Vol. XXI, No. 206 [ Business World Online ]
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
THE LOCAL unit of NASDAQ-listed Convergys Corp. is expanding operations by opening five new business process outsourcing centers nationwide.
says their Philippine unit will add seats and hire more
workers in the next one-and-a-half years. — Jonathan L. Cellona
Convergys Philippines will open the facilities — three in Metro Manila, one in Laguna and another in Cebu City — and will create 3,995 more seats for 7,000 new employees within the next 12 to 18 months.
The new facilities will be located at the Cebu i3 in Cebu City, UP Science Park in Quezon City, San Lazaro in Manila, Glorietta 5 in Makati City and Nuvali in Laguna.
Andrea J. Ayers, visiting president for customer management of the Ohio-based outsourcing firm, said the expansion would bring the number of workers at its local unit to more than 20,000, the second largest in the world after the United States.
"The Philippines is perfect because of [Filipinos’] very good understanding of the English language, technological skills and great customer service skills," Ms. Ayers told reporters yesterday.
Ms. Ayers declined to say how much the investment will be and how the company is expected to perform for the year.
Convergys is a multinational corporation that provides relationship management solutions, outsourced customer and human resource management solutions, consulting and billing services, and technology solutions to its clients. Most of its clients are companies in telecommunications, financial services, technology, government and employee care.
Jose Mari P. Mercado, Convergys Philippines director for business development, said the local unit is expected to grow with the expansion. The expansion will bring Convergys Philippines’ contact centers to 14.
The outsourcing company offers voice, back office and technical support to British and US-based multinational firms in the telecommunications, information technology, banking and finance, and pharmaceutical sectors.
"Our continued growth is based on demand from our clients, and our clients are telling us that the service experience provided by the dedicated and talented employees in the Philippines is excellent," Convergys Philippines Country Manager Marife Zamora said.
The Philippines is eyeing a 10% chunk of the global business process outsourcing industry, which has a potential to yield $13 billion worth of revenues for the country by 2010.
Ms. Ayers said the BPO industry will continue to flourish despite the feared global economic slow-down. "BPO is a recession-proof industry. Outsourcing becomes more attractive in times like this because companies can save about 15% to 30% in costs than when they are doing in-house [customer care]," Ms. Ayers said. — Anna Barbara L. Lorenzo
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