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Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) is pulling out all stops to revive the Philippine economy. On June 1, marking the first day of General Community Quarantine (GCQ) in Metro Manila, they approved 26 fresh projects worth over P13 billion. Two-thirds of the projects were tendered by foreign firms with the remainder submitted by local investors. Adding further pressure onto the private business sector, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno urged businesses to help policymakers build the country’s “new economy,” calling their participation “crucial.”
In a rare webinar hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) on Tuesday, Secretary Ramon Lopez discussed the “Philippine Business Environment: Post-COVID19.” He said that the proposed Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE) would re-stimulate business, attract foreign investment and drop corporate tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent – adding that the Act will be approved once the Congress is back in session in the middle of the year. As the second-fastest growing economy in ASEAN, Lopez is positive that the Philippines can easily bounce back “once everything is settled.”
The Monster Employment Index reported that the Business Process Outsourcing/IT Enabled Services (BPO/ITES) industry was up 18 per cent in online hiring activity in April. The industry has recorded the most notable annual growth among industry sectors with industry experts projecting that the BPO sector will fare even better this year.
As quarantine restrictions ease, the industry is seeing record numbers of people returning to work. Clark Freeport Zone reported 14,000 employees returning to the office last week – highlighting a 70 per cent surge of returning workers from the BPO/ITES industry.
Most employees are still working from home (WFH) though. The nationwide lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has given birth to a new breed of worker – the ‘Generation R’. The Gen-R worker has had to ‘Reset’ themselves according to the new circumstances and demonstrated ‘Resourcefulness’ and ‘Resilience’ in developing new skills, embracing new paradigms, and ‘Re-adjusting’ their world view. We assume that ‘Remote’ work also featured in the Gen-R qualifications also.
While this may be a positive thing to come out of a pandemic, the new normal of WFH arrangement has attracted some opposition. According to IBM Philippines Government and Regulatory Affairs Executive Princess Lou M. Ascalon, data privacy clauses in client and vendor contracts were “insufficient in addressing issues in a WFH environment.” She said that outsourcing contracts need to be rewritten to ensure client data protection under WFH arrangements. Clients of BPO firm Conduent will surely sympathise with this as the company, this week, released a statement confirming that their European operations were hit with a ransomware attack, lasting more than nine hours.
In response to the new post-pandemic business climate, Open Access BPO unveiled its latest business solution, Open Access BPO Onshore™. Their business solution offers client-approved outsourcing services from a location closer to home. Attracted by the robust performance of the BPO industry despite the pandemic, Governor Imelda Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte, located beside the recuperating Marawi, is seeking BPO locators to establish BPO operations in the province in efforts to provide employment for returning residents.
In a busy week for Wipro, the Indian tech analytics company named Thierry Delaporte as its new Chief Executive Officer and concurrently announced a unique collaboration with IBM. The alliance aims to assist its customers with a seamless and secure hybrid cloud journey.
In other announcements, digital transformation solutions company UST Global was awarded as one of the Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix® Top 20 IT Service Providers of the Year 2020. This is the first time UST Global has been named to this list. Another first-time award-winner is Teleperformance Malaysia, which received its first 2020 Great Place to Work® Certification. Malaysia joins a long list of 20 other Teleperformance country operations which are currently recognized as top employers by third-party evaluators.
If anyone feels an urge to travel after all this, the good news is that Forbes Magazine this week named the Philippines as one of seven top rising stars in travel. While another report predicted that the Asia-Pacific tourism will recover ahead of others post-COVID 19 – if travel restrictions are lifted by July or August. Our fingers are crossed for this one.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020
NEWS THIS WEEK
8 June 2020
- More than 14,000 employees in Clark return back to work – read article…
- BPO sector expected to fare better this year – read article…
- European markets close higher after U.S. jobs data surprises – read article…
- IT, BPO industries experiencing a “bloodbath” due to COVID-19 – read article…
5 June 2020
- UST Global recognized as one of Top IT Service Providers of 2020 – read article…
- COVID-19 pandemic gives birth to ‘Generation R’ – read article…
- Q1 FDI pledges lowest in two years – read article…
- Conduent hit by maze ransomware bbbbbbbbbbb
4 June 2020
- PH gov’t agencies inspect firms’ health compliance – read article…
- Open Access unveils new onshore staffing model – read article…
- Wipro names new CEO and MD – read article…
- BSP encourages private sector to take part in PH’s ‘new economy’ – read article…
3 June 2020
- Exploring growth in the digital frontier – read article…
- Lanao del Norte seeks to establish BPO outlets to encourage returning residents – read article…
- BPO/IT online recruitment activity up 18% in April – read article…
- WFH to require data safeguards for outsourcing clients – read article…
- PEZA approves 26 fresh projects as quarantine restrictions ease – read article…
