TACTION, the company formerly known as the New England 800 Company, has been a CEI loan and venture investment client since 1996. Founded by Steve White in 1983, TACTION is an in-bound, multimedia contact center located in rural Waldoboro, Maine. The business provides a comprehensive array of customer service solutions to such companies as: Samsonite, Atkins Nutritionals, Inc., Harbor Sweets, Cuddledown, The Boyds Collection, and the State of Maine Department of Tourism.

In September 1998, CEI initiated the New England 800 JOLI Project (Job Opportunities for Low-Income Individuals), a three-year program funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. At the time, New England 800 Company employed 60 year-round employees and offered a starting wage of $6.00/hr. to Customer Service Representatives. The JOLI project aimed to provide capital to expand the business, create 75 new jobs, and close the gap between the skills needed by a business competing in the swiftly changing information technology sector and the challenges of training the hardest to serve TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) and other disadvantaged residents in rural midcoast Maine.

By the end of the project period (September, 2001), 73 participants had been served, 47 of whom were receiving TANF at the time of enrollment and the remaining 26 meeting HHS poverty guidelines. Sixty participants had completed training activities and become employed, while 47 had achieved self-sufficiency.

 
As of April, 2005, and with the new name of TACTION, the workforce had expanded to approximately 150 staff. The majority of these new, contact/call-center hires have been persons meeting the low-income criteria of the CEI/NE 800 Employment and Training Agreement (ETAG). Additionally, TACTION founder Steve White was named the 1999 Maine Small Business Administration’s Welfare-to-Work, Small Business Owner of the Year. In 2003, Call Center Magazine choose TACTION as their annual recipient of the Customer Care Leadership Award and in 2004, TACTION received the Eagle Feather Award from the Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility, recognizing TACTION’s commitment to employee involvement, community engagement, and relentless attention to customer service.

Steve White continues his role as CEO of TACTION, while Hank Berg, who joined the company in 2001, is COO and President. Under Hank’s leadership and with training funds provided through the CEI/NE 800 JOLI Project, TACTION instituted the Taction Training Task Force Initiative, an employee, employer and investor partnership. Today that partnership is known as Taction University, an inter-departmental team responsible for developing a lifelong learning atmosphere at TACTION, and offering career/skill pathways and promotional opportunities for all its employees. TACTION was also awarded a $39,000 Maine Governor’s Training Initiative Grant that was matched by the company to enhance and further develop IT and e-commerce employee competencies.

The entry-level wage for Contact Agents (formerly referred to as Customer Service Representatives) is now $8.00/hour. The average wage for those entry Agents who have remained at TACTION for at least two years is between $9 and $10 an hour. Career advancement opportunities to earn $30,000 to $40,000 annually now include positions as Inside Sales Agents, Team Leaders, and Account Managers.

Benefits and Personal Wealth Contributions:

TACTION offers a flexible spending account plan, reducing taxable income to pay for medical, dental and child care expenses. The company contributes 70% toward the employees’ health insurance costs, and offers a pro-rated paid time-off vacation package.

Voluntary Benefits:

Life insurance for employee, spouse and children

Short-term disability

Long-term disability

Dental insurance

Accidental death and dismemberment

Some Unique Personal Reward Benefits:

Anniversary Bonus: $30 rewarded annually for each year of service.

Birthday Bonus: Two movie tickets on an employee’s birthday.

Miscellaneous Bonus: $50 for the purchase of a home, marriage, or birth of a baby.

Perfect Attendance: One day of vacation time awarded for a calendar quarter of perfect attendance.

Atta’s: Employees receive business gift certificates as a result of positive feedback from an internal or external client and/or customer.

Company Loans: Interest-free loans to employees with a cap of $250 were $6/hr. each occurrence, up to $750 per year, pay back is deducted per pay check until loan is repaid.

IRA: Employees select the amount they would like to contribute to a Traditional IRA, Roth IRA and or an Educational IRA and Taction takes care of the payroll deductions.

Tuition Assistance: Employees may be reimbursed for up to two courses per semester at an accredited College or University.

Individual Development Accounts (IDA): Employees are provided direct access to the CEI IDA program, which matches dollar for dollar savings, up to $4,000, for the purchase of a home or post-secondary education at a college or technical institute.

Community Service Committee: An employee-administered community service social action team that raises contributions from TACTION employees to support local charitable organizations and initiatives.