Sitel adding more capacity in Phl, AsPac

MANILA, Philippines - Sitel, a leading global customer care outsourcing provider, is adding more capacity to the Philippines and throughout Asia Pacific this year and next year.

The company has expanded its operations by opening a new site in Manila, further broadening its footprint within the Philippines, with two more planned sites opening in the later part of the year and in early 2012.

“We are proud of the continued confidence and commitments from existing clients, at the same time, gain the trust of new clients, such as the world’s largest technology company, a leading wireless Internet service provider in the United States, and United Kingdom’s first quadruple-play media company. This new partnership is one of the main reasons why we are bullish in expanding our sites, especially in the Philippines. After all, more sites mean more jobs for the Filipino talent. We plan to add more capacity to the Philippines and throughout APAC later this year and in 2012,” Trevor Friesen, general manager for the Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand (PHANZ) operations, revealed.

Sitel continues to expand its operations in the Philippines and Asia Pacific with the appointment of three executives to various regional positions. The new changes in the organization further distinguish the Philippines as the center of BPO operations of Sitel in Asia Pacific.

Friesen was recently appointed as general manager for the PHANZ operations, with responsibilities over operations, human resources, financial and facility functions. Friesen’s accountabilities include end-to-end delivery of client partnerships, financial performance and value-driven solutions to develop long-term business relationships with clients. He previously held the position of Sitel’s SVP-operations, and his call center career spans more than 16 years supporting Fortune 100 companies in a variety of industries and countries.

Additionally, Brendan Mengel has oversight for Sitel’s Australia and New Zealand operations with added responsibility of solutions enhancement for Asia Pacific as senior vice president- business development and solutions for Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and China. Mengel is also expected to expand the business into emerging markets and assemble a team across the Asia-Pacific tasked to enhance value propositions to prospective clients through process improvement, innovation and reduction of the total cost of ownership.

Jerry Kinnick will take on the post of SVP of account management for Asia Pacific. He will be responsible for augmenting and developing a team of account management professionals who will bring strategic insights and business acumen to existing and future business relationships.

The newly organized management team is expected to reinforce the business, expand global partnerships, develop systems and services in the region, put in place strategic plans, all to be one of, if not, the best in the BPO industry.

“We are completing an organizational change which aims to improve our operations and relationship with clients. We have also enhanced our objectives to create a world-class company by going beyond market expectations. We are focused on meaning more to our clients, employees, and shareholders,” Friesen pointed out.

Parallel to Sitel’s expansion, the company is putting up several initiatives to be the best in class in employment, defining objectives that are aligned with client expectations, and giving the best possible return to the stakeholders. One of these initiatives is the Sitel Magis Leadership Program, which is an innovative leadership program designed to help super charge the potential and learning of high- performance leaders in Sitel.

A first in the Philippine BPO industry, Sitel partnered with Harvard Business School Publishing and John Clements Consultants. “The Magis Leadership Program is designed to provide a blended learning experience, designed to stretch the participant’s thinking, provide new concepts, and to promote collaboration and peer learning. Access to online knowledge source, case discussions led by global experts, project team activities, and lectures by Harvard Business School professors are part of the nine-month curricula,” Sitel’s VP-HR-Asia Pacific Haidee Enriquez explained.

“We will need more leaders to drive business performance as we grow. Growing and developing the talent in the Philippines will always be a priority and that is why we are making this investment,” Friesen added.