call center representative

customer specialist

member services representative

information technology specialist

call taker

Ontario One Call

I find the work culture to be excellent for people who like stability in their job, who enjoy helping people, who enjoy a positive work culture and clean work environment, and who appreciate a little extra support from management. The company does well to recognize individual employees for their efforts, and is an environment that is suited for extroverted people. Coworkers are friendly, and management is generous with support. Position also included a generous amount of time off for their entry level workers. Food was offered frequently during pre-covid times, and gifts are often offered to employees. Training is also provided on work hours during off-peak season. And it's great for those people who like to work independently. Wages are also generous relative to the typical agent work.

This position may not be for people who want a fully remote job, or people who want consistent shifts. It has a bureaucratic structure which may not appeal to some people. The company is rigid in its scheduling, shifts may vary in amount of hours as well as start and end times between an 11 hour period. These shifts are arranged by the company and non-negotiable. In-office days are scheduled by the company and are also non-negotiable.

Another difficult aspect was dealing with people who were struggling with locate timelines and various aspects of the system. Although not the fault of the companies (they are continuously improving), it would be nice to see the work done in a timely fashion in the future by the entire multi-faceted system that Ontario One Call is in, to avoid contact center agents having to deal with the frustration callers have with losing a lot of time and money. For people who have difficulty with dealing with angry, nasty behavior from the general public, this may not be a good workplace for you. This doesn't happen all the time, as 80% of callers are happy for the assistance, but it does happen.

Pros

1. Management fully understands that this is not a forever job for the majority of people that pass through and they support you while you pursue further education, outside work and even set up interview with temp agencies on company time to ease transitions.    

2. Management also protects you - great work culture, great protections from abusive callers, and serious respect for the work you do. 

3.They couch you and support you. No stress about making numbers. Just do good quality work at a reasonable pace.  

3. The job is easy. For the most part it is well planned, organized and scripted. And the training is way better than the "Sink or Swim" attitude in a lot of similar positions. Always room for improvement here, but they listen to your suggestions and actually implement them when feasible.

4. Casual dress code, good kitchen and amenities.  

Cons

1. Not a lot of full-time opportunities and not a lot of room for advancement. Most people come on for ramp up in the spring and are phased out in the fall. 

2. Heavy workload in summers and some long days and weekends. 

3. Center is open 24 hrs, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year. You will need to work some holidays (but usually for 4 hrs or so @ double time and a half pay).

I absolutely loved working at Ontario One Call. You do need to have a bit of thicker skin due to some of the customers yelling about getting their locates within 5 business days as they think that they can call and just dig immediately. The workplace is a total vibe and your coworkers, team leads, and management are amazing! They do truly care about your wellbeing and the work life balance. They have events and provide lunches for all shifts on occasion. The Call Centre Agent job is not for everyone, but it sure is a great position. You basically follow the script and approve tickets for locates and it is a great job. Love this place!! It was too bad that I had to move on, but I would go back in a heartbeat. 

ON1Call has become a legislated regulator and as such, there are additional responsibilities to our members and board.
Typical day consists of the exchange of information with the members, board and staff to streamline process and implement strategic solutions.
Transparent accountability with a high level of customer service and offering immediate solutions is key to the position and integral to our not-for-profit status.
The staff is required to understand all facets of the notification system in order to provide superlative service to our members.
I am fortunate to be part of a great team of people working towards a common cause.  Although the leadership has experienced changes the future direction of ON1Call is clear.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Really enjoy the community it has. I look forward to seeing my coworkers on our in-office days. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
High volume of calls most of which are of an urgent nature.  The callers can be curt on the phone, need to be able to deal with all types of callers. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Good now, needed improvement a few years back but they have improved this year. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Start shift, check email, log into the call app - answer calls as they come in. Some times work on projects for the call center or work on emails.

 The biggest downside is that you’re dealing with people who have been waiting in a queue for a long time and/or are encountering issues placing a locate request online. The people you speak with can rude and impatient.
Being the first point of contact, you will be the person receive criticism for things that are out of your control.
I found technology issues to be  common.
On the positive side, Management is extremely supportive, and training is rigorous. You will not feel unprepared going into this job.
you will also gain invaluable experience talking to people over the phone. 



This job payed $13.50 an hour which was decent. Sometimes they gave us a free lunch which was nice. The training was very in depth and extensive so you know exactly how to perform the tasks assigned to you. 

However, some of the management have a very big chip on their shoulder and are not flexible with scheduling whatsoever. You have no job security either. There is a clause in the contract that states that they can terminate you at anytime without cause as long as they pay you one weeks pay.

The work culture is poor. Most staff on the floor are great but are not supported. There is not room for advancement and the management is unprofessional often  talking behind the backs of employees. Good workers are leaned heavily on to compensate for any agents not meeting goals. Acknowledgments (e.g. call of the month) are used to smooth over grievances instead of addressing issues. They are not genuinely interested in feedback from staff unless it reflects well on them.

Ontario One Call is a really great place to work.  It is not your regular call center by a long shot!  It provides paid training and has a friendly, supportive work environment. The team around you are inviting and are more than willing to help with any questions you have during your shift.  Management are excellent and very down to earth.  I really don't know of a down side to working at Ontario1Call, I love coming in to work here.  The pay is good and the people are just awesome!

It is difficult to do your job with the tech you're required to use, the company culture is very "PC", management/HR shares private, confidential information with everyone under the sun in the upper level company team (when it is not necessary), people are very rude over the phone (call centre), and there is 0 room for advancement. You don't get anything for trying other than superficial recognition in your "achievements".

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Call center representative 1 salary reported	$41,236 per year
Customer specialist 6 salaries reported	$41,577 per year
Member services representative 6 salaries reported	$50,000 per year
Information technology specialist 2 salaries reported	$73,000 per year
Call taker 3 salaries reported	$51,500 per year

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