The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Delegates from the BPO sector are likely to attend the upcoming 11th International Innovation Summit in Metro Manila next month to discuss the challenges facing the Philippines if it wishes to consolidate its position as one of the world’s leading investment destinations for IT-BPM services. The event is timely, as the country and industry are facing a mixed bag of issues. Although Philippine foreign exchange reserves reached a record high of U$86.16bn in September as a result of robust economic growth, the country has fallen to number 64 in this year’s World Economic Forum global competitiveness rankings, down from 56 in 2018.

A key component of that fall is tardiness in ICT adoption. Philippine businesses must now embrace digitization, advanced technologies and tech-enabled disruption, as part of their ongoing transformation process, recommends a report by McKinsey & Company, the global management consultancy. Technology and digitally-driven innovation are more effective than traditional approaches to change management, says the report. An example is US-based software firm Calabrio’s new Self-Scheduling tool, which provides contact center agents with the flexibility to change their schedules and cuts managers’ monitoring and request -handling workloads.

A report by Accenture is also bullish. Artificial intelligence will drive global growth over the next decade, delivering a US$14 trillion boost to the global economy by 2035. Moreover, AI is not likely to lead to job losses at present as it is still a specialist rather than generalist tool, says Marc Carrel-Billiard, global senior managing director of Accenture Labs.

The drive to push more outsourcing work out to the regions from the national capital region is also an issue. Demand for additional office space in Metro Manila from the BPO sector is expected to exceed 400,000 square meters per annum over the next two years, according to Santos Knight Frank, a local real estate consultancy. After 2021, however, when the government’s ban on establishing new economic zones in the capital region comes into effect, BPO operators will be under pressure to establish new facilities in outlying regions of the Philippines, with centers such as Iloilo, Clark, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Davao likely to become viable alternatives. Cebu City will also continue to soak up unmet Manila demand. The Robinsons Galleria Cebu complex said it is adding a new nine-storey office tower to service business process management operations.

Confidence in ongoing expansion of the industry out of the capital was also underlined with the announcement that a P50 billion mega city and technology hub will be developed in Bulacan province in the central Luzon region. It will have a range of call center offices, manufacturing facilities, retail outlets, a shopping mall, factory outlets, and warehousing. The project, to be developed in partnership with Chinese investors, will occupy a 400-hectare site comprising three towns, and is expected to generate up to 100,000 jobs. Not all Chinese involvement in the local industry has been as beneficial, however. Immigration and police officials’ recently raided a BPO firm in Pasay City which led to the arrest of 542 illegal foreign workers, mainly Chinese.

Other local developments last week saw the Sitel Group, the Miami-headquartered customer experience management specialist, go live with its Sitel My Associate Experience (MAX) program, an initiative designed to enhance employee experience through a people-centric approach. Everise, the Singapore-headquartered customer experience firm, said it has won three Stevie International Business Awards and six Stevie Great Employer Awards. The upcoming grand coronation of BPO Tourism Queen of the Year for 2019 is scheduled take place on 25 October at Tanghalang Pasigueño in Pasig City. It is the only event of its kind dedicated to celebrating transgender employees. The management and employees of Telus International Philippines were recently treated to a night of entertainment at the Globe Circuit Grounds in Makati at which 7,500 team members enjoyed the music of Morisette, Kamikazee, Parokya ni Edgar, Ben&Ben, Ultra Combo, Mark Thompson, Patty Tiu and the A-Team.

On a final note, the Department of Labor and Employment reminded the local private sector that they should remember to practice what they preach. In a speech by Silvestre Bello III to the Philippine Association of Legitimate Service Contractors Inc, the Labor secretary reminded attendees that the same arguments hold true for local businesses as do for foreign corporations: that they should also embrace outsourcing as a means of cutting their costs and boosting their competitiveness.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK
14 October 2019

• Calabrio’s Self-Scheduling Software Aims to Enhance Contact Center Oversight – read article…
• 542 Illegal Overseas Workers Arrested in Raid on Pasay City BPO Operation – read article…
• Telus Aims for Healthy Work-Life Balance with Star-Studded Staff Night Out – read article…

11 October 2019

• Summit Mulls Future of Philippines as Key IT-BPM Services Investment Destination – read article…
• Philippines Drops Eight Places in World Economic Forum Competitiveness League – read article…
• AI To Boost Global Economy by US$14tn Without Call Center Job Losses – read article…

10 October 2019

• Bulacan Mega City and Techno Hub Set to Create 100,000 Jobs – read article…
• High Hopes for New Cebu BPM Tower and Upmarket One-Stop Destination – read article…
• Sitel Looks to Deliver MAX Associate Experience Program – read article…

9 October 2019

• Everise Experiences Run of Award Successes – read article…
• Philippine Foreign Exchange Reserves Hit All-Time High of US$86.16bn – read article…
• 12 Contestants Vie to be Crowned BPO Tourism Queen 2019 – read article…

8 October 2019

• Outsourcing Cuts Costs and Boosts Competitivity Labour Secretary Tells Business Forum – read article…
• McKinsey Report Emphasizes Benefits of Digital Transformation for Philippines Companies – read article…
• Post-2021 Shortfall in Metro Manila BPO Office Space Set to Boost Provinces – read article…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: October 9, 2019
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: October 23, 2019