By Lori EhdeIt’s been just one year since Total Card Inc. started operating in the former Tri-State Insurance building in Luverne.On May 17, 2004, the business started up with 26 employees. It now boasts a workforce of 107 and will have 140 by mid-June.The plan is to hire 40 more per month for several months until the workforce peaks out at 300 – the maximum capacity of the office building.Employees come from all over the 30-mile radius of Luverne, including Sioux Falls and Worthington, and TCI’s trainer, John Takvam, is busy full-time with new recruits.According to Luverne Operations Manager Jeff Strauss, it’s challenging to hire so many people to keep up with work, but TCI has a high retention rate.He said there are a number of reasons why people are drawn to work for TCI: oWages and benefits: Someone with no experience starts at $10. Starting pay for experienced workers is as much as $15 per hour. Benefits include medical, dental, vision, disability and 401K.oThe ability to work close to home. "I think people used to feel like they had to drive to Sioux Falls to get a decent-paying job," Strauss said. "But now they get that right here."oPositive environment. "We have a fun, casual and relaxed work place," Strauss said. "If you can’t have fun in your job, you won’t do your job well, and we know that."Connie Kafka, Luverne, now works for TCI after eight years at Citibank in Sioux Falls. "I was really tired of driving," she said. "This is better. It’s more relaxed. … It’s a whole different environment. You just don’t hear people complaining here. It’s been a wonderful move."TCI does servicing work for other credit card companies. It now services four companies outside of its own, Plains Commerce Bank.Its employees handle customer service, collections and other services.While the job has its perks, Strauss said the work is demanding. "It’s not for everyone," he said. "And most people recognize that in training."We have very low turnover here – better than I’ve seen in Sioux Falls."Luverne’s Total Card office started as a branch of the TCI office in the south side of the Western Mall, Sioux Falls. Now the company is adding a second location, this time in the Shopko Mall. There are 218 employees between the two Sioux Falls locations.The growth of employees and office space, Strauss said, correlates with new businesses acquisitions. "Our growth is because of the number of accounts we’re adding," Strauss said.When the four-year-old business outgrew its Sioux Falls location, company executives chose to expand in Luverne.They saw the former Tri-State Building as the perfect fit for their needs, and its close proximity to home base in Sioux Falls was also a plus.But on the Minnesota side of the border, the move was hailed as one of the first successful applications of the state’s new JOBZ legislation to encourage outstate economic growth.The 30,000-square-foot building was previously empty since January 2003 when Tri-State Insurance, now known as Continental Western Group, moved into the Berkley Technology Services building across the street on Roundwind Road.
