Why Adam Taylor chose Kirkcaldy for 200 jobs at VeriCall

Adam Taylor hails from Buckhaven, and his links with the Kingdom were a driving force in placing the UK flagship of his contact centre,VeriCall, at John Smith Business Park.

It will employ 209 full-time staff, and will go live from June 10.

The move to the Lang Toun brings Adam full circle from his days working with MGt – Kirckaldy’s first major call centre, which is now PayWizard.

More importantly, the move brings him back home to the Kingdom.

For the past two years he has been London based, setting up VeriCall.

The company was formed in August 2017, and launched two months later.

It now answers two thirds of calls in the UK’s directory inquiry markets as well as working with a string of clients.

Adam wants it to offer real job opportunities and career paths for local people.

“My personal aim was always to bring the business back to the area,” he said.

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“I never had the opportunity to finish my education, and when I moved into the contact centre industry I found my niche.

“I worked my way up the ladder through dogged determination.

“Two years ago one of the companies moved away from the contact centre and went to Kent.

“It didn’t work out for it, and I made the decision at that point to say give me the contract and I will set up the business and do it right.

“I had the experience, I knew how it should be done – so let’s do it the right way, and we’ve since had a lot or organic growth, driven by client referrals.”

Putting the flagship base in Fife is the next milestone for the company.

The location, and the pledge every job is full-time and will get the Scottish Living Wage, were key commitments – and they came on the back of huge support from Fife Council to secure the jobs.

“I cannot speak too highly of the council and how much work it did to make this happen,” said Adam.

“Working with it and moving forward is vital to our growth.

“It sees the value in creating a skilled economy in Fife, and clearly understands the need for change Our thought processes are aligned.”

Adam sees VeriCall as a place for local people to build long-term careers.

“A lot of contact centres have huge turnover in staff,” he said. “For me it’s about getting the right people with the right motivation ... I want them to stay and be part of this business

“I started out selling double glazing with a sheet from the phone book and I had to find some bookings.

“What I did back then was to listen to the people above me to try to understand the process and what was going on behind it.”

The rise of artificial intelligence and automation has changed the contact centre industry, but Adam believes people remain at its very heart.

“AI is there to help people – not replace them,” he said. “You have to blend AI with a person who can give you the answer as quickly and efficiently as possible.

“We have a whole generation merging that uses platforms such as WhatsApp and Messenger rather than a phone, but people still react to a person – that’s why we all want likes and shares online.

“Contact centres have to adapt to, and understand the challenges from these channels, but they also need people at the heart of them.

“I hope our move to Fife is the start. I want to expand and I want to do that in Fife. I’d love to see a base in Levenmouth. I grew up there and it needs that type of development. Hopefully that can come in a possible phase two.”