Sykes Enterprises
Encyclopedia
Sykes Enterprises provides business process outsourcing
services, such as technical support
and customer service
. Sykes has over 51,000 employees at 80+ locations in 25 countries operating in 30 languages.
1977 - SYKES begins as a small engineering firm with three employees in Charlotte
, North Carolina
1979-1982 - The technical writing group begins in Charlotte marking the beginning of the Information Services branch
1992 - SYKES purchases Jones Technologies, Inc. in Sterling
, Colorado
and enters into customer support business
1993 - Company reorganizes, moves corporate office from Charlotte to Tampa
, Florida
1996 - SYKES goes public
– stock
begins trading on NASDAQ
First international presence with acquisition of Datasvar Support AB of Sweden
1997 - Several acquisitions including McQueen International Limited with multiple locations including operations in The Philippines
1999 - SYKES inducted into the Software Support Professional Association (SSPA) Hall of Fame
2003 - SYKES expands global footprint to El Salvador
2004 - Chuck Sykes appointed to President and CEO
2006 - SYKES acquires Argentina
-based Apex America
SYKES has more than 26,000 employees at year-end
2007 - SYKES expands to Perry County
, Kentucky
2008 - SYKES opens three centers in the U.S. – Kingstree
, South Carolina
; Greenwood
, South Carolina and Malvern
, Arkansas
- as well as new centers in Brazil
, Costa Rica
and Denmark
.
2009 - SYKES and ICT Group
have begun integration after the proposed merger of the two
2010 - SYKES acquires ICT Group
2010 - SYKES opens two new support centers in Norway
2011 - SYKES stocks plummet with the loss of major clients following the acquisition of ICT
s and services in the business process outsourcing
(BPO) arena. The company provides an array of customer contact management solution
s to Fortune 1000 companies around the world, primarily in the communications, financial services, healthcare, technology and transportation and leisure industries.
SYKES' services are categorized into three lines of business: Contact Center Services
, TeleHealth
, and Assistance Services.
Contact Center Services
TeleHealth
Assistance Services
Business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments...
services, such as technical support
Technical support
Technical support or tech support refers to a range of services by which enterprises provide assistance to users of technology products such as mobile phones, televisions, computers, software products or other electronic or mechanical goods...
and customer service
Customer service
Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
. Sykes has over 51,000 employees at 80+ locations in 25 countries operating in 30 languages.
History
The following are key milestones in Sykes' official history as a company.1977 - SYKES begins as a small engineering firm with three employees in Charlotte
CHARLOTTE
- CHARLOTTE :CHARLOTTE is an American blues-based hard rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California in 1986. Currently, they are signed to indie label, Eonian Records, under which they released their debut cd, Medusa Groove, in 2010. Notable Charlotte songs include 'Siren', 'Little Devils',...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
1979-1982 - The technical writing group begins in Charlotte marking the beginning of the Information Services branch
1992 - SYKES purchases Jones Technologies, Inc. in Sterling
Sterling, Colorado
The City of Sterling is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Logan County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 14,777 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Sterling is located at...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and enters into customer support business
1993 - Company reorganizes, moves corporate office from Charlotte to Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
1996 - SYKES goes public
Public company
This is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
– stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
begins trading on NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
First international presence with acquisition of Datasvar Support AB of Sweden
1997 - Several acquisitions including McQueen International Limited with multiple locations including operations in The Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
1999 - SYKES inducted into the Software Support Professional Association (SSPA) Hall of Fame
2003 - SYKES expands global footprint to El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
2004 - Chuck Sykes appointed to President and CEO
2006 - SYKES acquires Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
-based Apex America
SYKES has more than 26,000 employees at year-end
2007 - SYKES expands to Perry County
Perry County, Kentucky
Perry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 29,390. Its county seat is Hazard. The county is named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval hero in the War of 1812.- Geography :...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
2008 - SYKES opens three centers in the U.S. – Kingstree
Kingstree, South Carolina
Kingstree is a town in and the county seat of Williamsburg County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,328 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
; Greenwood
Greenwood, South Carolina
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Greenwood County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 22,071 at the 2000 census and had slightly increased to 22,710 according to a 2009 estimate.-Geography:...
, South Carolina and Malvern
Malvern, Arkansas
Malvern is the county seat of Hot Spring County, Arkansas. The city had a population of 10,318 at the time of the 2010 census and is also called the "Brick Capital of the World" because of the three Acme Brick plants in the area...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
- as well as new centers in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
.
2009 - SYKES and ICT Group
ICT Group
ICT Group, Inc. was a multinational call center and outsourcing company based in the Philadelphia suburb of Newtown.During the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, it began closing call centers in the United States and Canada, and reducing staff numbers in the United Kingdom, Ireland and...
have begun integration after the proposed merger of the two
2010 - SYKES acquires ICT Group
ICT Group
ICT Group, Inc. was a multinational call center and outsourcing company based in the Philadelphia suburb of Newtown.During the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, it began closing call centers in the United States and Canada, and reducing staff numbers in the United Kingdom, Ireland and...
2010 - SYKES opens two new support centers in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
2011 - SYKES stocks plummet with the loss of major clients following the acquisition of ICT
Locations
Sykes' headquarters is located in Tampa, Florida. As of 2010, the company has operations in the following countries:Services
SYKES provides customer contact management solutionSolution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s and services in the business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing
Business process outsourcing is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments...
(BPO) arena. The company provides an array of customer contact management solution
Solution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s to Fortune 1000 companies around the world, primarily in the communications, financial services, healthcare, technology and transportation and leisure industries.
SYKES' services are categorized into three lines of business: Contact Center Services
Call centre
A call centre or call center is a centralised office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. A call centre is operated by a company to administer incoming product support or information inquiries from consumers. Outgoing calls for telemarketing,...
, TeleHealth
Telehealth
Telehealth is the delivery of health-related services and information via telecommunications technologies. Telehealth could be as simple as two health professionals discussing a case over the telephone or as sophisticated as doing robotic surgery between facilities at different ends of the...
, and Assistance Services.
Contact Center Services
- FIA Card Services
- Credit Card ServicesCredit cardA credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
- Retail BankingRetail bankingRetail banking is banking in which banking institutions execute transactions directly with consumers, rather than corporations or other banks. Services offered include: savings and transactional accounts, mortgages, personal loans, debit cards, credit cards, and so forth.-Types of...
- Consumer ElectronicsConsumer electronicsConsumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
- High-TechHigh techHigh tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...
- PCsPersonal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and PeripheralPeripheralA peripheral is a device attached to a host computer, but not part of it, and is more or less dependent on the host. It expands the host's capabilities, but does not form part of the core computer architecture....
s - BroadbandBroadbandThe term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
- Managed ServicesManaged servicesManaged services is the practice of transferring day-to-day related management responsibility as a strategic method for improved effective and efficient operations inclusive of Production Support and lifecycle build/maintenance activities...
- WirelessWirelessWireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
TeleHealth
- Health InformationHealth informatics.Health informatics is a discipline at the intersection of information science, computer science, and health care...
- Symptom Management
- AcuteAcute (medicine)In medicine, an acute disease is a disease with either or both of:# a rapid onset, as in acute infection# a short course ....
and ChronicChronic (medicine)A chronic disease is a disease or other human health condition that is persistent or long-lasting in nature. The term chronic is usually applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months. Common chronic diseases include asthma, cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.In medicine, the...
Care - Wellness and PreventionPreventive medicinePreventive medicine or preventive care refers to measures taken to prevent diseases, rather than curing them or treating their symptoms...
Assistance Services
- Roadside AssistanceBreakdown coverBreakdown cover is a service that provides assistance to motorists whose vehicles have suffered a mechanical failure that is significant enough to leave them stranded at their present location....
- HomeHomeA home is a place of residence or refuge. When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either...
Assistance - Legal AssistanceLegal aidLegal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
- Identity TheftIdentity theftIdentity theft is a form of stealing another person's identity in which someone pretends to be someone else by assuming that person's identity, typically in order to access resources or obtain credit and other benefits in that person's name...
Assistance - BusinessBusinessA business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
Support
Awards and recognition
Sykes claims to have picked up a number of prestigious awards. These awards are:- Sykes in the Philippines (Sykes Asia, Inc.) was given recognition by the Philippine Government as the pioneer for Call Center Industry in the country.
- Excellence Award in Human Resources and Client Satisfaction
- Excellent Award for Human Resources - Costa Rican Chamber of Industries
- SPPA STAR Hall of Fame - Software Support Professionals Association
- SPPA STAR Award Sustained Performance (three times) - Software Support Professionals Association
- SPPA STAR Award High Call Volume - Software Support Professionals Association
- Technology Fast 500 (three times) - Deloitte & Touche
- Information Technology Partner Award (six times) - Monsanto
- Entrepreneur of the Year - Ernst & Young
- 2005 International Business of the Year - Evening News Business Excellence Awards
- 2005 China Best Outsourcing Call Center Service Provider - China Call Center & CRM Association
See also
- Business Process OutsourcingBusiness process outsourcingBusiness process outsourcing is a subset of outsourcing that involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions to a third-party service provider. Originally, this was associated with manufacturing firms, such as Coca Cola that outsourced large segments...
- Call center
- Technical supportTechnical supportTechnical support or tech support refers to a range of services by which enterprises provide assistance to users of technology products such as mobile phones, televisions, computers, software products or other electronic or mechanical goods...
- Customer serviceCustomer serviceCustomer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.According to Turban et al. , “Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer...
- TelemarketingTelemarketingTelemarketing is a method of direct marketing in which a salesperson solicits prospective customers to buy products or services, either over the phone or through a subsequent face to face or Web conferencing appointment scheduled during the call.Telemarketing can also include recorded sales pitches...