A People-First Approach to Outsourcing Excellence – with Jessica Calise of OP360

In this episode of the Outsource Accelerator Podcast, Derek speaks with Jessica Calise, the Vice President of Marketing for OP360. 

OP360 has been on the podcast several times over the years and is now proud to celebrate its win in the Outsourcing Impact Review 2024. 

OP360

Jessica gives a quick refresher on OP360’s background.

“OP360 is an outsourcing company that was founded in 2006 with a focus primarily on customer experience and back office solutions. 

It launched its first operations in India in 2007, then moved to the Philippines in 2011 and entered Latin America in 2021. We have four primary cities that we operate in with over 5,000 employees globally.”

She’s glad to report that the company is doing very well, gaining 60% growth in the last year.

“We’re getting a lot of industry leaders, especially in the retail, legal, food service, and healthcare industries, and we’re also getting a lot of first-time outsourcers. So we’re really finding success.”  

Jessica applauds the OP360 business model.

“It really comes down to people. That is what the industry is, it’s a people business.

OP360 strongly believes that we have leaders onsite in our operations because it makes us quicker. It makes us more knowledgeable, it gives direct access to clients, of people who are living and breathing their brand.”

OP360 Cares 

Apart from its business growth, OP360 also has another reason to celebrate. 

The firm recently received the Gold in Outsource Accelerator’s Outsourcing Impact Review 2024 through its OP360 Cares program. 

“OP360 Cares started in 2020, but I really think of [it] as not really just a slogan or a line.” Jessica says. 

She explains that the initiative began as a t-shirt business in 2006.

“It really was centered around the environment and fundraising for education.”

According to Jessica, the group sold shirts with environmental messages through K-12 schools. The schools kept 50% of the profit, and another 20% went to the environmental organizations they supported.   

This eventually led to the establishment of the call center. 

“You needed a call center, right? Everything was done on calls. And so they had a call center operation. 

So as they sold the t-shirt business, they kept the contact center business. But caring for education and the environment is really just ingrained in the company from the founders.”  

The Philippines’s strong outsourcing capability

Jessica shifts into a discussion of how perception of outsourcing has evolved. She notes that there are still major US brands that prefer to keep all their operations onshore. 

“They want their customers talking to people who have a strong knowledge of their brand who sound like them, and I think that maybe they’ve had poor experiences themselves with outsourcing in the past.” 

However, she has nothing but positive things to say about her experiences working with the Philippine workforce. 

“It’s an unbelievable country, filled with happy people that the culture is extremely similar to the US. It’s vibrant, [whether] it’s across the country or across the world.” 

She even compares it to her previous workplace.

“I never set foot in a call center or any of their operations, which [made it] hard to learn the industry without actually seeing it. 

But [here], all of it was amazing. Our facilities are beautiful. It has all of the amenities that you would want in an office.”    

Adapting to new technologies 

When asked about her perspective on new technological changes in the industry, Jessica replies that they continue to adapt.

“We don’t have our own proprietary technology. We’ve been using clients’ technology. We’ve developed a lot of partners in these technologies and we’ve been able to test all [of them] out there for years.” 

She brings up AI, but also notes that the “people business” of the work once again comes to the forefront. 

“You’ll always want a person. I think of things that are completely automated, and I’m like, ‘Can you just let me do it myself? Or can I talk to a person?’ 

Because it’s not always the best way.”  

You may visit OP360’s website here. You can also stay updated on the company’s latest happenings via their LinkedIn page.