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Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Espinoza: Meeting customer satisfaction globally
By Fred C. Espinoza
CHALLENGES. Earlier findings on the status of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in the country, no doubt, could give one a true picture on the tremendous challenges that the industry players hope to overcome in the near future.
But these should not be taken as an indicator that the Philippines is unprepared to serve as a spawning ground for the BPO sector, which is seen by many today as with the most potential among the world’s technologically-advanced business enterprises of the century, because of its uniquely labor-intensive nature and, above all, its inherent features designed to meet customer satisfaction in the fast-changing global economy.
Less than three out of every 100 fresh graduates are hired in the BPO contact center industry (BPOCC) each year, raising concerns that the Philippines would not be able to sustain the growth of the $10-billion sector with the dearth of qualified Filipino agents.
The Philippine Star cited industry data that of the 400,000 new graduates, who look for work annually, only 11,526 or 2.89 percent are accepted in BPO companies and call centers upon passing the competitive qualifying examinations.
“Most fail because they fail to understand the requirement of global job interviews, testing and process. Secondly, the spoken English becomes a challenge, in terms of conversational-fluency, tone and accent,” said Jim Santiago, president and chief executive officer of John F. Kennedy (JFK) Center Foundation Philippines.
Santiago said that unless the hiring rate in BPO companies and call centers improves soon, the Philippines will not sustain the BPOCC boom and will lose its competitiveness to other Asian countries.
He said the only solution is to prepare fresh graduates for a job in a BPO firm or call center by providing them quality training that will significantly increase their chances of getting hired.
To prove his point, that spoken English can be cured over a relatively short period of time, training programs conducted by JFK Center Foundation showed that an 80-hour training period distributed in 30 days can increase the average hiring rate of BPO firms and call centers from 2.89 percent to as high as 53 percent.
He said the hiring rate improved as the training prepared the students in terms of English proficiency, accent reduction, problem solving, analytical skills, decision making and execution, and customer satisfaction and experience.
This is a definite sign that the Philippines will not be left behind by its Asian neighbors in attracting more friends and benefactors among the strongest players in the booming global BPOCC industry who are hard at work in bringing the economic benefits down to the countryside.
Perhaps, the fine example set by JFK Center Foundation in our country might give us a good glimpse of what to expect from the industry in the years ahead.
At present, JFK Center Foundation, which seeks to revolutionize the BPOCC industry in the country through the development of “centers of excellence,” is working with universities and colleges to develop their curriculum for a one-year, two-year, four–year and even Masters in Business Administration programs in BPOCC Entrepreneurship and Management.
“The incubation of BPOCC in the schools benefits everyone in the Philippines. It is no longer restricted to the large metropolitan areas but can be accomplished in the provinces,” the foundation president said.
Moreover, JFK Foundation has already started working with local government institutions, state universities, Catholic universities, Christian universities, other private universities and local universities and colleges, such as the Quezon City Polytechnic University, Systems Technology Institute, St. Paul University Manila and St. Paul University Tuguegarao.
Santiago also noted that JFK Center Foundation and American solutions provider Five9 recently tied up to ensure the steady growth of the information technology sector in the Philippines by developing a cottage call center industry.
Five9 is an international call center solutions provider that has chosen the Philippines as the site of its regional headquarters in Southeast Asia in 2005.
The company introduced its award-winning Five9 Virtual Contact Center, a revolutionary technology that allows small organizations to start a call center with minimal capital.
The new partnership seeks to assist the development of 400 to 500 small to medium-scale companies in the provinces that will generate around 88,000 jobs, he said.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (January 17, 2006 issue)
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