Top Reasons Why Philippines Has Become a Global Leader in Outsourcing

The world is abuzz with the fact that the Philippines is indeed creating quite a ripple in the BPO sector! Call centers in the Philippines are ensuring that that they keep the investors happy and interested.

• Call Center- It is the most important and the reason why foreign investors are attracted in the first place to the country. Plush offices are scattered all over the country and give evidence in itself that the BPO Philippines means big business!
• IT services- IT services like programming and software development are also rising up the popularity charts and hence a reason for outsourcing to be the reason why foreign investors are queuing before the Philippines.
• Marketing with the help of internet- This industry is gaining steady momentum. The Philippines offer nominal rate in comparison with other countries.
• SEO- This is industry is fast climbing the popularity charts, in terms of outsourcing.
• Virtual employees- Companies choose Filipino workers because they work for less payment.
  

The growth of the BPO sector in the Philippines

So what is the Philippines doing right and the other Asian nations are failing to notch up? The Data Privacy Act which keeps all information handled by the Philippines calls centres, private especially sensitive information like details of bank etc. This has helped the Philippines score big at the BPO sector.

Support of the Philippines Government

The Government supports the Philippines Call Centres completely by ensuring implementation of programmes which would be conducive to the mushrooming of business centres in the country.

Ideal Location

The Philippines is located in the business hub of Asia. The location is ideal for western countries to have dealings with not only the Philippines but rest of Asia as well owing to its strategic location.

Minimal Labour Rates

Salaries are way lower than the United States, almost 50% less. Coupled with wages electricity, communication and housing rents are much lower than the USA. But it does not necessarily mean that quality is compromised.

Talent Galore

The success of the Philippines Call Centres can also be attributed to the fact that there is a teeming population who are really talented and apt for the job.

Affinity to American Culture

Filipinos have a strong affinity towards American culture and hence they have the greater adaptability to emulate their culture and accent better. Their spoken English is much better and hence, they have a better chance of speaking the language and making themselves understood.

Professionalism Par Excellence

Professionalism seems to the Filipinos buzz-word. Yes, their values, culture, work ethics and general bonhomie creates the right kind of work atmosphere. They don’t compromise on fun and yet don’t let that tower over integrity and responsibility. That is why the call centres in the Philippines are enjoying such a good run in the market.

Time Difference does not matter to Filipinos

The reason that the country is enjoying such an elevated status in BPO Philippines is because Filipinos are very flexible and night shifts and erratic schedules do not matter to them. They are accommodating to the requirements of the clients residing in different countries.

Destination is Ideal for Work as well as Play

A country which is not only not only equipped with world-class technologies but also scores pretty high on scenic beauty. Investors can enjoy a jolly good time enjoying the beaches and also business prospects.

It is Start-up Conducive

Not only big business can reap the benefits of the outsourcing business but also small companies which are about to start can also benefit.

Economic Stability and Growth

Philippines as a country has been fairly stable for the past decade. Though its history has been marred by instances of conflicts largely owing to the dictator Marcos. But that is indeed history now, the government is ensuring that the current problems like poverty bureaucracy do not shackle the growth of the Philippines Call Centers. Also, its economic growth is quite steady growing 5% every year.

The success of the BPO Philippines industry has given an impetus to major growth spurt to the economic growth of the country as well clearly shooting almost 6% growth in Gross Domestic Product. This unprecedented growth has given rise to other industries as well creating millions of job opportunities for the people. This has prompted from young job-seekers to stay put in their country instead of moving out to other countries for seeking jobs.

Amongst the top benefits of outsourcing cost effectiveness can be regarded as the primary one. In general, it is thought that in order to seek cost effectiveness quality languishes behind. This is where the call center of the Philippines scores over its nearest rivals. It provides services which can almost be branded as impeccable.

The Philippines call centres have been in the country from 1997 but it was only after ten long years that the Philippines managed to forge ahead of its nearest competitors. In 2010, it also managed to edge past its nearest rival India. There’s nothing to stop its juggernaut as the only way the Philippines sees its growth is the upward direction. A supportive government which always takes care of its business ventures, Philippines can continue its steady run. The Philippines Government has also marked ten cities where it wants to build its hub for its call center Philippines. Davao, Metro Laguna to name just a few.

No wonder, Philippines is surging ahead and how!

Nine Steps to Run a Successful Business Process Outsourcing Service

If you want to be successful in your business, you need to ensure that you hold on to a successful partnership with offshore outsourcing, using the help of improvements in process, talent pool,  reduction of costs, improving the focus on core business and so on. But there are some risks attached to an offshore business and one must tread carefully to minimize the risks associated with offshore outsourcing.  It helps if you take things slowly at the beginning and then make informed decisions.

Nine steps to help your outsourcing Services                                                                                      

If your company is venturing into business process outsourcing services, keep the following objectives in mind and then steer ahead.

1.Do research and establish goals-You will outsource for the sole purpose of earning money, and if the basic idea is not fulfilled, that is if you are not able to select the right business provider, you will fall short of reaching your goals. You have to implement a bidding system to know whether you have selected the right provider and also a tracking system which will enable you to track the performance of the provider. If you do a lot of research and remain focused, you can avoid higher IT costs, resource wastage and lose out on business opportunities.

2.Set realistic expectations- After setting your goals and objectives, you need to reconsider them to make sure they’re realistic and achievable. You should not aim for forty percent savings or more because it is not realistically possible. Also, vendor selection costs,  the cost of communications, redundant oversight, the cost of infrastructure and a number of other costs which are seemingly not visible, will lessen your first-year earnings considerably. This doesn’t mean that outsourcing has been a total failure, it is just that if have your goals in sight, you will reach there sooner than later. Rather than hurrying up to achieve your goals, moderate your expectations so there will be fewer chances of you being disappointed for your failures.

3.Count the costs- Apart from maintaining a realistic goal; it is also important to keep a tab on the expenditure. Senior management executives want skilled offshore laborers, and for that reason, the costs can spiral way beyond expectations.

• Selecting a vendor: This takes quite a lot of time.
• Shifting work and business processes: This means knowledge transfer and loss along with process refinement.
• Attrition of existing workforce: Expenditure of removing existing staff.
• Handling with cultural differences: Cultural training is obviously needed, especially when it comes to offshore clients.
• Ramping up: Initial projects can help with your learning curve.
• Having superfluous management, infrastructure, and communications costs: At the beginning, there are many layers of servers, and communications systems which need to be bought and installed, on top of that there is infrastructure expenditure.
• Maintaining an offshore contract: The expenditure of maintaining a finished contract can indeed really be tough. Hidden costs can prove to be a real drainer, but careful analysis and management can reduce it considerably.

4. Risk Management- A successful offshore strategy is not only anticipating the risks associated with outsourcing but also preparing yourself as to how you will mitigate the problems coming your way.  It is best if you keep up-to-date mitigation strategies ready, and take measures to ensure that risks do not materialize.

• Though you are all up in arms against any unforeseen problems coming your way, you must fall back upon your plan to handle it well, by considering the following points:
• Effect: How can a particular risk affect your strategies?
• Probability: Do you think that there is a probable chance of the risks materializing?
• Ability to control: Even if the risk materializes is there any possibility to mitigate the risk?
  Productiveness: Is the team able to effectively deal with risks? An effective strategy will help lessen the impact of risks and effectively stop the risks from materializing.

Though there are some risks like political upheavals which cannot be controlled, most of the risks to a successful offshore outsourcing strategy like selecting the best vendor, hatching up a favorable contract, getting good quality deliverables, and controlling expenditures as well as controlling schedules can be managed with the help of careful management, strategies, and planning


5. Measuring and tracking the benefits-The natural consequence to counting expenditures is to measure the benefits. Let the benefits or results speak for themselves. Rather than overdoing or downplaying the benefits, say it as it is, and if they are lesser than the estimates, do your best to measure and track the benefits and also to increase the benefits.

If you segregate overhead costs from regular project costs, it’s important to add them together to find out the real costs. Some organizations prefer the average results which prove to be misleading and erroneous. You need to add the best practices to get the correct results.

6.  Use an effective outsourcing model- Another important factor in running a successful outsourcing process is choosing an outsource model which suits the circumstances and your company best. You can choose from different outsourcing models, each unique, depending on their strengths and weaknesses.  Offshore vendors may put up an outsourcing model for your reference, but you have to think about it to see whether it suits your company’s needs or that of the vendor.

There’s no dearth of models, quite like the number of vendors and companies. An outsourcing model has different variables, such as the distribution of responsibility, scope, flexibilities of contract, and duration, but the main variables can be the scope of outsourcing effort and tuning between the company and the outsourcing provider. The primary outsourcing model can be the following:
 

• Staff augmentation: Here you hire contractors to perform a particular role or job. The contractor gets the work assignments directly from your company, and then the job is done remotely.
• Project-outsourcing: This model is a self-contained one where a reliable outsourcing team is held responsible for submitting the complete project.  A small, well-etched out, the isolated pilot project makes a good beginning of an outsourcing partnership.
• Dedicated development center: This model has a pool of resources co-located at a vendor’s offshore site, resources that are there for your company’s use. 
• Functional outsourcing: This model outsources an entire business function, process, application, or department. This tends to be risky but it also earns you rich dividends.

7.  Choose complementary business partners- It is important to select an appropriate business model, but more important than that is choosing a good business partner to execute it. Many vendors have a pre-thought out plan, new-customer initiation model and want to rush through the process of preliminary rules and sign a contract without taking into account your outsourcing objectives.

8.  Slow and steady is the best way to go- With a little help from the outsourcing team, the senior management plans how swiftly you can move forward and set the ball rolling. The senior management's decision to move forward should be determined by the success rate.  Begin small with pilot projects and then start from there to get bigger projects. Do not expect that you will get a big return in the first project itself, instead aim big but start small.

9. Keep a track of your progress- As a company starts an offshore engagement, it’s imperative to keep a track of the guidelines to understand whether you are successful or not. To do this, you must begin with an estimation of current performance using the same process with which you should analyze outsourcing performance. Choose the metric that measures the aims and objectives of your outsourcing program, and find out who is to measure them, how to measure them, how would you report them and how to audit them. Before signing on the dotted line of a service-level agreement (SLA) or Statement of Work, make sure that the metrics are clearly mentioned and both the parties agree to it.

While there are numerous hurdles and problems, expenditures and risks involved in an outsourcing strategy, the benefits are huge, far more than the risks attached to it, in fact. Understanding the hurdles of offshore outsourcing provides the key to success. Success is then at sniffing distance for many companies not currently taking advantage of the benefits of outsourcing. Once they prioritize their plans and follow some of the strategies mentioned here, they will soon see the face of success.

If large-scale offshore outsourcing is not on your cards and you are not ready to consider it, setting targets for outsourcing can provide an effective solution for your existing predicament and broaden horizons as far as meeting various demands are concerned. They have to cater to an increasingly global business scenario. If you think the benefits of outsourcing are far beyond your capabilities, think again, because now it may seem more feasible and you can do it pretty successfully. So go for outsourcing and script your own success story.

Worried About A Call Center? Here are Five Reasons You Shouldn’t Be

In every part of the world and in all kinds of industries, you will notice a call center that makes mistakes. Even with good call center training and other helpful resources being made available, many businesses try to take a shortcut to slash expenditures.

Unfortunately, if one attempts to take this shortcut, it can lead to a ton of problems and the company will have a problem when it comes to satisfying and retaining customers. There are a few common errors committed by call centers, and when you are aware of these fallacies, you can do the needful to ensure that these mistakes are not repeated in your call center services.

Not Employing Enough People

When companies decide to use an inbound call center services, they are usually doing so as a way to keep their costs and expenses low. Companies decide to use call centers and make the decision to cut their staff. When there are not enough employees working, you will see a decline in your business’s efficiency and productivity.

When you do not have enough workers on staff, the employees you have left will have to work harder and longer hours in order to handle the pressures of the job. Employees will have plenty of calls to answer, and this can result in poor customer service.

The Common Problems faced by Customers at Call Centers

The main problems that the customers face at call centers are the following:

Customer Service- You would probably think that every business is centered around focusing on customer service and the customer’s experience, but this is not true everywhere. Many companies do not think about the type of customer service they can offer when they make their rules and regulations for call centers. When your employees feel pressurized in answering a deluge of calls, they will probably be unable to answer problems at the first call itself. Customers feel nettled and overly hassled to continuously call a center in order to get the answer to the problem they feel they should have received the first time itself. Customers are only content when they can receive answers to their problems the very first time they come in touch with one of your sales representatives.

•    Security: A business owner needs to watch their step at every point of outsourcing. Despite the fact that renowned outsourcing companies employ a myriad of security tools, they cannot pass on important information to call centers owing to security issues.

•    Communication Gap: Often, cultural and language issues create huge problems between agents and customers. This impacts the turnover rate. Thus, an organization has to be particular while laying down the rules and regulation of service with its outsourcing partner.

Troubling your Sales Rep: When you do not make your sales representatives read from a paper or pressurize them into talking to your customers within a stipulated time, you will give your sales reps a better opportunity to be more efficient and productive with customers.

You want to employ sales reps who are professional with a world of experience but in order to shine they need to be uninhibited and in a relaxed state of mind. When your sales reps do not have to read from a script and they can add their own flavor to the phone call and will have a better chance of getting through to the customers.

Choosing the Wrong Outsourcing Company-Outsourcing is not a very bad idea if you know exactly what you are getting yourself in to. If you make a blunder, everything in your business can be jeopardized. Sometimes there are cultural and communication differences when companies outsource their call centers and this can create confusion between customers and agents. So you need to be focused and think deep before plunging into a decision.

If you do want to outsource your call center, you should ensure that you have a plan and a strategy to overcome all problems. How many of your departments do you think you should outsource? What will your responsibilities be? How long will your association with the call center outsourcing company be?

You want to retain your customers so that your company also has a long and fulfilling shelf-life. If you deliver poor customer service, your customers will also look for greener pastures. If you are worried that your call center is not providing your customers with high-quality services then you need to re-strategize and mull over your plans once again so that you can lure your customers with careful planning and effective strategies, to avoid the above mistakes. Call center Philippines play an important role in helping with the growth of an organization. Although there may be a few glaring faults in the outsourcing process, it also offers many benefits which cannot be ignored. Thus, a company should keep these points in mind to surge ahead of the competition.

What is the Importance of Outsourced Call Center for Growing our Business?

What is outsourcing? Since outsourcing is a business strategy used by most companies today! Outsourcing can be defined as a company utilizing the services of outside service providers as outsourcing helps to get the best providers for a job. The companies strategically seek the help of outside providers since the internal staff and resources are not able to provide the top-notch and superlative services required to compete with the best in the market. Sometimes outsourcing also helps to transfer internal employees to the company from which it is outsourcing.

The Reason Why Companies need to Outsource

The reasons why companies need to outsource are the following:

Reduce the cost of operations.

Access to top-notch capabilities.

You can use your internal resources for other purposes.

A function needs to be controlled and done in time if it is not so then outside help needs to be incorporated.

There are not enough resources to manage the mountain load of work.

The company can divide the risks with the outsourcing company and thus can mitigate some of the problems.

The focus of the company needs to be amped up.

In the earlier days, the companies took to outsourcing to reduce costs and also to reduce the headcount but today the competition being fierce the organization wants to utilize the best core competencies.

How to Outsource Successfully?

 With the companies trying hard to get the best services providers on board. They want to outsource but outsource successfully. The following ways can show how to outsource successfully?

The goals of the company must be properly understood.

 A strategic vision or plan should be the order of the day.

The vendor must be selected with proper care.

The contract must be shaped properly.

Communication is the most important thing and there should be open communications between the two companies, the outsourced and the outsourcing.

The senior executives must be properly involved.

The financial part must be properly fixed.

The issues of people working in the organization must be solved properly.

The agreement on the service level must be given a proper dekko and it should be available to all the staff.

There is competition among the vendors and the buyers are able to negotiate on price as more the options the better for the buyers.

The best practices among the vendors can be impersonated by others to get a fruitful result.

What is the Open Communication?

The outcome of the change in the organization must be managed properly. Giving importance to the requirement of the stakeholders and keep the communications free-flowing can solve most paltry issues. There must be general involvement from everyone’s end.

The Support of the Executive

The support of the executive is very important as they must emphasize the objectives which will help the company to function better and the benefits of outsourcing. The managers must ensure that the responsibilities do not stop as the contract is signed but the responsibilities are much beyond the rules binding the contract. If there are too many disagreements between the two companies the contract will fall flat.  The outsourcing relationship must be handed with a lot of care. The senior management must ensure that there is regular communication between the companies. The Executive must ensure there must not be any teething problems and to do away problems there must be the introduction of changes, to grow and to ensure that there are changes in the right direction.

What should you keep in mind while outsourcing

Whether they are cost-effective and justify the costs required for the purpose of outsourcing.

Will the company have effective control in management and the running or governance of the company?

If you are thinking of seeking out an outsourcing company you must see whether they have a credible history.

Whether the companies with whom you are partnering have the requisite workbench to help you is your organization.

With the businesses already in the outsourcing bandwagon, the profitability of the company must be ensured. The speed to market must be ensured also, an increased revenue must be the landmarks to determine vendor performance. Incentives are utilized to lure vendors for performing tasks which carry a high degree of uncertainty and risk.

Ultimately, successful outsourcing associations become a fruitful partnership in the long run. After finding the right partner continuous adjustments, assessment and rethinking over the priorities are essential to make the association last for a longer period of time. The right partner and the right outsourcing can help you be satisfied overall with the outsourcing process.  The global outsourcing scenario is fast changing and it is important for companies to realize the impact of outsourcing on their business and outcome. Selecting the right partner could help their business to grow in the upward direction swiftly.