Customer service advisors Eric Keen and Teresa Brown, strike a chord for the rock ‘n’ roll generation at the Inkfish call centre in Nottingham.

Older workers swing into a new career at Nottingham call centre

Are you part of the rock ‘n’ roll generation? Did you grow up listening to Elvis, Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and the Beatles? Are you a young-at-heart, flexible, fifty or sixty-something ready to take up a new job challenge?

If so, you could be just the kind of person a Nottingham call centre is looking for.

Today’s older people tend to be much younger at heart than their parents were at the same age. They are keen to take up new challenges and lack of previous experience in a call centre need not be a barrier.

Currently, ten per cent of the 750-strong workforce at Inkfish in Talbot Street, Nottingham, is in the older age group. But the call centre, part of the Domestic & General Group, wants to double or even triple this number by the end of this year.

The message they are sending out loud and clear is that age is no barrier to a job at the call centre. Whether you’re approaching, or even past retirement age, that isn’t a problem.

Inkfish is part of the Domestic & General Group, one of the UK’s leading providers of breakdown cover and services for consumer electronic equipment. And as the company’s Human Resources Advisor Alison Granger, points out: “Older people normally have a much better mechanism for coping with people’s problems. It’s the ability to deal with people that counts and in our experience, more mature employees do that very well.”

Because of their life experiences, older employees can empathise with people who ring the call centre because, for example, their washing machine has broken down.

Inkfish expect the majority of older people they recruit this year will want to work part-time. They could be semi-retired or even fully retired, but keen to experience the stimulation of getting back into the workplace again.

“The image of older employees is changing. They are younger in attitude than their predecessors were and are ready to swing into a new career in their 50s or even 60s,” says Alison Granger.

That fact that they have never worked in a call centre before doesn’t put them at a disadvantage compared with younger people, as they are given training on call handling and how to deal with customers.”

More mature workers are also noted for their reliability. One of the oldest employees at Inkfish is 67 – and has not had a day off sick since he joined the company seven-and-a-half years ago!

Other mature employees at Inkfish include Eric Keen and Teresa Brown, who are both in their late 50s. Eric, from Mansfield, worked in local government for 40 years before taking voluntary redundancy. He trained in call centre work at a local college, then joined Inkfish two years ago as a customer service advisor. “I came for an interview and really liked what I saw. I have always been used to working for big organisations and Inkfish seemed very relaxed. There are endless opportunities here, too,” says Eric, a big fan of Status Quo and The Who.

Teresa, from Keyworth, rides to work on a motor-bike – a Kawasaki Eliminator - every day. “I’ve ridden pillion since I was three and I’m told that as a baby I used to travel in a sidecar,” she says.

In her teenage days, Teresa listened to Elvis and Bill Haley. Now she’s a fan of Shane McGowan and The Pogues.

Teresa joined Inkfish as a customer service advisor last July after 28 years as Purchase Manager for a linen hire company. “I was made redundant and heard about the jobs at the call centre at a Nottingham Evening Post jobs fair. I just got talking, it was as easy as that.”

Based in modern, purpose-designed offices in Talbot Street, Nottingham Inkfish offers staff of all ages flexible working patterns to suit their lifestyle.

Trailblazers in terms of employing older people, Inkfish have won two Age Positive Awards. The company recognise the wide range of skills that older people with experience of other jobs can bring to an organisation truly focused on providing customer solutions.

Inkfish are currently recruiting and anyone interested should call 0115 976 6941 for an application form.