The following articles highlight mentions of Thomas Direct in the industry and wider media.

C3Job.com.au
Employer of the Month
June 2004

We had the pleasure to speak to Jennie Murphy at Thomas Direct’s new call centre in Mt Gravatt, Brisbane.

C3Job: Hi Jennie, can you tell us more about Thomas Direct?

Jennie: Thomas Direct Pty Ltd is Australia's leading outbound telemarketing company. The company started in 1987 and today, we employ more than 220 people at our headquarters and make more than 4.5 million local, national and international calls a year. We are an ethical, family company and only deal with other ethical businesses, blue chip businesses or charitable organisations.

C3Job: What makes your Call Centre different?

Jennie: Thomas Direct specialises in outbound telemarketing, a separate discipline to inbound calls. So we're not diverted or distracted by other marketing services. Our motto is to "do only one thing and do it well", that's The Thomas Direct Difference! We really believe in our mission. We strive to provide ethical telemarketing services, to develop and maintain strong, professional, long-term relationships with our clients and our staff. When you work for Thomas Direct, telemarketing is an interesting, fun, flexible and rewarding career. That's why we have team members who have been with Thomas Direct for more than 10 years.

C3Job: What qualities do you look for in applicants?

Jennie: We are looking for people interested in working in a fun environment with regular hours and a flexible roster. All you need to join us is the right attitude and a good phone voice - we'll provide the rest. Age is no barrier; we have staff members from teens to 70s, who are able to fit their rosters around family or study commitments. What's more, you don't need telemarketing experience to join us. Very few of our people were trained telemarketers when they joined the team. Some weren't even sure telemarketing was right for them until they'd met us and taken part in our fun and informative training sessions.

C3Job: What are the benefits of working for Thomas Direct?

Jennie: At Thomas Direct, our relationship with our staff is based on trust, respect and enthusiasm for delivering the best results for our clients. We have a culture of excellence which comes from maintaining a balance between technology and the human element, providing ongoing meaningful work for staff and being ever vigilant for ways to enhance client and staff relations. That's why our people are confident, highly trained and genuinely enjoy the work they do!

C3Job: What's your recruitment process like?

Jennie: We have a first level of screening over the telephone. From there the applicants will be selected to attend a group briefing where we learn more about their personalities and what motivates them also this is where they will learn about us. Positive attitude and the willingness to achieve is what we look for in our future employees.

C3Job: Can you tell us more about your training program?

Jennie: We have an extensive product training program; in addition all staff receives ongoing telemarketing training to assist them as they develop at Thomas Direct.

C3Job: Could you describe the working environment at Thomas Direct?

Jennie: Thomas Direct Telemarketing headquarters is located at the Hughes Corporate Centre on the corner of Lae and Oxley Drives at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast. The success of this office has led to the expansion of our new Mt Gravatt office which is located in the AMP Building 2072 Logan Road, Upper Mt Gravatt. The business is spread across two floors of the building and includes telemarketing and training areas as well as administrative and staff facilities. We believe our working environment helps telemarketing staff to relax and do their work well. The workstations are comfortable and pleasant and staff members are welcome to put up family photos, etc and make the workstation their own. Some staff parking is available on site and the area is also served by public transport. Neighbouring commercial facilities include cafes and restaurants, shops and a petrol station. Major shopping centres are only minutes away by car. Also nearby are schools and childcare facilities.

C3Job: What do you think of C3Job?

Jennie: It's great to see a web site dedicated to the call centre business.

C3Job: Thank you and all the best with your new call centre!

Sunday Mail, Brisbane
14 December, 2003

"The Sunday Mail survey was conducted this week by Thomas Direct Telemarketing and covered 500 respondents in Queensland, including the southeast and north."

Certification Snapshot
The International Certifier
Produced by QAS (Quality Assurance Services)

Company Name: Thomas Direct Pty Ltd

Core business: Telemarketing, call volumes at 18 million outbound in the past nine years; one client requires 140,000 calls made each month; national and international capability which is currently expanding.

Employees: 160 plus Client base: blue chip, highly reputable businesses and charitable organisations.

QAS spoke to: Doug Thomas, General Manager

Why Business Management Certification? We felt it would be good for our business generally. We also wanted to set ourselves apart from others in an increasingly competitive market.

First steps: Completion of a detailed report outlining standards expected from every employee, including myself so we could define roles and responsibilities and move from there to produce a detailed, systematic approach to achieving our business aims.

Key areas for attention in your business: The accuracy of the information delivered by our staff to those they telephone is critical, as is ongoing training of staff in how to deliver it. Being able to track workflow is also very important as it impacts on your ability to take on new jobs - our stated company policy is not taking on a job at any price because we want to deliver quality.

How these areas were addressed by your management system: We looked at every stage of the information flow, from taking the brief from the client, to relaying it to staff, to its delivery over the phone. We've instituted means of tracking and checking that this vital area runs smoothly and are certainly enjoying the benefits. Assessment and tracking of workflow as part of our management system means we can now see at a glance our capabilities and resource commitments at any given time.

Hints for those establishing their own management system for certification: As we were setting up, we actually used our Nonconformance Reports (indications of where quality standards are not being met) as a way of monitoring customer satisfaction. We treat any complaint or problem as a means of tracking trends in our business, and promoting continuous improvement. I would also thoroughly recommend training - we are self sufficient when it comes to ongoing auditing, the system runs itself thanks to the efforts of our own quality audit team.

Call Centres - The Business Of Tomorrow
Vision Magazine

Thomas Direct Marketing, based at Runaway Bay, was established on the Gold Coast in 1987 as a consultancy specialising in database direct marketing to the fundraising and commercial sectors. This division has since grown with staff fluctuating from 160 to considerably more if a client requires a major campaign of 10,000 calls or over.

According to the company General Manager Doug Thomas, the advent of e-commerce, the imminent introduction of digital television and the growth of Internet usage will significantly influence the viability of inbound and outbound telemarketing in the years to come.

"It really is a fantastic growth industry at the moment and, with advances in technology, the demand for Call Centres providing customer service will increase substantially." said Mr. Thomas.

Call Centre News
May 18, 1998 Issue 5

There are approximately 40 call centres currently operating in the Gold Coast region, including Thomas Direct and cable TV operator Austar.

Queensland Chapter Walking the Talk...
ATA News

Again members have come out in support of our very successful Call Centre Walkthrough's. Our most recent Walkthrough on the Gold Coast was hosted by Austar, Stellar and Thomas Direct. All three sites offered members the opportunity to experience well established and managed operations and take some practical ideas back to their own centres... All in all the day was a great success.