Cayetano: BPO a blessing to Phl

CEBU, Philippines - Senator Alan Peter Cayetano wrapped up the three-day International Contact Center Conference and Expo (ICCCE) 2013 by encouraging all sectors of the society to take care of the country’s newest blessing: the contact center industry.

Cayetano urged the government and the business sectors to continue supporting programs aimed at helping improve the status of the contact center industry in the Philippines.

“I can’t imagine what the Philippines would be like without the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector,” said Cayetano who was the keynote speaker at the closing program of the biggest convention of contact center decision makers in the country.

Cayetano reaffirmed the industry’s critical role in the overall economic build-up of the country, citing it as an important driver in the services sector, which in turn helps spur more growth in the construction segment of the economy.

“Few years ago, the Philippine economy was relying heavily on our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). But now we already have our call centers to back OFW receipts to massively drive consumer spending” he said.

Hyper-growth

The country’s contact center industry has been experiencing “hyper-growth” after it overtook India in 2011, and the momentum is expected to continue in the near term.

In his yearly “State of the Industry Report,” Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) President Benedict Hernandez said the industry is growing at a staggering rate of 18 percent year-on-year. It is expected to post US$16.3 billion in revenues and employ more than 900,000 Filipinos by 2016.

“The demand and appetite are there and we anticipate that this hyper-growth will continue,” Hernandez said when he unveiled the report at the start of the conference.

While there had been marked changes in the contact center industry, such as the shrinking share of US-based and customer service accounts, the Philippines had been able stay on top because of the niche it has created in the sector, such as voice accounts, Hernandez explained.

To protect the country’s position as the world’s top contact center destination, the local industry must overcome a number of issues, including manpower availability, cost competitiveness, and support for small and medium enterprises, he added.

Perceptions

Given its upbeat growth, Cayetano said the industry must be given due recognition and Filipinos should start eliminating their negative perceptions on working in the call center industry.

Cayetano, for instance, slammed the claim that those who work in call centers are alcoholic, saying alcoholic workers can be found in almost any other kind of work.

“Filipinos should start to appreciate what the [sunshine industry] is giving to them. Remember the nursing boom before? We gave a lot of dignity to that kind of work. We should also give the same to those working in the call center profession,” he said.

“You are changing the world; you are changing the Philippines,” Cayetano said, referring to the call center operators and employees.

Accordingly, the contact center boom in the Philippines has changed the image of Filipino workers into knowledge professionals.

Scholar-inmates

Cayetano yesterday also formally introduced 44 graduates of a finishing course for call center agents whom he sponsored through a portion of his Priority Assistance Development Fund (PDAF).

What’s interesting is that these scholars are actually inmates of the Cebu City jail who signed up for the course so they will be aided in seeking out jobs once they step out of the jail.

Helping to bridge the manpower gap, Cayetano is also studying on putting up a call center facility inside jails where inmates are the workers.

Although he still has to consult BPO companies who are interested to venture into this kind of undertaking, Cayetano described the plan as actually “achievable.”

He said once there would be enough graduates from his program, they will launch them on a test-run and get BPO companies to eventually hire them.

However, if the plan materializes, security measures will be put in place to make sure the inmates working in the call center inside the jail do not engage activities other than those required by their job. (FREEMAN)