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ACT to complete customer service reorganization with 80 layoffs

ACT has notified the state that it will reduce its workforce by 80 full-time employees in Iowa City effective Nov. 8, as a project to outsource its customer service functions to a private Colorado firm reaches its conclusion.

In May, ACT announced it would be outsourcing functions performed in its Customer Care Department to STARTEK, a national firm, because it specializes in customer service, and can provide enhanced capabilities such as 24-hour telephone response, more diverse language capabilities and higher peak-demand call response capacity. 

A total of 115 full-time ACT positions and 40 temporary positions will be eliminated, according to ACT's May announcement.

ACT spokesman Ed Colby said ACT began the customer care transition to STARTEK Aug. 1, and that it is taking place gradually through November.

"We had to make sure this new company is up to speed on handling our customer care callers," Mr. Colby said.

This is the previous information about this transition:

 

ACT to eliminate 155 positions as it outsources customer care

Iowa City-based ACT Inc. announced Tuesday it will outsource 115 full-time and 40 temporary jobs in its Customer Care department to STARTEK, a Colorado company  that provides comprehensive contact center and customer engagement solutions. 

 

"With STARTEK's best-in-class technology, its large pool of agents who can provide 24-hour service and respond to peak demands, and its ability to meet the diverse language needs of ACT's customers domestically and abroad, it will be able to provide a level of service that is no longer possible for a non-specialized company," the educational nonprofit said in a statement.

 

ACT's Customer Care department currently provides phone, email and chat support to the organization's customers. 

 

The company said the transition to STARTEK would begin on Aug. 1, with the changeover expected to be completed in November. The organization will offer transition help in the coming months, it said, including job-seeking support and severance packages for employees who do not find other positions within ACT. 

 

The nonprofit has been actively transforming itself into what it calls a "learning, measurement and navigation organization" in recent years, a shift that has come with some growing pains. The organization laid off 80 employees shortly after CEO Marten Roorda's arrival at the helm in 2016, citing a shift in the organization's strategic vision, and another 100 in 2018 in an "organizational realignment." 

 

The organization, which reported revenue of more than $353 million and nearly $445 million in net assets in 2017, has spent tens of millions over the past few years investing in edtech, data analytics and K-12 products to broaden the scope and range of its mission.