Vol. XXII, No. 109 [ Business World Online ]
Monday, January 5, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES
VOICE-BASED business process outsourcing (BPO) companies here expect to grow by a fifth this year despite the threat of a global economic crisis.
But industry leaders said call centers should enter 2009 with caution, noting that the local offshoring industry was not immune to the negative effects of the economic crunch.
"You never really know what’s going to happen," Benedict Hernandez, president of the Call Center Association of the Philippines, said in a recent interview.
"Despite the forecast, we still have to be more careful... We cannot say that there won’t be an impact," he added.
Mr. Hernandez noted that according to a survey by the group, call center companies, which make up around 70% of the local BPO industry, expect to grow by an average of 23% this year.
He noted that this would not be as fast as the 30% to 40% growth the sector had been experiencing in the past three years.
This is also lower than the growth expected by nonvoice BPO companies.
Mr. Hernandez said the slower growth rate relative to the entire industry might also be due to the fact that the sector now has a bigger base. "But you can’t really complain," he said, adding that at least, unlike other industries such as manufacturing, signs still pointed to growth. "The main thing is that it’s still going to be good growth."
Mr. Hernandez advised companies to look for more ways to improve profitability.
"What we have always been trying to accomplish is penetrating other markets," he pointed out. He said as much as 90% of the industry’s clients are from the United States, which had since slipped into a recession.
New markets companies need to consider, he said, include Europe and Australia, which will be slightlyless affected by the crisis.
Not only will tapping markets outside the US expand companies’ client base. It will also allow these to operate on different time zones. Efforts to address the availability of talent in the service-oriented industry also need to be intensified, he said.
Meanwhile, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) noted that instead of trying to cut expenses, local BPOs should invest more in marketing the Philippines to target markets.
"This is the best time to market the Philippines," BPAP Chief Executive Officer Oscar R. Sañez said in an interview. He noted that as companies abroad rethink their cost structures, the country needs to be one of the first things that comes to mind when they outsource. — Paolo Luis G. Montecillo