Orange To Recall Customer Care Functions from India to the UK

Orange's new CEO Tom Alexander has outlined plans for Orange in the UK, which include hiring 500 new customer care staff in the UK while also cutting 450 jobs in administration, management and support functions.

Kicking off the new strategy, he outlined initial plans for the company including introducing a new structure for the board and organisation; launching a new line of "totally connected" Orange products including laptops; creating new jobs in customer centres and Orange Shops; stopping the expansion of offshore customer service in India; reducing duplication in management roles; launching new high-street stores; accelerating the rollout of the high-speed data network; developing industry-leading new services; and launching new innovative customer propositions that transcend the way broadband and mobile services are currently marketed and sold.

Tom Alexander, CEO of Orange UK said: "Orange is an iconic brand, a great business, and weÃ're going to build on that success to become the best-loved telecommunications company in Britain. To reach that goal, we need to give our customers consistent quality - quality of network, products, service and experience. Delivering that quality will see the number of customers who join, stay and spend with us grow.

"The telecommunications market has evolved dramatically in recent times and it is my aim to make sure that Orange is at the forefront of serving todayÃ's 21st century customer - a customer who is web-savvy, product-savvy and, quite rightly, demands a premium service at the same time as best value for money.

"So weÃ're proposing to change the shape of the organisation and the way the business works to serve the 21st century customer. These changes are designed to stop duplication within our organisation, and to ensure we are agile, and able to deliver and react quickly to customersÃ' needs. And theyÃ'll also make staff more accountable while generating greater financial and operational efficiencies."

Orange is introducing a number of new ways for its customers to contact the company. As well as enabling its store staff to help customers, it is also launching new Instant Messaging and web self-serve systems, giving customers new levels of access and choice. Orange also announced that it was stopping its expansion of its offshore call centre partnerships in India, returning much of its customer service focus to the UK. Contract customer calls will be the first to be returned in order to be dealt with by UK customer service teams.

The company also plans to rollout 450 new GSM base stations across the UK along with unspecified further investment in the 3G network. The company is also accelerating its HSDPA rollout in order to provide faster speeds to more people and will offer speeds of up to 7.2mbps in the top 30 UK cities within 18 months.

The company is also accelerating its fixed broadband network to provide a better service to its 1.1 million broadband customers, with a target of 950 unbundled exchanges by the end of 2008. Currently, the company has around 850 unbundled exchanges.

Tom Alexander added: "The signs of a resurgent Orange have been borne out in our financial results over the past 12 months and it is my aim to build on this momentum. We will improve, evolve and grow this great business, this great brand. I believe Orange stands for premium service, great quality and fabulous value for money. That ambition will continue to drive the way we run our business and serve our customers."

Posted to the site on 4th June 2008