AN agreement between global outsourcing company Teleperformance and Liberty Insurance is expected to safeguard more than 200 jobs in Enniskillen.
Teleperformance, which employs around 2,000 people across its two other sites in Bangor and Newry, will provide customer contact services for the insurance group, which took over Quinn Insurance in 2011.
Last month Liberty announced its intention to seek a third party to take over business operations of the centre as part of its all-Ireland rationalisation plans.
At that stage the company revealed that 270 jobs across Liberty in Ireland were to be cut, including 20 in Enniskillen, with the remainder considered safe if transferred to a third party.
Described as a worldwide leader in "outsourced multichannel customer experience management", Teleperformance will now manage and operate the customer contact facility in Enniskillen, providing customer contact services for Liberty customers across Ireland.
Welcoming the move, which is expected to be finalised next month, Finance minister Arlene Foster said the insurance company's decision to transfer contact centre operations to Teleperformance in Enniskillen was "good news" for the area.
"I welcome the announcement by Liberty Insurance to transfer their contact centre operations to Teleperformance in Enniskillen, which will secure over 200 jobs," she said.
"The company’s plans to grow the Enniskillen contact centre over the coming years is great news for the local area, bringing benefits to customers and the wider economy.
"Customer services are an important function for global companies like Liberty Mutual and the fact that they are retaining this service with Teleperformance in Northern Ireland is testament to the skills of our local workforce."
Alistair Niederer, chief executive of Teleperformance UK and South Africa, said: "We are delighted to be working with Liberty Insurance and we are particularly looking forward to working with the strong management team and staff at the contact centre in Enniskillen.
"We are proud or our outstanding employee track record in Northern Ireland and it will be a pleasure to welcome staff in Enniskillen to the Teleperformance family as we extend our operations locally."
Tom McIlduff, chief executive of Liberty Insurance added: "I am very pleased to confirm the selection of Teleperformance as our customer contact service provider in Ireland.
"Teleperformance’s focus on providing an excellent customer experience means that the company is a great fit with Liberty Insurance’s values. I am confident that this announcement will be to the benefit of our existing over 200 employees in Enniskillen, the wider Fermanagh community and our customers across Ireland."
Liberty Insurance provides car and home insurance along with commercial insurance to the business sector, while Teleperformance serves companies around the world with customer care, technical support, customer acquisition and debt collection programmes.
