UMPI, BalanceBPO and TxVia team up to offer course
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — Officials from the University of Maine at Presque Isle, BalanceBPO and TxVia met Oct. 28 to enter into an agreement with international possibilities, launching the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Certification Course.
“UMPI has entered into a memo of understanding with BPO and TxVia, for a win-win situation for the campus and the businesses,” said UMPI President Don Zillman, who joined BPO Owner Tim Lavin and Matt Nyren, senior vice president of managed services for TxVia, a New York-based digital payments company.
Staff photo/Kathy McCarty
SEALED WITH A HANDSHAKE — The University of Maine at Presque Isle has entered into an agreement with BalanceBPO and TxVia to offer the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Certification Course. Officials met at the BPO/TxVia facility on Green Hill Drive recently to sign the official paperwork, sealing the deal with a handshake. Pictured from left are: Matthew Nyren, senior vice president of managed services for TxVia, a New York-based digital payments company; Tim Lavin, owner, BalanceBPO, a call resolution center; UMPI President Don Zillman; and State Rep. Mike Willette, who also serves on the board of Directors for BalanceBPO.
“TxVia is headquartered in NYC, but we do business in Barcelona, the Philippines and El Salvador,” said Nyren, “or what we refer to as ‘on shore, off shore and near shore.’ We’ve partnered with BPO and UMPI on this certification process to help attract, retain and develop our workforce.”
Currently TxVia employs between 12-15 at the Presque Isle facility located on Green Hill Drive, in the same building with BPO.
“We’d like to double our staff,” said Nyren, noting this new program will help with the training process.
Nyren said TxVia offers services used by most everyone, since most businesses now use swipe technology. The company is currently in talks with a “world leader in technology services” that Nyren said is “a well-known technology organization.” Although he could not say specifically which business that might be, Nyren indicated the future looks promising for his company and that officials are “looking for the best and the brightest, with an affinity and acumen in technical services.”
“We deal with inbound customer service work — fraud detection and mitigation, as well as correspondence work.”
From ID verification to digital payments, TxVia handles a multitude of card-based services.
“We provide the technology and support for these industries,” Nyren said. “We picked Presque Isle as our sole contact for domestic services. We were highly impressed with the strong educational system, local support and the area’s well-established reputation for a strong work ethic. It gives us confidence in providing programs of this magnitude.”
Lavin credited Zillman with envisioning a plan that can serve students not only at UMPI but via the Internet and thus around the world.
“This is an opportunity to develop a program for the general public, not just UMPI students, in a career with BPO/TxVia. This is 75 hours of classroom time — soup to nuts — to create meaningful call service skills, including human resource management,” and other related call center services, “as well as client-specific skills,” that will benefit not only TxVia and BPO, but a student’s future work options, said Lavin. “We’ll work with individuals to meet their needs and invite clients to help develop and even instruct, beginning in January 2012.”
Lavin noted TxVia personnel in the Philippines and Barcelona will be able to attend as well. He said the course will also benefit those looking for work.
“When it comes to the hiring process, having taken the course will show initiative,” said Lavin.
“TxVia is presently putting together a hiring campaign, with a global roll-out planned for Dec. 1,” said Nyren.
Zillman said BPO/TxVia aren’t your typical call centers.
“They work with existing clients who want us to improve service to their customers. This is a marvelous opportunity to merge UMPI with an emerging industry,” said Zillman.
“BPO is truly trying to change the way business is done. We’re changing the way calls are serviced and managed,” said Lavin.
Lavin said this course will “create a pipeline of valuable employees who are knowledgeable.”
“After 20 years in the industry, I have a comprehensive understanding of the industry. If this is truly a country of excellence, Presque Isle is a hamlet of experience and understanding,” Lavin said.
State Rep. Mike Willette, who’s a member of the board of directors for BPO, said this was “quite a momentous occasion.”
“In the Star City, we shine. We may be geographically isolated but with a program like this, it opens us up to the world,” said Willette. “This is where we want to see education going in the state. We’re honing in on what we planned for the future. I’m proud to be a part of this organization.”
Gov. Paul LePage praised the program, saying, “This BPO certification course is a shining example of the University of Maine System working closely with private industry to provide the workforce with the tools they need to enhance their careers in Maine. The idea that contact center organizations all over the world could be accessing training materials created in Aroostook County is thrilling, and I applaud the efforts of President Zillman, Tim Lavin, Matthew Nyren, and their respective organizations, for these exciting endeavors.
BalanceBPO’s vision is to impact the entire multi-million dollar contact center industry by changing the way first contact resolution (FCR) is measured and managed. BalanceBPO’s Balanced Service Process, which is currently in U.S. patent-pending status, ensures that contact center agents have the tools to resolve customer concerns on the firsts contact, and when that is not possible, root cause trends are almost immediately identified and corrected.
The company’s Center of Excellence in Presque Isle serves as a benchmarking facility that will help to guide larger implementations within their client’s own contact center enterprises. Therefore, the career path at BalanceBPO will extend beyond wide-scale phone agent work, and, as they grow, the company will need software developers, consultants, business development professionals and administrators — all based in Presque Isle.
Similarly, TxVia offers its clients the most advanced electronic payment processing technology available, and they too need similarly highly-skilled employees in Presque Isle. TxVia already employs highly-skilled individuals in Presque Isle working in diverse areas including identity verification and fraud detection. Additional “high-touch” customer service management work is commencing before the end of the year.
