Contact 1-2-1 takes aim at SA government for expected cease of contract, with 120 jobs at risk

The co-owner of a South Australian call-centre company has taken aim at the state government ahead of an expected cease of contract with the South Australian Housing Trust and the Minister for Disabilities.

Contact 1-2-1 co-owner Wayne Boden is awaiting the outcome of a recent meeting with the department, at which he says it was indicated Contact 1-2-1’s contract would be ceased by the department.

The contract, signed on December 12, 2012, was for Contact 1-2-1 to provide call centre services relating to the delivery and management of the Maintenance Centre, the Aboriginal Community Maintenance Enquiry Service and Riskman (disability services). Boden says the contract was for three years, with the opportunity to renew.

However, Boden says the government has “mismanaged” the account as there has been confusion over agreed daily KPIs, agreed call lengths, and the number of staff allowed on hand at a given time.

He says he felt a sense that Contact 1-2-1 was “being bullied and threatened” by the department.

He told SmartCompany this morning that he agreed that Contact 1-2-1 had been “behind” on delivering certain KPIs in the past six months, but it had made a “strenuous effort” to resolve issues and that KPIs were now on target. Boden says that if the contract is terminated, around 120 jobs will be lost and ultimately “we will close our business”.

“At the moment it is one of our biggest contracts. We had a 10-year automotive contract before this and we made it clear to the government (when signing) that we were replacing that business with this business.”

Contact 1-2-1 reports that it has operations in three states, with around 250 employees in South Australia.

Boden says that the previous company that held the government contract had had held the position for “20 years”, and argues that Contact 1-2-1 had not been given the time to thrive. He describes the expected termination as “ridiculous” and says it would have a “devastating” effect on the company’s employees and the state.

Minister for Social Housing and Minister for Disabilities, Tony Piccolo, told SmartCompany this morning the contract was being reviewed.

“When a tenant living in a Housing SA property picks up the phone to report a maintenance issue, they expect that call to be dealt with in a timely and effective manner,” he says.

“Since Contact 1-2-1 took over the provision of call centre services, there have been numerous serious concerns raised by both tenants and community groups about the company’s performance.

“As a result, Housing SA is reviewing this arrangement to see if it is delivering the best results for public housing tenants and the South Australian taxpayer.”

Piccolo says Housing SA had clearly outlined expectations of call response times to Contact 1-2-1, and “We have a duty to ensure those performance obligations are being met”.

He says that the detail and scope of the tender documents have also been endorsed by an independent review, however a final decision on the contract has not yet been made.

Boden says he was told an outcome would be delivered last week, but has now been told the decision will be this week.