The first months of 1998 raised some doubts about the feasibility of Sykes` acquisition strategy. A New York analyst downgraded Sykes stock from a buy to hold rating, and the share price fell 19% as a result. The slowdown in internal revenues at the end of 1997 and the fact that a new software, off-site troubleshooting, did not sell as expected, are worrisome. Sykes, however, saw no reason to withdraw. Opening of a new support center in Tampa, Florida; Les Ulis, France; Manhattan, Kansas; and Charlotte, North Carolina. By November, the company`s shares had fallen 45 percent year-over-year, but Sykes Enterprises remained confident that it had met all of its revenue growth targets since its IPO in 1996. Difficulties with telemarketing companies led to Sykes` shares falling by association, even though the company was in the business of telephone support rather than telephone sales. Sykes showed confidence in its unique approach to technical customer service with the acquisition of two call center companies in December. Oracle Service Networks Corp.
of London, Ontario, was acquired for $35 million in shares and Hanover-based TAS GmbH for $12 million in shares. Our goal is for each client to be more efficient, profitable and more loyal to their corporate brands, which is partly due to SYKES` services. Sykes was founded in 1977 by John H. Sykes in Charlotte, North Carolina to provide engineering and design services to large corporations. [3] Companies such as IBM, AT&T and Texas Instruments were among Sykes` first customers. In 1990, the company had 1,000 employees, 20 offices and annual sales of $55 million. [ref. needed] In addition to helping buyers of an enterprise product, Sykes Enterprises` technical support centers also help its own employees use technology competently. In addition, Sykes Enterprises offers custom software design services and general customer relationship management consulting. The company believes that maintaining strong customer relationships and brand loyalty are key to helping customers survive in the competitive technology market.
In an article written for CRMCommunity.com, Senior Vice President Chuck Sykes pointed out that no automated system can replace a well-trained technician when it comes to answering questions and ensuring customer satisfaction. While high-quality service can be expensive, Sykes Enterprises is able to keep costs under control by specializing and implementing the best technology. Sykes wrote, “We provide scale gains and knowledge to cost-effectively provide fast, user-friendly and efficient service at all levels of the business.” In 1992, the company entered the customer service business by purchasing Jones Technologies, a call center company based in Sterling, Colorado. [4] Sykes Enterprises, Inc., stylized as SYKES, is a multinational U.S. business process outsourcing provider headquartered in Tampa, Florida. The company provides business process outsourcing (BPO) services, IT consulting, and IT services such as technical support and customer service. 18. In June 2021, a subsidiary of Sitel Group acquired all of Sykes` outstanding shares in a cash transaction valued at approximately $2.2 billion and removed the company from the Nasdaq-listed company. In its new grouping, Sitel Group has 160,000 employees in 40 countries and serves more than 700 customers in more than 50 languages.
This merger will allow the company to generate revenues of approximately $4.3 billion in 2021. [10] While the claims are not negotiable, the municipalities did not consider them excessive. Ponca City even voted to raise the sales tax by half a percent to fund a new center. However, a potential center in Ocala, Florida, went off the rails when the city made demands beyond what Sykes was willing to satisfy. Ocala managed to find the land and raise the funds, but when she asked Sykes to guarantee about 100 jobs, he refused to let the city change the terms of the deal and pulled out. Sykes Enterprises saw the potential in this approach and moved its headquarters from Charlotte to the Tampa Information Services Center. Then the company opened more call centers throughout the Midwest. The Greeley, Colorado Center opened in 1994, followed by the Ponca City, Oklahoma Center, and the Klamath Falls, Oregon Center in 1995. Sykes employed 2,000 people. Revenue increased from $572.74 million the previous year to $603.61 million in 2000, and revenue from its core technical support business increased by 27 percent.
These figures reinforced John Sykes` optimism at the April 2001 Annual General Meeting. Sykes focused on the company`s performance, but realized it would take some time to regain Wall Street`s trust after the mistakes of 2000. Unfortunately, 2001 was an even more difficult period. A disappointing forecast for the third quarter caused the stock to fall 42% again, this time to $6.99. In another accounting error, the company had to adjust profits to reflect a change in how it accounted for certain cash grants from government development agencies. Sykes Enterprises, Inc.`s operations revolve around the concept of “customer relationship management” or CRM. In practice, CRM 41 stands for Sykes Technical Support Call Center worldwide. Sykes Enterprises offers its customers, mainly large hardware and software manufacturers or telecommunications companies, the opportunity to outsource customer support. The company`s call centers act as a seamless extension of the enterprise customer. For example, technical support calls from a software company can be routed directly to a tech-savvy phone agent at one of Sykes Enterprises` call centers in small towns across the country. To add to the difficulties, the company chose a CEO who resigned after just five months.
David Grimes, who took office in July, stepped down in November. John Sykes has resumed his role as CEO. While Sykes scaled back its underperforming business, it continued to invest in its call center business. Support centers have been opened in Morganfield, Kentucky, and Virginia, Minnesota, while construction has begun on two centers in Florida and one in Virginia. The Asian branch of the company expanded to Shanghai. At the end of the year, Sykes Enterprises had 14,000 employees and 42 customer service centers: 18 in the United States, three in Canada, two in Costa Rica and 19 in Europe, South Africa, China and the Philippines. In addition, the company had signed two promising contracts with Ford and Delta Air. These companies launched a program to provide their employees with personal computers at home, and Sykes was selected to provide on-site and telephone support for the deal. In 1991, many companies were struggling to weather the recession. However, leaner fiscal years worked in Sykes Enterprises` favor. Many companies wanted to outsource support services, and employment at Sykes even increased in the early 1990s. In 1991, the company employed 1,150 people in 23 offices in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Technical writing and programming tests formed the basis of most contracts. IBM remained a loyal customer as a relationship with the U.S. Air Force developed. Sykes Enterprises has documented the safety and maintenance procedures of the Air Force satellite system. In 1992, Sykes acquired Jones Technologies, Inc. of Sterling, Colorado and entered the customer support business. Four years later, Sykes acquired Datasvar Support AB of Sweden and Diagsoft Inc. of Scotts Valley, California[12] and a year later McQueen International Limited and the German company Telcare[11]. Sykes acquired Apex America in Argentina in 2006 and ICT Group in 2010. [11] In 2012, Sykes bought Alpine Access[13] and three years later a company called Qelp. In 2016, Sykes acquired Clearlink of Utah[14] and two years later, robotic process automation service provider Symphony Ventures. [15] In 2020, Sykes made its last acquisition before being acquired by Sitel Group in 2021.
She bought Taylor Media Corp. (TMC), a personal finance digital media company and owner of The Penny Hoarder. [16] Business was strong and the company grew rapidly. The company expanded to New York in 1983 and Colorado in 1985. In 1990, Sykes Enterprises expanded into Texas and formed an information services division in Tampa, Florida, which later became the company`s headquarters. Another office was opened in England as the company expected to be able to offer program testing services throughout Europe. In 1990, Sykes Enterprises also acquired Orbitron International Inc., a consulting firm specializing in software services for financial and communications companies. The acquisition generated additional revenues of $10 million. Another early customer of Sykes Enterprises was Texas Instruments Inc. A small technical editorial mission for the company, won in 1982, finally led to the creation of an entire branch dedicated to this field.