Garlands Call Centres has opened the doors on the first phase of its new Contact Centre Village in the Tees Valley region.

120 new starters have been recruited for the new Garlands' development at Preston Farm in Stockton-on-Tees - and the new Customer Service Advisors and Team Leaders have already started training, preparing for when the centre goes live for its first client, a major mobile phone company, in October.

'Villa Inspirational' the name of the first Garlands' building at Preston Farm, was designed and constructed to high standards, and delivers a modern, spacious and intimate workspace that provides plenty of natural light. Employees at Villa Inspirational will enjoy Garlands' unique facilities such as Radio Ga Ga, the company's in house radio station, and Café del Mar, Garlands' chill-out café areas.

A Cisco Systems converged voice and data network is installed at the new building and serves as the foundation for a Cisco IP Contact Centre (IPCC) solution. Cisco IPCC provides a fully integrated customer contact facility that not only cost-effectively supports Garlands’ inbound and outbound call handling requirements but is also easily upgradeable to support future customer contacts via media such as email, SMS and video conferencing. The Cisco solution is also extremely flexible, enabling Garlands’ people to log on at workstation within the new Centre. Other features include its scaleability, advanced disaster recovery options and support for home working.

When completed, the Garlands' Contact Centre Village will be made up of five new buildings, each with the capacity to house around 200 people. A centrally located Cappuccino bar will serve employees at Preston Farm - and each building will be personalised to the needs and corporate branding of Garlands' clients. Construction work is now under way on the second contact centre building which will open within a few months.

"The importance of having an effective workplace environment can't be underestimated" explains Chey Garland, Chief Executive, Garlands Call Centres. "Sterile, strip-lit call centre 'factories' simply don't work. What we're looking to create at Preston Farm is a Village atmosphere that's intimate and that encourages team working. And I'm confident that the benefits will be realised not only in terms of employee welfare but also in terms of the results that we produce for our clients"