How the BPO Industry Has Helped the Philippine Economy, Put It On the Global Business Map, and the Road Ahead

The Philippines’ reputation as a global outsourcing landscape is no big news. The rise to the top was quite melodramatic in a sense of how intense the industry grew and expanded in just a decade even bumping some of its competitors like Indian cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, and Hyderabad (Manila, the Philippine capital, now holds the 2nd spot but Bangalore still dominates the Tholons Top 100). And in the coming years, we can see more Philippine cities up ahead as the list now currently has nine. So what explains the Philippines‘ rise to the top as an outsourcing destination? One of the main reasons as to why is because of the Filipino’s fluency in English with a neutral accent capable of smoothly assisting customers in the west. Adding to that is the Filipinos’ cultural affinity with other countries making it easier for us to relate when it comes to dealing with vendors and clients. But financially and politically speaking, perhaps, what makes this a win-win situation is the level of support that the BPO industry receives from the Philippine government. An example of this support is the revision of Republic Act 7916 which mandates that buildings or floors in buildings BPO companies occupy in could be registered ecozones. This means BPO industries are exempt from paying national and local taxes and only had to contribute 5% of their gross income as the tax which allows outsourcing companies to establish themselves in the Philippines. Other government efforts include a National ICT roadmap and developing ICT councils. Fast forward to today, the Philippine BPO industry has just reached another milestone as the industry has now officially grown as the country’s second largest source of dollar income with overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances still at the top spot according to the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines. Battling unemployment rates with 1.2 million direct jobs generated, should this contribution continue, we can see the IT-BPO industry overtake overseas Filipino worker (OFW) remittances from the top spot by 2017. Call it impact sourcing or what have you, but clearly, the benefits promote a win-win situation for both parties. Though the usual risks are still there such as higher management costs, wage inflation due to currency changes, and implementation speed, the benefits such as easy access to the highly-trainable talent pool and increased productivity due to extended and/or 24-hour work days make it tempting to consider to outsource in the Philippines. However, there are still challenges on the road ahead like closing in on job-mismatches. Right now, authorities are closing that gap by strengthening bonds between the academe and the industry. By knowing what the industry needs, academic institutions can integrate the needed skills relevant to contact center job opportunities. With the rise of knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) in the Philippines, more clients are enticed to outsource their departments to the Philippines such as marketing and advertising, finance and accounting, and other fields under creatives. With this comes the need of the academe to further improve the competencies of their students and ensure that they are producing graduates with skill sets required by the outsourcing industry. Enhancing the capability of institutions to develop curricula and education programs that are significant to the requirements of the outsourcing industry would do a lot in creating a pool of skilled manpower to support one of the country’s booming industries. rnAbout Coefficents Co Ltd. Coefficients Co. Ltd. is an outsourcing company that offers business solutions beyond Virtual Assistance and Customer Support and has been helping businesses grow by offering Business Development, Consultancy and Design Solutions to its clientele. Offering services such as Advertising & Marketing, Content Creation, Graphic & Web Design among others, here at Coefficients, we go above and beyond for our clients. From assessment, to solution design, to training, transition and launch; we cater to every phase and we got you covered every step of the way. We don’t go for temporary aids. We strike to the core.