Nationwide Insurance is opening a new green building in San Antonio near Sea World with the hopes of hiring an additional 500 employees in the coming years.
Nationwide previously had four call centers in San Antonio. Now the insurance provider is opening a single 280,000 sq ft. building for its 1,400 San Antonio employees. Regional Vice President Terrance Williams says the company chose to stay in San Antonio due to a friendly business climate and the skills job seekers here have to offer.
"The population here obviously bodes well for us because we have a growing Hispanic number of members and it helps us as we look to hire Spanish speaking associates," Williams says.
The building is certified Green by the U.S. Green Building Council for natural lighting, water and electricity usage and tree preservation. Company executive Roy Kunkle says It’s also considered Fortified by the Institute of Business Home and Safety.
"What that means is that we can withstand higher degrees of wind, it's been built for fire protection, it's built for water protection," Kunkle says. "So what we want to do is really make this building as safe as we can for our associates and as safe as it can for our members. The folks that work in this building service our members every single day and we want to make sure the phone lines stay open for them.
Nationwide is dispersing $92,000 in grants to the San Antonio Food Bank, SAMMinistires and other non-profits as part of its opening. The company will host a job fair next Wednesday to help fill some of the remaining positions.
