Call Center Will Grow 20% This Year
The local business process outsourcing (BPO) industry will likely hit a 23% growth in revenues this year as more foreign companies continue to lay off workers and transfer operations to cut costs, an industry executive said Friday.
At the sidelines of the 15th Metro Manila Business Conference in Pasay City, Jonathan de Luzuriaga, Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) executive director for industry affairs, said that the BPO industry is on track to surpass its $6.1-billion revenues in 2008, even as it battles the global economic crisis.
“The crisis has very little effect on the industry. Contracts have been shortened in general, but the billing volumes continue to be robust,” de Luzuriaga told reporters.
He said in fact, 3 large BPO firms are expected to set up shops in the Philippines within the next 6 months. These include a US financial firm and 2 Indian BPO companies. All 3 are expected to operate a total of 550 seats.
De Luzuriaga declined to name the firms, saying negotiations are still ongoing and are bound by confidentiality agreements.
De Luzuriaga said the Philippines continues to be an attractive outsourcing destination as its price-points remain competitive.
“We’re apples-to-apples with India in terms of price, and quality also remains strong,” he said.
De Luzuriaga pointed out that talent remains to be the biggest challenge for the industry, as both the government and the private sector struggle to generate the human resources needed to meet growing demand from overseas.
He suggested the creation of more non-vocational courses such as contact center courses to generate more talents for the sector.
“We could grow 30-50% more than our current rate if we could supply the talent,” he noted.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
