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    Lee Don. PH Has Become Call Center Capital of The World

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    OliverOrtega
    The Philippines has become a major hub for business process outsourcing, with over 1 million people working in call centers and related industries serving American companies. The country's large English-speaking workforce, cultural similarities to the US, and lower costs have made it attractive for outsourcing various tasks from customer service to legal and medical work. While the work can be stressful, it offers higher pay than many local alternatives.

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    Lee Don. PH Has Become Call Center Capital of The World

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    OliverOrtega
    56 views4 pages
    The Philippines has become a major hub for business process outsourcing, with over 1 million people working in call centers and related industries serving American companies. The country's large English-speaking workforce, cultural similarities to the US, and lower costs have made it attractive for outsourcing various tasks from customer service to legal and medical work. While the work can be stressful, it offers higher pay than many local alternatives.

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    Why the Philippines is the call center capital of the world

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    Lee Don. PH Has Become Call Center Capital of the World

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    The Philippines has become a major hub for business process outsourcing, with over 1 million people working in call centers and related industries serving American companies. The country's large English-speaking workforce, cultural similarities to the US, and lower costs have made it attractive for outsourcing various tasks from customer service to legal and medical work. While the work can be stressful, it offers higher pay than many local alternatives.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    56 views4 pages

    Lee Don. PH Has Become Call Center Capital of The World

    Uploaded by

    OliverOrtega
    The Philippines has become a major hub for business process outsourcing, with over 1 million people working in call centers and related industries serving American companies. The country's large English-speaking workforce, cultural similarities to the US, and lower costs have made it attractive for outsourcing various tasks from customer service to legal and medical work. While the work can be stressful, it offers higher pay than many local alternatives.

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    The Philippines has become the call-center

    capital of the world


    By DONLEE
    FEBRUARY1,2015,4:26PM

    REPORTINGFROMMANILA

    versinceJoahnnaHorcalostherfather,adoctor,inaSouthChinaSeatyphoon,her
    largefamilyhasstruggledtomakeendsmeet.

    SoafterHorcaearnedacollegedegreeinsocialwork,anoldersisternudgedhertohelpsupport
    thefamilybytakingabetterpayingjobatacallcenter.
    Thatwaseightyearsago,whentheoutsourcingindustrywasjusttakingoffinthePhilippines.
    Today,it'sthejobofchoiceformanyyoungpeoplehere.Morethan1millionFilipinosnowworkat
    callcentersandinrelatedoutsourcingbusinesses,mostlyservingAmericancompanies.
    ThecombinationofcheaplaborandspecializedskillshasmadetheFilipinoworkforceinvaluable
    toagrowinglistofU.S.companies,whichusethemtofieldcustomercomplaints,generatesales
    leads,codedata,formatdocumentsandreadmedicalscansandlegalbriefs.
    Horca,30,eventuallygothersocialworkerlicense,butshecouldnevertearherselfawayfromthe
    callcenterjobforaU.S.bankingcompany.It'sdrainingwork.Shehandlesasmanyas100callsa
    dayfromangryAmericans,oftenworkingthegraveyardshift.
    Butshemakesabout$700amonth,morethanmanygeneralphysiciansearninthePhilippines,
    letalonesocialworkers.
    TheindustryinthePhilippineshasgrownsofastthatithasovertakenIndiaasthecallcenter
    capitaloftheworld.Indiastillrulestheinformationtechnologyoutsourcingrealm,butanarmyof
    FilipinocollegegraduateslikeHorcanowdominatesmosteveryotherkindoftaskknownas
    businessprocessoutsourcing,orBPO.
    Bynextyear,expertsestimatethatthecountry'sBPOindustrywillgenerate$25billioninrevenue,
    accountingforabout10%ofthePhilippines'economyandasmuchasthetotalamountexpectedto
    besenthomebythe11millionFilipinonurses,sailors,musiciansandothersworkingoverseas.
    TheEnglishspokenbyFilipinosisclosertoAmericans'thaninIndia."Ourcultureisverysimilar,"
    saidFredChua,alifelongManilaresidentwhorunsacallcenter.AcousininSanFranciscodrums

    upbusinessforthecompany,MagellanSolutions."Wedon'tyellonthephoneoften.We'revery
    customercentric,"Chuasaid.
    ThathelpsexplainwhythecountryhasbecomeAmerica'stopoverseassiteforvoicerelatedwork
    inbusinessoutsourcing.
    CorporationssuchasCitibank,Safeway,ChevronandAetnaallhaveBPOoperationshere,asdo
    smallercompaniesrangingfromaGeorgiamedicalcollectionagencytoaNewYorkspaoperator
    thatoutsourcesitscustomerappointments.
    Theoutsourcingboomhashelpedpropelthecountry'seconomy,oncealaggardofAsia,intoone
    oftheregion'sfastestgrowing.TheindustryhasspawnedbustlingbusinessdistrictsinManila,
    withskyscrapers,24hourbuffetsandcondosthatsellfor$500,000.
    Formostofthelastfourdecades,whileEastAsiantigereconomieswereroaringahead,the
    Philippineswallowedamidrampantcorruption,lousyroadsandsluggishinvestments.
    Butafter25yearsofslowandpainfulreforms,thecountryisontracktoachieveannualgrowth
    ratesof7%to10%overthenext10years,accordingtoBernardoVilegas,aHarvardtrained
    Filipinoeconomist.Theeconomyexpanded7.2%in2013andslowedtoalittlemorethan6%last
    year,comparedwithChina's7.4%lastyear.
    OneofthePhilippines'biggestadvantagesisitslargeandgrowingyoungpopulation:About90%
    ofits100millionpeopleareunder55,comparedwith61%forJapanand73%fortheU.S.Most
    FilipinosalsospeakEnglish,whichisoneoftwoofficiallanguagesalongwithTagalog.
    ForyearsforeignremittancesbyFilipinosworkingabroadwereapillarofthecountry'seconomy,
    alongwithagricultureandmining.Nowtheresurgingeconomyisdrawingsomeofthoseworkers
    backhome.
    ButchValenzuela,55,leftManilaintheearly1980stoescaperiotingasmassesprotestedthe
    strongarmruleofFerdinandMarcos.ValenzuelawenttoCalifornia,attendedUCLA,rosethrough
    theranksatamanufacturingcompanyandbuiltacomfortablelifeinOrangeCounty.
    Butafewmonthsago,Valenzuela'swifesoldtheirhouseinIrvineandmovedbacktoManila,
    joiningherhusbandwhohadreturnedtothePhilippinesseveralyearsearliertosetupacall
    center.
    ValenzuelalaunchedVisayaKnowledgeProcesswith14workers.Hehasyettomakeaprofit,butit
    hasgrowntoabout200"seats,"whichisthewaytheindustrymeasuresthesizeofanoperation.
    Visayaisoneofabout1,000BPOoperationsinthePhilippines.AfewgiantsledbyConvergysand

    Accenture,whichhavetensofthousandsseatseach,dominatethebusiness.Butthepiekeeps
    gettingbiggerasAmericancompaniesseekcheaperlabor.CallcenterworkersintheU.S.make
    aboutfourtimestheirManilacounterparts.
    Onarecentweeknight,itwashardtotellnightfromdayatVisaya'scallcenteronthe14thfloorof
    anondescriptbuildinginMakati,anaffluentdistrictinManila.Thecurtainsweredrawn,andthe
    clocksontheofficewallweredisplayingdifferenttimesinfourU.S.zones.
    Atmidnightlocaltime,thecallcentercametolifeasdozensofworkers,sittingcubiclebycubicle,
    beganmakingcallstogeneratecustomerleadsforagroupofCalifornia'sforprofitschools.
    OtherworkersdialedAmericanhospitalstoverifyclaimsforinsurers.Allinall,itwasaneasyshift
    forthestaffcomparedtowhentheyareassignedtodealwithunhappyHomeShoppingNetwork
    customers.
    Nomatterhowdifficultthecaller,Valenzuelasaid,"ouragentscan'thangup.Theyhavetofigure
    outawayofcalmlyendingacall."
    Industryturnoverishigh,onaverageabout60%,saidJoseMariP.Mercado,presidentoftheIT&
    BusinessProcessAssn.ThatmeansatypicalworkerwhostartsinJanuarywillbegonebyJuly,a
    signofhowstressfulanddemandingthejobscanbe.
    YettherelativelygoodpaycallcenterworkersmakedoubletheaveragesalaryofaManilabank
    tellerkeepsdrawingpeopleintothemarket.Mercadoreckonsthatbusinessoutsourcingtothe
    Philippineswillgrowforyearstocome.
    AmericanandEuropeancompaniesareincreasinglyoutsourcingmoresophisticatedworkthatwas
    oncelargelydonebylegalsecretaries,junioraccountantsandmedicalstaffintheU.S.This
    includespreparingresearchreports,formattingdocumentsandprovidingclinicalsupport.
    "Weproduce3,000CPAsayear,"saidMercado,notingthatthey'retrainedaccordingtoU.S.
    accountingstandards.
    Likewise,lawschoolsinthePhilippinesfollowAmericancurriculum,makinggraduatesan
    attractivelowcostoptionforsomeU.S.businesses.StartingassociatesatManilalawfirms
    generallymakeroughly$700amonthaboutasmuchasJoahnnaHorcamakesatacallcenter.
    "It'snotonlyaboutcost,butaboutefficiencyacrossalllinesofbusiness,"saidBobGogel,chief
    executiveofIntegreonInc.inNewYork,whichhasBPOoperationsinadozencitiesaroundthe
    world,includingManilaandFargo,N.D.
    Heinsistedthattheoverseasboomwasn'teliminatingjobsintheU.S.WhilehisManilaofficeis

    growing,hesaid,soistheoneinNorthDakota,whichhas175employeesbutisbeingexpandedto
    300.
    Integreon'sManilaofficeopenedin2007andalreadyhas700employees.BenjaminRomualdez,
    thecompany'scountryhead,saiddemandisparticularlystrongforlegaltranscription,document
    formattingandbriefpreparation.Integreonnowhas200Filipinolawyersonstaffandunder
    contract.
    Oneofthem,JuliusCerada,spendsmostofhisworknightsporingoverbriefsandhighlighting
    partsthatmightbeofinteresttoU.S.clients.Ceradawouldn'tsaywhatheearns,onlythatit's
    competitivewithwhathemadeasaninhousecompanylawyer.Itwasn'taboutthemoney,hesaid
    ofwhyhequitin2013andjoinedIntegreon.
    "Worklifebalanceisimportanttome,"hesaid,notingthathewasputtingintoomanyhours
    before."Ijustturned50.Healthismyprimaryconcern."
    [email protected]
    Copyright2015,LosAngelesTimes

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