Brightmere staff in Swansea say uncertainty about the future of customer operations is reaching teams that have experienced technology changes differently from their Bristol colleagues. Employees at the Waterfront centre told the Chronicle they wanted to know whether discussion of more automation would affect their own work and the Welsh-language service.
Swansea advisers received automated call summaries earlier this year. Brightmere has said that introduction involved notes rather than the full range of scoring and other tools used at Filton. One Swansea employee said that distinction was being lost as staff exchanged rumours about what might come next.
'We have something that helps with the notes,' the adviser said. 'That doesn't mean we know what the next proposal will be.' Another employee said colleagues were comparing messages from different sites and sometimes treating a Bristol experience as if it described an arrangement already operating in Swansea.
The centre also brings together colleagues who joined Brightmere directly and people transferred from Pennant Power in April 2022 on existing terms. A former Pennant employee said preserving those terms had been important when joining the company. The current uncertainty, the employee said, raised a different question about the future shape of the work itself.
Maxine Doyle of the Energy and Customer Services Union said staff should be consulted about proposals affecting their roles. She said the union wanted clear information rather than a series of reassurances that did not explain the options. 'Swansea colleagues need to hear how their service is being considered,' she said.
Brightmere repeated that no decisions had been taken on the next phase of customer operations. A spokesperson said Welsh-language support remained part of the company's service and that colleagues' experiences were being gathered through the People and Work Review. The supplier did not confirm any Swansea job-reduction number.
Brightmere opened the Waterfront centre in April 2016 as its Welsh-language hub. Staff describe that local purpose as an important part of the operation, alongside ordinary billing and account work. One adviser said language support could involve a customer moving between general service and a specialist conversation, rather than simply choosing Welsh at the start.
The employees interviewed offered different views of the call notes, including praise for having less repetitive typing. Their common request was for a clearer explanation of the review. As one put it: 'We can talk sensibly about change if we know which change we are actually being asked to talk about.'