New ARM-CRM Call Center to Provide 300 Jobs to Veterans and Others

Two weeks ago, the ribbon was cut outside of Prosperity America Inc.’s new call center near the military hub of Columbus, Ga. The business is billing itself as an alternative to the overseas outsourcing of debt collection and tele-services jobs.

The call center expects to hire 300 people over the next three years. Chief Executive Officer Fred Landrum said that he hopes to add 25 employees each quarter. By 2012 the center expects to bring in $15 million revenue.

Prosperity’s call center will not only focus on debt collection business, but also on a wide array of tele-services to insure that it can successfully provide jobs in the country. The company plans to offer its clients call center support, customer payment reminders, customer acquisitions and retention.

“My background is in debt collections, one of my partners formerly ran outsourcing for debt collection at GE, our roots are very strong in that industry, but we’re not going to limit ourselves to debt collection," Landrum told insideARM.

Landrum elected to locate the call center in Midland, Ga. – close to the massive military base Fort Benning – because he believes America should give back to its soldiers.

“We want to be a source of jobs for Americans and the military veteran community,” he said.

Alhough the call center will be tackling plenty of work outside of the accounts receivable management industry, Prosperity hopes to provide the debt collection industry with an onshore alternative that will provide work for Americans, and especially military veterans.

“Many credit grantors offshore, or send first party collections to call centers in India and the Philippines. We’ll have an alternative to that. We’ll be doing debt collection, but we’ll also represent debt collectors directly as an alternative to outsourcing to an overseas operation,” Landrum said.  

Placing the call center near Fort Benning was also a strategic operational tactic for Landrum. He believes that the mission-minded, disciplined and very skilled workforce in Columbus’s pro-military town will make for a successful call center.

“I’m a veteran, and as a veteran I’ve always been of the opinion we need to give something back," he noted. “President Obama even mentioned that the veteran population, as a group, has a higher homeless rate than any other segment of the population and it’s just not something we as Americans should allow to happen. We owe something of a debt to the folks who have put it all on the line — their lives for our freedom. That’s why I feel there is a special need to recognize these folks. The call center environment enables us, especially with our technology, to employ people that may not even be in Columbus but may be somewhere else. As long as they have access to the Internet and a telephone line, we can provide jobs for them.”

The call center is expected to begin operations on June 1.