer for the Tyler Economic Development Council, said NEW hopes to add 120 jobs a year to the Tyler area. The company researched and evaluated more than 200 cities, he said. It narrowed the list to 10 sites, which its representatives visited, and chose Tyler.

“They said the technology infrastructure and the strong work force offered in this area helped make the decision the best decision for their company,” Mullins said. “This project will enhance Tyler’s growing reputation as a center for telecommunications and other technology related jobs.”

Mullins said NEW’s entry into Tyler was the result of a collaborative effort of entities including the TEDC, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the East Texas Workforce Center and Tyler Junior College.

He estimated the TEDC probably spent several thousand dollars in economic development money recruiting the company to Tyler.

Kendra Scott, NEW recruiting project manager, said the jobs will entail trouble-shooting problems for DirecTV customers who are experiencing problems and who have purchased protection plans.

“They’re not selling the product; they’re providing customer service on the product that has already been purchased,” Ms. Scott said.

Instructors employed by NEW will provide training to the new employees beginning June 9 at the TJC West Campus. A person’s employment will begin with training, company representatives said.

Dr. Aubrey Sharpe, dean of continuing studies and TJC West Campus manager, said NEW’s upfront costs are $3,900 for communication lines and other technical infrastructure that will enable it to conduct the classes. It will pay a monthly charge of about $3,500 for communication service on those lines and a flat rate of about $3,800 per course.

It will conduct about eight courses per year, with 15-20 students per course.

“This is a great example of what community colleges are supposed to do, and how, by working together, we all benefit and we all win,” TJC President Dr. Mike Metke said.

Mullins said the TEDC did not perform an economic impact study, but the impact should be several million dollars a year. This is based on entry-level payroll when fully staffed, training materials, paying trainers and the increased buying power of NEW employees.

For a detailed economic impact study, the TEDC hires a third-party company.

Rebecca Alston, NEW senior project manager of control center expansion, said employees will train for six weeks, then go to work in their homes immediately after it is concluded.

Training is full-time, Ms. Alston said. Once people graduate from training, they progress through an interview and scheduling process when they can decide if they will work part time or full time.

“They could work anywhere from 20 hours to 40 hours, depending on the schedule they choose at the time of hire,” she said

Employees will start at $10 per hour during training and in their initial entry-level position. The job does not include any benefits, such as company-paid health insurance, although a buy-in plan is available for employees.

“As far as benefits, the work at home is the benefit right there,” Ms. Alston said. “They’re saving on gas. And some of them are stay-home moms and they’re home to be with the kids as well.”

Employees can receive a monthly bonus for having perfect attendance and good quality scores and meeting all the company’s standards.

Donna Neale, vice president of contact center operations, said the company offers six paid holidays a year and discounted DirecTV accounts. They are eligible for promotions to other positions in a work-at-home environment or transfer to one of the company’s brick-and-mortar facilities.

Ms. Alston said no special equipment is installed in an employee’s home for the person to be able to work. Employees need a basic computer system with high-speed Internet access. They also need a telephone line.

Ms. Scott said entry-level employees can progress to a couple of higher positions — customer care representative 1 and customer care representative 2 — and receive increased pay in those positions.

The supervisory team for the work-at-home employees is “virtual.” Supervisors could be living anywhere in the United States, Ms. Scott said. Employee evaluations are conducted electronically, based on their actions while on the job.

Supervisors will be able to monitor employees’ performance, including their attendance, percent of closure on call resolution and how quickly calls can be resolved.

If an employee has a question while on a call, he can go to a chat room and a fellow employee or supervisor can offer assistance.

NEW was founded in 1983. Its first work-at-home training site was piloted in June 2005, and the full work-at-home program launched a year later. It employs more than 2,700 customer care representatives, of which more than 650 of them are in the work-at-home program.

The company was recognized as a J.D. Power and Associates Certified Call Center for the past four years.

NEW will have job fairs 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at Workforce Solutions of East Texas in Tyler, and 4 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Norman Activity Center in Jacksonville.