The Sudden Boom of the Call Center Philippines Industry

The past few years saw a new kind of development in global business. It all first started in India. The information technology made it possible for I.T. and other backroom processes to be done in countries far away from the client company. Even before the boom of the call center Philippines industry, India was the first prime location that outsourcing companies saw because of the large English speaking population. But later on, a lot of companies moved to the Philippines when competition in India was already high and because the Philippines was a great alternative since Filipinos are well versed in U.S. English culture with neutral accents compared to Indian contact center agents.

What Contributed to the Boom of Call Center Philippines Industry?
There are a lot of factors as to why the Philippines became a really popular spot for KPO and BPO companies. But the most important factor is the available workforce. Even though the Philippines has a smaller land mass compared to India, the Philippines has such a large population and population density. Setting up a KPO or BPO outfit in one of the country’s industrial hubs would ensure that you are in contact with a lot of skilled professionals. As was mentioned earlier, these professionals are all well versed in spoken and written English since it is a second language in the country. Another great thing is that the Filipino people are attuned to American legal systems and American popular culture. Also, most of this professional workforce is college educated. The Philippine educational system is affordable and high quality. A large portion of the population has access to this educational system. And as was mentioned earlier, the wages are significantly lower than in first world countries.

Other factors that contribute to the desirability of the Philippines as a BPO and KPO site is the fact that most infrastructure necessary for setting up such businesses are all already in place. A lot of office spaces are available and are constantly being built yearly. Also, the telecommunications technology such as VOIP and fast internet connections are readily available as well. All this at a low price as compared to the costs one would spend if the outsourcing arm is based onshore in the U.S.

What is its Effect on the Philippine Economy?
There are those who say that thou offshore outsourcing phenomenon is another blow to the Philippine economy. In the long term perspective, there may be some truth to this. The outsourcing phenomenon only shows perpetuates the brain drain phenomenon because strictly speaking, these outsourced jobs do not require much specialization and it does not create a homeland based business. After all, it is only possible for such BPO’s and KPO’s to exist because of the fact that the country is in the third world with third world expenses and labor rates.

On the other hand, jobs are still jobs. These outsourcing businesses still contribute to the income of the country. No one looking desperately for a job will reject the prospect of working for highly competitive wages (in respect to the third world wages) in order to pay the bills.