By Matt Goodman
Killeen Daily Herald

A little more than a year and a half ago, Lewketta Jack's husband discovered that he was being redeployed to Fort Hood from Korea.

Lewketta served in the military for six years and was working at a Convergys call center in Olathe, Kan. – she relocated there to be with her family when her husband deployed to Korea – when she got the news that she, her daughter and her husband would soon be moving to Texas.

She previously had family that could help watch her child while she worked, but moving to Central Texas forced her to start anew. Once her husband deployed to Iraq from Fort Hood, she no longer had the help from family members to watch her child; she'd have to find a day care while managing her job. "Working a shift from 11 to 8 was fine when we were there," she said, "But with him being away, it's just me and my daughter."

Convergys, a company that handles customer phone calls under a contract for a financial agent, operates more than 50 call centers nationwide. Lewketta worked at one in Olathe and said she easily transitioned to the location in Killeen.

"I've been able to maintain my lifestyle working here," she said.

For those enlisted or those who have spouses who are enlisted, job flexibility is often a deal-breaker when considering employment. Convergys understands this, and more than half its current staff is made up of military spouses, said Troy Haslam, director of operations at Convergys in Killeen.

"It might take the military spouse a week to make day care needs for their children," he said. "We understand that it's part of the environment and I am absolutely more than willing to take that responsibility."

Located in a 50,000-square-foot space in the Killeen Business Park, Convergys certainly has room to grow.

Because of the recession's effect on financial agents that contract the call center, employment is at its low point of about 150 employees. Its high point is about 650. Though, Haslam said the coming weeks could render another 40 new hires.

"We are actively seeking to bring other clients into the site, so depending on what happens, there's always the opportunity to sign a new deal and bring a new client in and we could have to hire 100 people tomorrow," Haslam said. "It's all very dependent on the economy."

But with the amount of troops funneling in and out of Central Texas, it's often not enough for a business to wait to accommodate the needs of a soldier or a soldier's spouse. Businesses must broadcast their willingness to bend a little just to get these folks in the door.

Marie DeCindio is an employment specialist with Army Community Services. She works one-on-one with job hopefuls to find a match for their lifestyle in an industry where the potential employee has an interest in.

"We want to make sure that they're going to like what they're doing," she said.

DeCindio is familiar with Convergys because of the call center's participation in ACS job fairs. These are aimed at those with a military spouse or who are in the military and need workplace flexibility.

"We work with them to make sure they're working the best choice job, so if they need child care, we tell them what's available," she said. "We work with the client to make sure it's a good match. It's a win-win situation for the employer and the employee."

And once the employee lands at Convergys, they find a host of creative ways to foster flexibility. Employees who exhibit good work habits or go above and beyond the call of duty will be able to make their own schedules. And Haslam works hard to let his employees know it's not the end of the world if they need to take a break to pick up a child from day care, for instance.

"It's very clear that they will receive a scheduling preference based on their performance," he said. "We basically use motivation to have schedule flexibility."

Team leaders oversee groups of 14 to 15 employees and help them perform better and provide motivation.

"I think the flexibility is definitely a drawing point," team leader Brandy Johnson said. "We see an increase in military spouses because of competitive pay, benefits and the fun atmosphere. We'll be as flexible as we possibly can with them."

For more information about possible job openings at Convergys, go to www.convergys.com.

Contact Matt Goodman at mgoodman@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7550.

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