Teamwork Triumphs

When every state, county and city in the United States is competing to attract jobs and new companies to their areas, it takes a lot of teamwork to score a win.

That's why it took numerous organizations in Lorain County to attract Englewood, Colorado-based TeleTech to build a customer service and back-office support call center in Amherst, which will bring 500 jobs to the area. The area's collaboration impressed the company.

"There is a high level of community excitement and engagement in Lorain County, which was an important selling point," says KC Higgins, executive director of public affairs for the $1.2 billion company, adding that the public sector and business partnerships, particularly at Lorain County Community College and the county office, along with the county's highly skilled and available work force, also made the area attractive.

Team Lorain County, a branch of economic-development organization Team NEO; Lorain County Community College; the Lorain County Board of Commissioners; the Lorain County Growth Partnership; and the Ohio Department of Development all played a role in luring TeleTech.

"In over 25 years in the economic-development field, I can say that Lorain County gets it," says Team Lorain County President Martin Irvine. "[Our] model is a system every community should set up."

The call-center employees will service a Fortune 50 health-care client and will be offered an hourly wage, bonuses, medical benefits and tuition reimbursement. As of early September, TeleTech was on track to begin training its first round of workers at Lorain County Community College's Entrepreneurship Innovation Center this month.