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A New Zealand call centre is proving Bill English might be on the money after all.
The Finance Minister ignited debate at the weekend when he said Kiwis see their 30% lower wages than Australians as a competitive advantage.
But John Chetwynd the boss of Telnet, the largest privately owned call centre in the country, says the wage gap is a big selling point when winning business in Australia.
"It gives us an edge basically. If you are competing against Australian-based (businesses), if we can get an edge to actually get ourselves in the market, then that's a good thing," he said.
"Just because we don't like being the poorer cousins that doesn't mean we shouldn't do the best we can now by marketing our competitive advantage."
Telnet, which has more than 200 employees operating from its downtown Auckland office, last week appointed a Sydney-based business development manager with a view to securing more Australian business.
Chetwynd is quick to point out that wages are not the only selling point for Kiwi companies at the moment.
"It's also the currency as well. The two are working together and creating a window of opportunity."
Telnet estimates that lower labour and exchange rates save its Australian customers 35% - which is approximately 15% on labour savings and 20% in the exchange rate differential.
Chetwynd says New Zealand companies must play to their strengths.
"Companies need to analyse where they sit in the international marketplace and focus on that, rather than crying over what once was or should be."
His company has found that Australian companies are feeling "disenchanted" with off-shore call centres and are looking for local options, which includes New Zealand.
"We're not a low-cost producer, we are at the quality end of the scale. Companies are looking to bring back onshore their call centres and we've got an edge there... We can compete with Australian-based call centres," he said.
He says Kiwis need to move on from worrying about wage parity and focus on being competitive and innovative to take opportunities when they appear.
