Call Center Philippines, do you want to save money?

Call Center Philippines

Up until the last couple of years, the Philippines was a relatively unknown entity in the call center industry.

Yet within a decade, this industry has grown in leaps and bounds to be one of the largest and most important industries after agriculture in the Philippines.

With the yearly hiring of tens of thousands of call center agents, this industry is seen as a saviour for the high unemployment rate in the Philippines.

Undeniably, the previous Arroyo administration placed ICT as one of main growth engines for the Filipino economy.

Call Center Philippines - The Reasons Behind The Boom

One of the reasons behind the huge growth rate in call center Philippines is because of the cost cutting measures adopted by companies in the developed world.

Reduced expenditure in the Information & Technology sector, tumbling stocks prices due to the Dot Com bubble burst all contributed to this paradigm shift of outsourcing the support part of any business process. The Philippines is the third largest English speaking country in the world and this naturally made it an ideal choice for the relocation of a company’s backend support operation.

In addition, being a former colony of the U.S. also gave the Philippines a distinct advantage over the rest of the world in terms of call center relocation because of the Americanized English accent that most Filipinos have.

Although a company can save up to 50% to 75% by relocating their call center overseas, the diversity of accents can make it difficult for a U.S. based customer to understand what an offshore agent in India is trying to say.

In fact, the backlash against Bangalore call centers had prompted companies like the computer manufacturer DELL and cellphone company Jitterbug to bring their call center operations back to the U.S. Hence, the clarity with which a Filipino call center agent can communicate with an American based customer is indeed a plus for many companies seeking to relocate their call center operations outside the U.S.

Setting Up A Call Center Philippines

Although the Philippines government is supportive of foreign investment in the call center industry, you should never attempt to try to set one up without the assistance of a local consultant.

The bureaucratic formality itself can be a nightmare for anyone who is not accustomed to the filipino’s way of doing business. A ‘Yes’ in the Philippines can mean a ‘Maybe’ or even a ‘No’. You really need a local to help maneuver your way around this.

Call it a cultural clash or whatever you want; it’s just the way things are done in the Philippines. However, once you have set up the center, the operation of the call center Philippines is relatively stable as jobs in call centers are highly sought after in the Philippines.

Call Center Philippines – The Cost

The cost of setting a call center up in the Philippines will very much depend on a variety of factors like, the area you want to set up, the number of seats and whether it is inbound or outbound.

In addition, there are other costs to consider like the cost of hardware, cost of employment, taxes, staff downtime etc.

As mentioned before, it’s better to get a local consultant that will assist you throughout rather than you stumbling along trying to figure out the ‘front’ from the ‘back’!
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