|
Page 1 of 3
The Philippine contact center industry has grown rapidly and is now a close second to India in terms of market share. Provided that the customer service quality can be maintained and the costs of managing the outsourcing relationship do not overwhelm the savings from offshoring, contact center outsourcing to the Philippines is a good investment.
Also See:
Info-Tech's Free Outsourcing Podcast
What Does An iPod Have In Common With A Contact Center?
This article was originally published by Info-Tech Research Group. Copyright (c) 1998-2008 Info-Tech Research Group. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Executive Summary
The Philippine contact center industry is now a close second to India with revenues of $4 billion US per year. Its success results from high quality service delivered by educated English-speaking agents, over a stable telecommunication infrastructure at a very low cost.
Field research conducted in the Philippines found the following benefits:
- Low cost.
- Educated workforce.
- Good English language skills and understanding of American culture.
- Customer service character.
- Solid telecommunication infrastructure.
- Government support.
- Adequate financial stability.
The research also exposed a number of risks, the most important of which are decreased customer service quality and unbudgeted outsourcing relationship management costs. On the whole, outsourcing contact center services to the Philippines makes sense for companies that can manage these risks successfully.
When most people in the English-speaking world think of contact center offshoring, they think of India. After all, in fiscal 2008 India had customer interaction service revenues of $4.7 billion US (NASSCOM), making it number one. However, the Philippines have seen strong growth in contact center revenues, and now run a close second at $4.0 billion US (BPA/P).
All major North American contact center providers have a presence in the Philippines, including Convergys, ICT, Sitel, Sykes, West, Teletech, and Telus, and most of these continue to add new centers and new seats, despite a slowing US economy. For example, Teletech now has 15,000 employees, which is more than a nine-fold increase from the 1,600 employees it had in 2005. Multinational firms like Dell, Citibank, AOL, and HSBC have established their own contact centers. Homegrown providers have also seen strong growth, for example, ACS has grown to over 7,000 seats in six centers.
The UK's National Outsourcing Association (NOA) awarded the Philippines the "Best Offshoring Destination of the Year" prize for 2007, describing it as "...a global player in the offshoring marketplace. Its attraction is due to a combination of important offshoring fundamentals alongside some highly valuable offshoring extras" (BPA/P).
How did the Philippines get here? What does it mean for companies who are considering outsourcing their contact center, whether for customer care or technical support? This research note considers these questions based on data from field research conducted in the Philippines that included site visits and 18 interviews with contact center executives, their customers, and other industry leaders.
Next: Key Selection Criteria
|
