New call center seeking workers

A new call center headed to Vancouver will host a “casting call” for employees next week, as it seeks to fill between 20 and 30 positions.

Office Ally, a company headquartered in Laguna Beach, Calif., will host a job fair from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday at the office location of its new Vancouver call center, 16703 S.E. McGillivray Blvd., near the Fisher’s Landing Fred Meyer.

Prospective call center employees are asked to bring résumés for job openings as customer service and sales representatives, appointment setters and mail clerks. The positions pay between $10 per hour and $12 per hour. Founded in 1999, Office Ally is an electronic clearinghouse that acts as a go-between in processing insurance claims for doctor’s offices, clinics and hospitals, said Darell Holder, a human resources official with the company.

“The doctors submit the claim to us for free and we scrub the claim for accuracy and forward it to the insurance company,” Holder said, a process paid for by the insurers.

Office Ally plans to open its Vancouver call center by Jan. 26, said Brian O’Neill, company founder, chief executive officer and president.

“That’s when we’ll go live,” said O’Neill, who said he has invested approximately $1 million to relocate the call center from Laguna Beach, where other offices of the company will remain.

Office Ally employs 74 people in all, O’Neill said, adding that he also plans to eventually relocate the company’s billing division to Vancouver.

“I expect to hire another 50 people in the next six months,” said O’Neill, who arrived at his newly leased Camas home on Tuesday.

Office Ally has leased 11,000 square feet of office space. The company will initially use about 2,500 square feet of space, O’Neill said.

O’Neill said his company’s move to Washington, which has no state income tax, is a cost-cutting measure. He said the relocation would save thousands of dollars by protecting the earnings of his limited liability corporation from California’s 10.3 percent state income tax.

“The savings from the state income tax in California will be a savings of $1 million in one year,” O’Neill said.

Holder said Office Ally serves a client base of more than 200,000 people who submit claims to more than 2,400 insurance companies nationwide.

In addition to other cost savings from the move, Office Ally’s call center relocation will also save money on rent, which will be less than half the amount his company pays for building space in Laguna Beach, O’Neill said.

He also expects to hire a high-caliber staff of qualified job seekers in Clark County, he said. ”I’m looking forward to hiring some good people here,” O’Neill said.