Arbroath firm Journeycall, which cut 70 staff in the pandemic, is “fighting back” and recruiting again after several major contract wins.
Journeycall is the largest dedicated transport contact centre in the UK.
Lockdown, restrictions and the rise in home working led to lower demand for public transport last year.
This had a direct impact on demand for Journeycall’s customer service support and smartcard services. The firm made 70 redundancies last year.
Journeycall’s ‘incredibly difficult’ year
Theresa Slevin, group chief executive of Journeycall’s owner, the ESP Group, said it was a year full of “tough decisions”.
She said: “We have survived an incredibly difficult year, which involved making some very tough decisions, such as placing staff on furlough and sadly letting some staff go.
“We have an enviable reputation for our customer relationship management services, focused primarily on the transport industry.
“But inevitably we were affected by lockdown.
“As fewer people were using public transport, we were unable to maintain the same levels of staffing.”
Journeycall’s revenues fell from £99.6 million in 2019 to £44.1m for the year ending July 31 2020 – a fall of more than £55m.
Jouneycall adds to Arbroath workforce
But after surviving 2020 in the toughest of conditions, the major local employer has returned to growth.
Restrictions easing has brought a run of new contract wins for big name clients.
These include the Civil Aviation Authority, NHS Scotland and a renewed contract with Transport for London.
Journeycall said it is “fighting back” to get its Arbroath workforce back to pre-Covid levels of in excess of 350 staff.
The company has already added 22 workers to the payroll this year.
Going forward, it is looking to recruit between six and 10 additional staff a month.
Home working widens talent pool
“We’re thrilled to see people finally able to move safely and more freely around the country,” Mr Slevin said.
“Work is growing once more.
“Clients are returning and we have also been successful in pursuing new business opportunities.
“Our Arbroath centre will be back providing a 24/7 service and we are now looking for more people.”
Significant investment in technology means there is home working opportunities as well as Arbroath positions within Journeycall.
The business works with major transport operators across the country.
These include Abellio, Stagecoach, Translink Northern Ireland, London Councils, Transport for Greater Manchester and Transport for Wales Rail.