A Look At Offshore Call Center Outsourcing Philippines

With rising operational and labor costs, large corporations are turning to outsourcing as a solution. Outsourcing has become a popular option for companies in the United States, as they can take advantage of lower costs in offshore locations such as the Philippines. Contact centers have become one of the most dynamic sectors in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the Philippines. From 2000 to 2004, the industry saw 100% year-over-year growth in terms of employment. Today, there are over 300,000 professionals working in hundreds of BPO companies throughout the country.

This dynamic sector has seen unprecedented growth, with large call centers reporting a 100% increase in their workforce, and hiring around 100 new recruits each week. The BPO industry is a major source of employment in the Philippines, and also a significant source of revenue, generating over $3 billion in 2006 alone.

Offshore BPO services that handle technical support and other related services have proven to be successful in meeting the demands of transnational firms, with the main advantages being a large labor force with a strong command of American English, robust yet cost-effective telecommunication infrastructure, availability of high-quality and affordable real estate, and tax incentives from the government for foreign investors. Furthermore, these companies have relatively low employee turnover rates and the quality of life in the Philippines is attractive to many expatriates.

Outsourcing companies provide a wide range of services, including customer care, technical support, financial services, and travel services. These enterprises can handle both inbound and outbound calls, with available seats ranging from 500 to about 5,000. A typical outsourcing firm operates three shifts to provide 24/7 customer support to clients, with the majority of agents working in graveyard shifts to keep up with the time difference between the United States and Manila.

Recruitment processes for these firms are rigorous, as they look for candidates with excellent English communication skills, customer service skills, and problem-solving skills. The Filipino workforce, which is English and IT proficient, college-educated, and service oriented, possesses all of these skills. As such, global companies looking to outsource processes will find a positively promising abundance of skills in the Philippines.