Top 25 Largest Call Center & Regional Operation Centers in the U.S.

The evolution of the call center industry has been interesting to watch. I got into the industry about 20 years ago when the sector was just starting to take off. My first couple of call center projects were for a large computer hardware company and a debt consolidation firm, which were launching new call centers.

I quickly realized they were asking for much more than just real estate.  These call center operations wanted detailed information on labor conditions and existing call center competition. Back then, they wanted to cluster with other call centers in big cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, and Tampa and sought large call-center footprints to take advantage of economies of scale due to the cost of technology and infrastructure. 

As call center technology advanced and the industry expanded, companies shifted their location strategies to more geographically dispersed locations to take advantage of smaller labor markets with lower call center saturation and labor costs.

One trend that is now re-emerging is the shift back to larger call centers as companies expand rapidly and consolidate into regional operation centers in big cities. These are typical captive, in-house operations with thousands of employees performing activities such as customer service claim processing, help desk, technical support, shared services, and various other back-office functions.

To understand what site selection factors to consider for these call centers, Site Selection Group has identified the top 25 largest call center and regional operation centers in the United States. 

Companies have multiple call center location strategies to consider

Today, we are seeing several trends occurring simultaneously. Fortune 500 companies appear to favor bigger sites in state-of-the-art facilities with a live-work-play environment as they battle for talent. These operations are once again returning to labor markets popular in the ’90s such as Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, and Tampa. They are finding the best talent in these markets, especially with the more skill-diversified operations centers. The push for quality over cost is one driver of this change resulting in a shift toward onshore hires combined with consolidation into larger call centers.

Similarly, business process outsourcers are now trending toward larger metro areas and away from more rural labor markets. They want labor markets with greater scalability, longevity, and easier accessibility for their clients.  Their sweet spot is metros with between 250,000 and 1 million population, up from a past focus on metros with a population of 250,000 or less. 

As companies continue to consolidate their call center and back office operations into larger facilities, there are many factors that must be evaluated to determine the optimal size and location. Site Selection Group has identified 20 of the largest call center and back office operations in the United States to provide examples of where other companies have planted their flag as well as some useful tips on what factors to evaluate when trying to set up a large call center operation. 

25 of the largest call centers and regional operation centers

After reviewing Site Selection Group’s proprietary database of existing call center and back office operations across the United States, the following call centers and regional operation centers were identified as some of the largest in the United States. Many of these facilities have multiple functions under one roof ranging from customer services, claims processing, sales, technical support, and shared services. 

Conclusions

Determining where to locate these large call centers and operation centers creates short- and long-term challenges as companies seek to consolidate or expand into a larger centralized facility.  The strategies outlined above provide some great advice on the key factors to consider before making your next call center site selection decision.