Alliance adding 130 jobs
KEITH COUSINS/kcousins@cdapress.com | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 10 months AGO
COEUR d'ALENE - Alliance Data Retail Services plans to hire 130 additional employees this spring to expand its Coeur d'Alene facility.
The Ohio-based company made the expansion announcement on Tuesday as part of a long-term growth plan to meet its expanding portfolio of branded credit card programs. Alliance Data's facility in Coeur d'Alene opened in June, and Director of Operations Derrek Thomas said "everything has really been firing on all cylinders."
"We've got right around 220 people sitting in the facility today and we've been in a consistent hiring and training mode," Thomas told The Press Tuesday. "We really don't see that slowing down anytime soon."
Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer said Tuesday the Alliance Data announcement is great news and exciting for the community.
"Alliance Data is a great company that is very community-minded," Widmyer said. "The expansion of their workforce proves that they do a great job and that the work environment in our area is very positive."
Thomas said there are two buildings on the Alliance Data campus at 745 Hanley Ave., and most of the company's employees work in the smaller, 44,000-square-foot building. However, with a plan in place to add a total of 350 jobs over the next three years, the company will begin moving new hires into the other, 75,000-square-foot, building.
"We've secured a long-term agreement on that property and have our first training class for that facility slated for the middle of April," Thomas said.
Thomas credited the expansion to both the growth of the company and the strong pool of employees Alliance Data has been able to hire in the area.
"We look to leverage the people we have to really help give back to the community," Thomas said. "With this growth, it's just going to allow us more leverage and more people power to do even more than we've already done to date."
To highlight Alliance Data's community involvement, which Thomas called a "top priority" of the company, the operations director said the company recently launched a five-year, $5 million commitment to programs in the seven communities where its employees live and work.
Employees at the Coeur d'Alene facility earn an average of $45,000 a year, including benefits, incentives and other compensation. Thomas said that an ideal job candidate at the "customer-focused, high-tech organization," should be adaptable and enjoy working in a team-oriented environment.
"What we find is that the people that really fit well in a lot of ways in our organization are people that have worked in service industries like retail, hospitality and food service," Thomas said. "We've found that those types of customer-focused individuals are a really good match for what we do."
Those interested in applying for positions with Alliance Data are encouraged to visit www.alliancedataretail.com/careers.
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