PinoyCallture

Bosch to hire 200 BPO agents by yearend

By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – Citing a “talented workforce with high IT [information technology] competence and language diversity,” a German company announced Tuesday that it would hire up to 200 Filipinos for its first Asian business process outsourcing (BPO) office to be set up here.
“In Bosch we believe that your business location should be where your clients are. And we chose Manila to set up Robert Bosch Communications Center Inc. (RBCCI) – over 18 other cities including Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok – because of its pool of talented workforce with high IT competence and language diversity,” said Kaycee Crisostomo, communications manager for Robert Bosch Inc., which provides services for RBCCI.

“Initial investment for the hiring of 100 to 200 agents amount to 500,000 euros ($678,774) but we are bullish to pour in more investments when we go about RBCCI’s expansion by next year. Right now I cannot chalk up the figures for expansion but definitely there is investment to be allotted for it,” he added.

RBCCI, which was inaugurated April 5, will hire Filipino agents with language skills in Chinese Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, German and French “to service its clients and expand its local presence in Asia.”

Manila’s strategic location in Asia and its network infrastructure for BPO services – ranked as the third best in the world – were also factors for its selection as Bosch’s first BPO center in Asia, the official added.

The new company, said Crisostomo, would offer IT helpdesk services to both internal and external clients of Bosch at a 30-70 portfolio mix, following the IT helpdesk implementation in the European and American markets by teams in Berlin, Buenos Aires and Timisoara in Romania.

“Asia is a very important market for Robert Bosch and we aim to gain inroads in this fast growing market through RBCCI. At present, no one can deny China is an emerging economic superpower and as a company, it would be unwise not to invest or tap into this market,” said Crisostomo.

RBCCI will focus on providing voice services, which it believes will grow and dominate the global BPO industry, which is primed to become a $100-billion market by 2020.

Ayala keen on investing in more BPO companies

By Paolo Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Ayala Corp. wants to invest more in the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) industry to ride on the sector’s booming prospects over the next few years.
Alfred Ayala, president of the group’s BPO holding arm Live It Solutions Inc., said they were in preliminary talks with several firms after successfully spending $200 million to acquire outsourcing companies over the last three years.
“There’s nothing formal yet,” he said.
“We don’t have a specific [budget for acquisitions] anymore, but we’re definitely looking. It’s more opportunistic at this point,” Ayala said.
The conglomerate’s current investments in the BPO space included controlling interests in US-based knowledge process outsourcing firm Integreon Management Solutions Inc., call center eTelecare Global Solutions Inc. and local animation studio Affinity Express Inc. The company also owns HR Mall, a human resource outsourcing firm whose main clients are Ayala-owned companies.
Ayala said the recent passing of the universal healthcare reform law in the United States provided opportunities for BPO industry players.
“Healthcare is an area we’re interested in. It’s a large part of the US economy and there’s new legislation that will spur for the need of electronic records,” he said.
He said Live It would choose a company to buy partly based on its capability to improve the Ayala group’s BPO business in the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Ayala said the group was now in the process of expanding the local operations of one of Live It’s units, Integreon, using fresh funds coming from a London-based investor which bought into the company earlier this year.
Last February, Actis Capital invested $50 million for a minority stake in Integreon, the world’s leading provider of KPO, or high-valued BPO services.

RP challenging India for supremacy in BPO

By Nestor P. Burgos Jr., Carla Gomez, Inquirer Visayas
Philippine Daily Inquirer

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — President Gloria MacApagal-Arroyo on Wednesday hailed the country’s significant advance in the Information and Communication Technology-Business Process Outsourcing (ICT-BPO) industry, saying the country was already challenging the global industry supremacy of India. “Today, the Philippines with 90 million people has challenged India’s 1 billion population for BPO supremacy. Compared to $.02 B in 2001, which is almost nothing, our BPO industry has earned more than $7 billion in 2009. And that is not far behind India’s $9 billion (earnings) for call centers,” Ms. Arroyo said in a speech at the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University in Iloilo City.
The President, who is visiting the top 10 next-wave for ICT-BPO investments as part of her cyber-corridor tour, said the employment in the ICT-BPO industry surged from 2,400 in 2000 to 446,000 in 2009 with the Philippines becoming a “global powerhouse in the BPO industry.”
The potential for the country’s ICT-BPO industry remained strong with investors seeking higher value services including offshoring and outsourcing of accounting, legal, medical, personnel and administration services, according to the President.
BPO training programs have so far produced 3,000 graduates in Western Visayas.
The Ronald Raymund Lacson Sebastian (RRLS) Information and Communications Technology Academy of the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University alone has trained 400 graduates with 255 already assured of jobs.
Iloilo is ranked third among the top 10 next-wave cities following Metro Laguna and Metro Cavite and is followed by Davao. Bacolod City is ranked fifth followed by Bulacan East, Bulacan West, Cagayan de Oro, Lipa City and Pampanga Central.
Before speaking to around 1,000 students and faculty members at the school’s gymnasium, the President briefly observed classes on English proficiency and computer literacy for call center agents.
Arroyo also congratulated the government officials of Bacolod City, which got top marks for its business environment.
The President briefly stopped by Teleperformance in Bacolod City as part of her cyber corridor tour.
Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia said the call center industry was one of the best things that ever happened to Bacolod because of the job opportunities it has created.
Leonardia disclosed that another group of investors was set to construct a new facility in the city that would create 1,200 more jobs.
Bacolod has seven contact centers that have generated 7,000 jobs, said Bacolod Councilor Jocelle Batapa Sigue, chair of the Bacolod-Negros Occidental Federation for ICT and National ICT Confederation of the Philippines.
This translates to direct investments of more than $15 million and an infusion of P80 million every month in terms of salaries in Bacolod City, Sigue said.

MANILA, Philippines – Except for some absent workers, the country’s outsourcing firms, particularly those in Metro Manila, managed to operate without a hitch since tropical storm Ondoy hit last weekend.

Only a few companies experienced operational problems, particularly those that were located in the flooded areas like Marikina and Cainta. These include the ICT Group, NCO, and TeleTech.

In an interview, Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) Director for Industry Affairs Jonathan de Luzurriaga said most of the affected locations diverted their processes to other locations, either locally or offshore, prior and during the height of Ondoy (international name Ketsana) over the weekend.

One of the few issues was that many of the employees in these areas were unable to attend work, which prompted company managers to move certain processes elsewhere.
He added there were no major damages to BPO facilities and that these locations could be back in operation soon.

“We were built for such diversity and we could say that all operations were barely affected. We are still checking, but so far are no reports of employee deaths,” de Luzurriaga said.

De Luzurriaga said many of the BPO companies have started releasing the 13th month pay of employees to help recover from last weekend’s disaster.

There were also plans to reallocate budgets of corporate social responsibility activities to help in the relief efforts. “There are already some companies talking to each other so that they don’t have to repeat what each other is doing for the relief efforts,” he said.

De Luzurriaga said the typhoon has not affected the country’s perception as a BPO location. There were even some companies that received assistance from branches outside the Philippines.

“We were already talking to some investors last Monday,” de Luzurriaga said.

Indian outsourcing giant Wipro Technologies will soon open its first business process outsourcing hub in Metro Manila and occupy half of Lucio Tan group’s Eton Cyberpod Centris building at the new urban development near the Edsa-Quezon Avenue intersection in Quezon City.

While this is the Bangalore-based BPO company’s first foray in Metro Manila, it is actually its second site in the Philippines, having previously opened an outsourcing hub within the Cebu Business Park.

“We just signed a contract with Wipro for half of the building,” Eton Properties Philippines president Danilo Ignacio said in a recent briefing.

Ignacio said Wipro agreed to lease an initial 6,000 square meter of office space at Eton Cyberpod, with a commitment to expand by another 2,000 sq. m.

“They actually want their server operational by Sept. 15 so they can test the systems,” Ignacio said. “At the latest they should be operational by November.”

Wipro, whose parent Wipro Ltd. Is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, is one of the biggest product engineering and support service providers worldwide. It offers IT solutions and services, including systems integration, information systems outsourcing, package implementation, software application development and maintenance services to corporations around the world.

Aside from Wipro, Ignacio said Eton Properties has received a letter of intent from four other multinational companies—two of which were US-based corporations—seeking office space in the area.

Wipro’s Cebu site serves three clients from the United States and the United Kingdom. It was earlier reported that Wipro was looking for a second Philippine hub to support its expansion within the North American market.

Eton Cyberpod Centris ia a 12-story office building beside the Centris Station where an SM hypermart will be located. It is the first project to rise within the prime 11.9 hectare mixed-use development. Consisting of seven buildings lined along Edsa, the Cyberpod block will provide office accommodation to BPO companies as well as traditional corporate offices. Each building is programmed to have a minimum gross floor area of 18,000 sq. m. on a 2,000-sq.m. column-free floor plate.

Eton Centris is a self-contained development located at the prime corner of the Quezon City triangle, the emerging growth area in northern Metro Manila. It features various elements encompassing a themed specialty retail block, luxury residential condominiums, a businessman’s hotel, and the BPO office block.

The overall development concept is in line with the local government’s plan to develop the 250-hectare North and East Triangle of Quezon City into a modern central business district as recommended by a study conducted by the World Bank.

“In Centris, the moment our BPO [SM] Hypermart building [the anchor tenant in Centris station] and Centris Walk are operational, that will be a good time to start residential developments there,” Ignacio said.

Technology services and outsourcing firm Accenture has commenced a rehire process of around 100 people, this after cutting 500 jobs earlier this year.

“These are all tech people. We’re hiring them back because they have the skills that we need,” Accenture Philippine country managing director Beth Lui said in a recent press briefing.

While Lui admitted that other sectors of Accenture’s business operations needed to cut personnel these past months, she reiterated that these weren’t as big as the retrenchment implemented in January. She added that there were no further big job cuts planned in the near future.

“I’m sure other companies have also been shedding manpower these past months. That’s not unique to us. What’s important is the future and the fact that we’ve started to rehire. We’re also hiring new people,” she said, adding “It’s similar to how a grocery store works. You stock [up on] the goods that sell. [In the same way], we’re hiring people with the skills that we need.”

Accenture currently has more than 177,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries and has more than 15,000 employees working in nine locations in Metro Manila and Cebu.

The relatively high salaries given to business process outsourcing (BPO) employees may not cut it for mid-level executives to stay on in their jobs, as they now prefer other “quality of life” rewards. This, according to a recent study conducted by research firm XMG among BPO employees in China, India, and the Philippines.

“Results [of the study] show that while the use of cash rewards is consistent with or slightly behind levels reported last year, some categories of awards level desired increased by an astound 18 percent—notably what we at XMG Global call ‘quality of life’ incentives. Examples of this type of incentive include flex hours, additional paid time off, telecommuting, stress management, and family counseling,” XMG spokespersons said.

“As health and family-related issues are on the rise, most particularly due to work-related stress and working the graveyard shifts, the respondents indicated they were willing to devote more to a company that recognizes and respects their personal needs and life circumstances,” they added.

As a result, XMG recommends other non-cash incentives for BPO employees that focus on improving their quality of life. Not only will this aid companies to keep their talent pool intact, but would also control the cash flow of the BPO firms.

“Such incentives do much to address real and important employees’ needs and concerns without cash outlays. They also serve to foster loyalty and commitment,” XMG said, adding “Vendors and captives that still believe that cash is the only form of incentive in offshoring countries are missing the opportunity to derive higher performance and retain key performers. Respecting individual needs for leading a better quality of life from work and more flexible approaches to the work environment will be a leading retention practice.”

TELUS International Philippines is partnering with academic institutions to offer unique scholarships to third and fourth year college students at STI and AMA. The scholarship will offer students both financial support for classroom studies and work placements in TELUS International call centers where they can gain practical experience.

“We have a proud history of partnering with local colleges and universities,” said Cris Rosenthal, vice-president Human Resources, TELUS International Philippines. “And now, the scholarships and work experience for deserving students take our partnerships to that next level.”

Students will have the opportunity to experience many areas of business, not only working as front-line agents but also getting involved in training, quality assurance, management IT setup and more.

“Telus employs the best and the brightest professionals in the Philippines,” said Javier Infante, president, Telus International Philippines. “As the contact center and business process outsourcing industries continue to grow, there are tremendous career opportunities for people in the Philippines. With this project, we aim to instill a sense of pride in working for a successful company with a bright future based right here in Manila.”

Telus International continues to keep its competitive advantage by espousing the values of spirited teamwork, respect in the workplace and career growth opportunities for all Filipinos.

Sykes Enterprises, Inc. President and CEO Chuck Sykes recently flew in from the Sykes head office in Tampa, Florida to attend the company’s annual communications forum called VOICES as guest of honor. Some 11,000 employees of Sykes—the officially recognized pioneer of the Philippine call center industry—welcomed their big boss as the CEO visited all six operation centers in the country (five in Manila and one in Cebu). He also took time to meet and greet some employees and encouraged them to continually reinforce the company’s service and relationship-based culture. Sykes also discussed plans for the future as well as expansion and growth issues and also gave out tips on career development. He also thanked all the employees and congratulated them for all their efforts in making the company the frontrunner in the BPO industry.

Iligan became the new site for a call center facility as the Hubport Group recently signed a memorandum of agreement with MSU’s Iligan Institute of Technology and with assistance from USAID’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao Program. This, according to officials present during the signing of the partnership, will hopefully produce more jobs for the residents of the city.

Work risks in BPO industry on the rise
by Gimuel Falnoso

The Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research, Inc. (Eiler) is wary about the increase in occupational health hazards in the BPO industry as the Business Processing Association of the Philippines declared a cut in companies’ 2010 growth rates because of the global economic crisis.

Anna Leah Escresa-Colina, deputy executive director of Eiler, said the decrease in growth rates among BPO companies would translate to lower workforce while the workload remains at the same level.

“It has come to our attention that some outsourcing companies are already employing reduced workforce while encouraging multitasking and additional unpaid work hours which will further distress the health of the employees,” Escresa-Colina said.

In 2008, Eiler conducted a study that focused on BPO companies catering to airlines, railways, bus companies, cruise ship/ferry industry and logistics, goods and transport industries. According to the research, work health hazards from graveyard shifts, long working hours, extremely cold temperatures in work areas, and high work stress due to demanding work conditions are potentially life-threatening.

“Most of the respondents experienced sleeping problems, eye strain, overall fatigue, headaches, chest and back pains, voice problems and mental stress. Other health hazards are work stress, work time, and irrational behavior of customers. However, despite such high occupational health risks in call centers, clinical services are found to be wanting especially during graveyard shifts,” Escresa-Colina said.

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TELETECH LEADER BULLISH ON PHILIPPINE OPERATIONS
By Gimuel Falnoso

“In this current environment where all businesses are experiencing some form of contraction, TeleTech is extremely well-positioned and has proven capabilities to positively impact the Philippine economy,” said Richard Bledsoe, Asia operations head of TeleTech Holdings, Inc., at a recent media briefing in Manila.

Bledsoe remains optimistic about the potential opportunities for the company and its clients amid the slowdown in the global economy. He adds that by investing heavily in the company’s employees through extensive training, TeleTech continues to garner outstanding customer satisfaction scores, therefore bolstering its competitive position.

TeleTech is the largest business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions provider in the country today, and continues to hire thousands into its growing workforce. The company currently manages nearly 40 client accounts at a dozen locations across the country.

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MRT abandons 24/7 operations
By Gimuel Falnoso

“So it was giveth, so shall it be taketh away.”

Only two days after the implementation of the 24-hour operations of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), the government announced another change in the MRT’s operations. Under the MRT’s new schedule, the train operations would end at 12:01 a.m. and resume at 4:00 a.m. Citing commuter trends and taking into consideration certain operational issues, the government said that it cannot sustain the 24/7 operations without compromising the maintenance and safety of the trains.

The MRT 24/7 scheme was implemented to benefit commuters who travel at night, primarily call center employees because of their irregular schedules.

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BPO firms ramp up recruitment campaign
By EDU LOPEZ
May 12, 2009, 7:14pm

The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is intensifying its recruitment and staffing campaign to meet the needs the sector. The industry has already 60,000 new jobs this year, bringing its total projected employment 700,000 to 800,000 by 2011.

Oscar Sanez, Philexport trustee for the information technology (IT) services sector, said: “The growth of between 20 to 30 percent this year is still going to be remarkable given the global (bleak) outlook facing the industries right now. While there are challenges in this crisis, we are confident that these can be achieved,” he said.

Sanez based his optimism on the robust growth of the non-voice BPO which is growing at a faster rate than the call center sector now comprising two-third of the BPO industry. Non-voice BPO includes back-office/knowledge process outsourcing, legal and medical transcription, digital animation, information technology (IT) outsourcing and game development. “Employment is certainly a positive prospect. While we probably will not hit the one million employment goal given to us, we will be getting close to between 700,000 to 800,000 workforce by 2011,” he said.