The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The government’s proposed Corporate Income Tax and Incentives Rationalization Act came in for some strong criticism last week. According to the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) it could knock 50% of the sector’s growth, and severely curtail the creation of new jobs. The BPO industry, by nature of its work, is a big generator of employment and curtailing its growth will be a big brake on future job creation.

Moreover, the industry’s digital transformation is driving the development of more highly paid and highly skilled work. And the country’s jobseekers are adapting, according to a Bloomberg report. About 28 million Filipinos, or 40% of the working-age population, are now opting to stay in school for longer than before. Acquiring soft skills is just as important as technical skills, however, says a global study by the Infosys Knowledge Institute. Teamwork is the most in-demand soft skill (in 74% of digital initiatives), followed by leadership (70%), communication (68%), creativity and critical thinking (both at 66%).

Global BPO players are also helping to introduce cutting-edge best practices to the country. Last week, IT and BPM firm Datamatics Global Services said it has received the NASSCOM Customer Service Excellence Award 2019 in the Robotics Process Automation  implementation category; Wipro announced that it has been recognized as a Market Leader in Digital Workplace Services in a survey conducted by the Information Services Group; customer engagement services provider Sykes Enterprises said it has been included in the Best of the Global Outsourcing 100 list of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals; and Teleperformance Philippines won the Social Media Excellence Award for BPO Business Communication at the Philippine Social Media Week for its creative use of social media in its various campaigns. Of course, not all large firms are squeaky clean in respect of their activities and all the time. The India branches of IT firms Cognizant, Accenture and Caspex have recently been accused by three Hyderabad-based employees and a lobby group, of bad leave policy, long working hours and poor incentives.

Government-backed initiatives are also making a difference to building more skilled employment, particularly in the provinces. Companies based in the Philippines and the academe recently met with government representatives at the Future of Work Symposium, organized by Austrade Manila, on behalf of Macquarie University to develop ideas for the future of employment in the country. The Philippines’s Department of Labor and Employment-Cordillera Administrative Region has relaunched the Asian Development Bank-backed ‘JobStart’ program for a second year in Baguio. The new Dito Telecommunity Corp data center, which is set to start construction in three months in Clark Global City, is expected to generate up to 4,500 local jobs once completed. The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry said there is a need for companies to focus on upgrading Cebu’s creative sector to replace those jobs lost as traditional BPO work declines. Property developer Megaworld has urged businesses to set up operations in Western Visayas, particularly Iloilo, and provide more jobs to the region’s residents.

With more competition from the provinces, Manila mayor Isko Moreno has responded by calling on call centers to expand and open new offices in the capital. At a BPO industry meeting in Taguig last week, Moreno said that companies that build 20-story towers in Manila could be exempted from paying real estate taxes for 15 years if 70% of their employees come from within the city.

According to customer experience (CX) expert Jennifer Rubin, practices lead at CX technology and research firm MaritzCX, the secret to great customer experience is responsiveness; and meeting customer demands means delivering a consistent experience no matter which communication channel businesses use. The same could also apply to the approach Philippine cities should use in their battle to win and retain more BPO business.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK

16 September 2019

• DOLE’s ‘JobStart’ Program Relaunched In Baguio – read article…
• Sykes In IAOP Best Of The Global Outsourcing 100 List – read article…
• Soft Skills Are As Important As Technical Skills – Infosys Study – read article…

13 September 2019

• Datamatics Receives NASSCOM Customer Service Excellence Award – read article…
• Cognizant, Accenture, Caspex Accused Of Employee Exploitation – read article…
• Unemployed Filipinos Could Do The Economy Good – read article…

12 September 2019

• Corporate Tax Reform Threatens BPO Sector Growth – IBPAP – read article…
• Moreno Urges Call Center Executives To Open Manila Offices – read article…
• Responsiveness Is Key To Great Customer Experience – read article…

11 September 2019

• Teleperformance Philippines Wins Social Media Excellence Award – read article…
• Dito Data Center Expected To Create Over 4,000 Jobs – read article…
• Wipro Named Global Market Leader In Digital Workplace Services – read article…

10 September 2019

• Cebu Should Focus On Creative Sector To Boost Economy –read article…
• Philippine Firms, Academe, Other Sectors Discuss Future Of Work – read article…
• Megaworld Urges Businesses To Locate In Western Visayas –read article…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: September 11, 2019
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: September 25, 2019