The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and automation skills is delivering a bumper year for outsourcing, according to a recent report by the Information Services Group (ISG). Increased activity in the outsourcing industry over the past 12 months has been driven in large part by the need for specialized support by the rising number of businesses looking to integrate automation and AI into their everyday operations, says the ISG report.

Global BPO players certainly appear to be aggressively recruiting more skilled people and investing in their training, lending credence to the claim. The net hiring activity in leading IT firms Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro increased 59% in the September quarter compared to the June quarter. TCS said it is on track to hire 30,000 graduates before the end of this year; and Infosys – battling high attrition rates of skilled staff – hired an additional 7,400 workers in the second quarter. Alorica, a US-headquartered call center outsourcing solutions provider, said it is looking to recruit at least 25,000 associates across 100 of its contact centers worldwide, including some 9,000 new employees for its Philippines operations. Global customer experience management provider Sitel has said it will open its first CX operations and contact center in Athens, Greece next year, expecting to generate 1,000 new jobs.

Training is also at impressive levels. Accenture has announced plans to allocate US$1 billion per annum to re-skill its employees in order to ensure it can meet the growing demand for advanced technology-led services from its client base. An investment in part acknowledged in its recent recognition as an industry leader in the IDC MarketScape’s Worldwide Managed Cloud Services 2019 Vendor Assessment. InStep, Infosys’ proprietary internship program, has once again been given the world’s best overall internship program in this year’s Internship Rankings, an annual review conducted by Vault.com. US -headquartered IT services provider Cognizant has also been recognized as a Leader and Star Performer in the Digital Workplace Services sector by the Everest Group.

A report by international property firm Jones Lang LaSalle has added to the body of evidence that government regulations are succeeding in encouraging outsourcing services to expand outside Metro Manila; with Cebu, Davao, and the nearby provinces of Cavite, Laguna and Batangas, attracting strong interest. In Iloilo City, a new BPO firm is looking to hire 1,000 nurses, according to Jerry Treñas, the local mayor. Helping the expansion out of big city business districts and into home-based working is the new telecommuting law that makes it easier to work from home. Championing this new initiative is Maria Victoria Espano, chairperson and CEO of P&A Grant Thornton, who said she hoped the practice will now be more widely adopted by local companies as well as international firms.

Meanwhile, it was an important week in the outsourcing sporting calendar. Sykes won big at this year’s Cebu Inter-BPO Sports League events, taking home gold in the men’s and women’s volleyball; men’s and women’s table tennis; and the Groove Season 4 hip-hop dance contest; as well as a silver in the Mobile Legends competition. ePerformax won both the Mobile Legends competition and men’s badminton; and Teleperformance took the mixed badminton award.

Strong sporting programs may serve such firms in more ways than one. According to data released by CallMiner, a Massachusetts-based developer of speech analytics software, call centre personnel are increasingly being exposed to obscene and inappropriate language from unhappy customers. Physical exercise is a great way to vent one’s anger and reduce the stress caused by an abusive client.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK

21 October 2019

• Big Three Indian IT Consultancies Report 59% Uptick in Hiring for Q2FY20 – read article…             
• Sitel Set to Recruit 1,000 Employees for New Multilingual Hub in Greece – read article…
• Government Initiatives See Demand Surge for Land Outside Metro Manila Region – read article…

18 October 2019

• Sykes Tops Cebu Inter-BPO Sports League – read article…
• Infosys’ Internship Program Voted World’s Best for Second Consecutive Year – read article…
• Sweary Customers Impede Call Centre Efficiency But Could Expose Operational Problems – read article…

17 October 2019

• Cognizant Singled Out as Leader in the Digital Workplace Services Sector – read article…
• Accenture Cited as Star Performer for Worldwide Managed Cloud Services – read article…
• Growing Demand for AI and Automation Set to Deliver Peak Outsourcing Year – read article…

16 October 2019

• Alorica to Appoint 9,000 in Philippines as Part of 25,000 Global Recruitment Drive – read article…
• New BPO Firm Said to Be Looking to Employ 1,000 Nurses in Iloilo City – read article…
• Accenture to Invest US$1bn in Upgrading Employees’ Digital Skillset – read article…

15 October 2019

• Philippines Introduces New Pro-telecommuting Legislation – read article…
• TCS on Track to Employ 30,000 New Graduates Before Year End – read article…
• Infosys Looks to Turn the Tide on Record Staff Attrition Numbers – read article…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: October 16, 2019
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: October 30, 2019