The call center industry in the Philippines compete positively in spite of the slump in the economy because more US companies continue to look for low-cost places to set up their operations on outsourcing business. According to Paul Winters, Chief Operating Officer of Bragg, Winters and Associates, Philippines particularly in Cebu has progress in voice support for companies abroad. Position in back-office support must be improved from documents processing, accounting, payroll, recruitment, architecture, animation and software design. Winters stated that the success of voice support in Cebu has lightened the opposition. Cebu will be in a good light when seen by US companies.
“The back-office BPO sector has been growing at a faster rate than the voice-based sector and we believe this trend will continue,” said Gigi Virata, information and research director of the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP), a trade organization. “In the next four or five years, we may see the voice and non-voice sectors at about the same size in the Philippines,” she predicted. That expansion, some analysts say, will require Philippine BPO providers to enhance their competitive edge. Still, Philippine BPOs face challenges from shifting industry trends. European firms’ growing participation in the outsourcing and off-shoring industry is starting to tilt the competitive scales in favor of locations where English is not necessarily the dominant language – as it is in India and the Philippines.
Winters and Raymund Bragg, a business partner of Winters came in Cebu to work in separate companies. Winters launched a BPO office for an international firm while Bragg is a general manager of a popular resort hotel chain. But they decided to bring more in the region. To address the requirements of small and medium sized businesses in US, one of their clients is putting up a 500 seater mortgage processing company in Cebu by the end of the year. Cebu will be a good location according Philippine BPO providers. Nonvoice features will offer chances for smart and able people who may not have the voice or communication requirements but are really good in what they do. This will help the expansion of the whole industry. Up to 20% of the entire 50,000-strong BPO industry in Cebu is nonvoice processes. Bragg, Winters and associates are looking for local firms that have established expertise in the back-office operations.
