Saturday, November 05, 2005
Contact centers up Cebuano workers’ buying power, bring in more investors
Aside from tourism, the contact center industry is now driving Cebu’s economy.
Many investors are now expanding their businesses in Cebu due to the bright prospects of the local market brought by the rapid growth of the contact center industry in the province, according to restaurateur Larry Cruz.
Cruz said he opened a Cafe Adriatico restaurant at Crossroads in Banilad, Cebu City because he sees the increasing purchasing power of Cebu consumers, especially the contact center workers.
Economic heroes
In a separate interview, businessman Jonkie Ouano said Mandaue City considers contact center agents as economic heroes of the Philippines, next to overseas Filipino workers, because their high purchasing power has triggered the opening of new restaurants, retail outlets, overnight stores and coffee shops.
“These businesses also bring a lot of employment opportunities to another segment of the labor force,” said Ouano, who is also executive assistant of the mayor in Mandaue City.
Since the entry of more than a dozen contact centers in Cebu, some retail establishments like coffee shops, fastfood chains, resto-bars, as well as spa and wellness providers, have been offering 24-hour service.
According to an industry source, the entry level salary of contact center employees, also known as customer service representatives, in Cebu is between P10,000 and P13,000. This excludes allowances, commissions and benefits given by the call center companies such as PeopleSupport Philippines, Sykes, Western Watts and Convergys.
Careers
PeopleSupport Philippines’ director for strategic programs Liza Lamzon said in a statement that the company does not only give jobs, it also focuses on creating careers for their employees.
“We (PeopleSupport) continuously hire customer service e-reps (electronic representatives) who are given free training and career advancement opportunities within the company. The company provides excellent compensation and benefit packages including stock option, excellent training program through the PeopleSupport University and premium medical healthcare, ” she said.
US clients
PeopleSupport stocks trade on the NASDAQ under the stock symbol PSPT, Lamzon said.
PeopleSupport is an is an offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) provider that offers customer management services for United States-based clients from its facilities in the Philippines.
The company also provides accounts receivable management services. It is also planning to provide other back office management services.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, PeopleSupport provides services to clients in a variety of industries, including travel and hospitality, technology, telecommunications, retail, consumer products and financial services. (JBN)
(November 5, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
