People business

The call center business is a people business. By this I mean it’s a relationship business. First, there must be a relationship of trust between the service provider and client, usually the CIO, as the client is entrusting a critical area of the business to an outside party. Second, that relationship of trust needs to be furthered throughout the business relationship; the client has to feel that the service provider will do the task according to their specifications or better. Some support instances in the outsourcing idea is more desirable than others. For obvious reasons, a company would consider outsourcing because of cost advantages. Other factors also play an important role in the decision-making process – human resource and labor issues are two others I can think of right now. Some areas/locations are more attractive than others. The Philippines, for instance, is one such ideal location for call centers. Again, for obvious reasons – a high level of education among the broad masses, English-language capabilities, eager professionals who are looking for jobs which they can turn into careers.

I have spent a good amount of time consulting and relocating technology call centers in the Continental US. We’ve worked on projects as simple as setting up internal call center systems to "transitioning" companies to outsourced call centers. Moving any size or type of call center from a "campus site" set-up to a remote location is a very complex process. For example, moving Williams-Sonoma’s call center from its headquarters in San Francisco to a location merely five blocks away was not an easy feat. The issue was expansion and information security in the mail order business, which was booming and needed a 250-seat expansion center to accommodate peak holiday business. For this project, we built a breakdown layout as the company planned to eventually move its call center operations from a mere five blocks to Phoenix, Arizona. Logistics-wise, it was all very complicated but cost-wise, the justification was there. In the US, aside from human resource and labor issues, real estate cost is one big factor for a company to move its call center operations to remote locations. Here, unfortunately, while we may enjoy tremendous cost advantages real estate-wise by setting up call centers outside of Metro Manila, the technological infrastructure necessary for call centers is not present in those areas. Not yet, at least.

In Cisco’s case, the remote concept was accepted early on (Australia took full control daily at 6:30PST). The challenge was human resource in nature. Retention of call center associates was only at an average of six months. This was a problem not only within Cisco but it was a general problem experienced by most Silicon Valley companies. It wasn’t a pay issue; it was lack of discipline. And this was an ongoing problem for all the Bay Area tech call centers. But, again, the fast-paced nature of these companies require such high and heavy turnover as they respond to a number of issues that each require a specific approach to achieving the solution. Today there is a different initiative – these companies have taken a strong look at their call center operations and have weighed the importance of having the flexibility to quickly shift control versus the cost of the support calls. There is a huge opportunity here to the organizations and countries that can rally up.

Current scenario

Today the Philippines has a growing economy of call center type businesses – as in maintenance to tech support type of seats. The locations of some of the top call centers have been placed in the most redundant areas of Metro Manila to ensure that their presence via phone or online is consistent. In doing that, I can also see the easier path of selling the uptime of the call centers, and since they are located in Metro Manila, the mass of human resources to fill the support seats. Also, the facilities in which to house the instructors and associate trainees are readily available in these areas. Again, these are important items on the prospective clients’ checklist. And, believe me, the clients that are looking into investing their time and moving their support facility elsewhere are looking at these factors to assess whether those change control issues that will arise during a support contract will be handled efficiently. They will want to have face-to-face sessions with their support people to establish a human connection with their extended support teams.

The Philippines as call center hub

With the growth rates projected above 100 percent, one would think that we would have the reputation of being one of the dominant call center areas in Asia, if not the world. If and when we get to that point, there is only one competitor the country will face and that is itself. I believe that it will be a challenge to maintain the discipline and professionalism that we all have in us. Being No. 1 in an industry is what, I believe, most patriotic and hard-working Filipinos are hoping for.

Semper Fi!