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BPAPJune09 for website no ads
april - JUNE 2009 • Vol. 3 - No. 2 • 20 pages • free BPO Industry Mid-Year Status: Well-managed, Innovative Firms Are Growing EXECUTIVE PROFILE p. 15 Marife Zamora, Convergys Interview highlights: The BPO Employer of the Year <BPO Mid-year Status: Well-Managed Firms are Growing pp.1, 3. • 60% of BPO companies introduced new services as crisis presents new opportunities • 79% of BPOs surveyed: agent attrition is decreasing • Companies that opened up new sites this year <BPO Industry Applauds ICT Awards Winners p.2 • BPO Company of the Year • Best New Locator • Fastest-Growing BPO • Most Innovative Company • Best Multi-Sourcing BPO of the Year • The Individual Contributor of the Year • The ICT Awards finalists <AdEPT Program To Further Develop English Proficiency of BPO Workforce pp. 1,.4 • Interactive teaching methods give students English skills suitable for the workplace • Program targets enrollment of 22,500 students, 60% of which should be qualified for employment after finishing the program • AdEPT has 60%–70% track record of converting near-hires to actual hires <Next Wave Cities™ 2009 Annual Report pp.1,.4 • Report provides information critical to location strategies • Research relevant for BPO decision-makers, locators, and investors <International Road Shows p.6 • Countries where the BPAP promoted the BPO industry in the first half of the year • Philippine BPO companies that participated in the road shows <Talent Development p.7 • 40 faculty members from 21 schools participated in the AdEPT courseware • Prestigious global publishing firm partners with BPAP to create a leadership program <Quezon City Creates Jobs and Attracts Investments p. 9 • How QC aims to be the “future perfect cybercity” <The New President of the Animation Council of the Philippines p. 14 • Weng Bagadion: Producing and promoting the Philippine brand O2P-BPA/P survey results reveal increasing demand for people By Michael Alan Hamlin “Innovative firms are identifying new opportunities as a result of the crisis, enabling them to grow their business.” — Gillian Virata, BPAP Director for Information & Research Manila, Philippines, May 27, 2009 – A clear majority (83%) of respondents to a recent survey of executives in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry said the global financial crisis has had a least some impact on their firms. About 60% of the executives in firms affected by the crisis indicated that their firms have responded by introducing new services, suggesting that new revenue opportunities are providing a silver lining. Most of the respondents who said their firms were affected by the crisis also said that the impact was “moderate” or “minor.” Only 5% of respondents said the impact of the global financial crisis was “very significant” and 16% said it was significant. The complete results of the survey, conducted by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and Outsource2Philippines (O2P) with the support of TeamAsia, were presented by BPAP executive director for information and research Gillian Joyce Virata,in a breakfast briefing for senior industry executives on Turn to page 3 A Philippine business district where the BPO business is booming. Photo from www.bigstockphoto.com. BPO Industry Applauds ICT Awards Winners A recognition that Philippine BPOs can compete on global standards By Malou Rosal Photos by Bong Mercado The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines honored the best and the brightest players in the ICT industry at the third annual ICT Philippines Awards held March 26 at the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel InterContinental Manila. Richard Mills, President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, says that the awards allow “Filipinos [to show] the world that they can not only work at international levels—but beat international levels. It’s quite a momentous experience.” He adds that for the past three years since its establishment, the ICT Awards has been fulfilling its mandate to “recognize the organizations and individuals who contribute the most to put the Philippines and Filipinos in the minds of global business leaders.” Turn to page 2 Annual Report on Top-10 Next Wave Cities™ Out Soon The leading source of information on the subject for investors, locators, and government organizations By Joyce Gamboa By July 2009, the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP), the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will launch the first annual report on the best locations for information technology and business process outsourcing (ITBPO), entitled Next Wave Cities™ 2009. The 80-page report will contain more in-depth analyses of the top-10 Next Wave Cites™ (NWCs) which were announced in November last year, in the order of their rank: Metro Laguna, Metro Cavite, Iloilo City, Davao City, Bacolod City, Angeles-Clark-Mabalacat, BaliwagTurn to page 4 AdEPT Program to Further Develop BPO Workforce’s English Proficiency Skills Increased hiring and professional development are among the benefits of the academe-industry synergy By Marla Silayan-Gonzalez Photos by Bong Mercado In a historic move, representatives from the BPO industry, the academe, and the Philippine government signed the first set of Memoranda of Agreement effectively launching the Advanced English Pre-Employment Training (AdEPT) Program to further develop the BPO workforce’s English proficiency skills. The launch was held on May 5 at the Makati Sports Club. This joint effort of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA) intends to equip college students in particular with the communication skills needed to gain employment across various industries, but especially for the IT-BPO sector. Turn to page 4 2 BPA/P Stories april - june 2009 Breakthroughs BOARD OF TRUSTEES ERIC ALBERTO FRED AYALA KAREN BATUNGBACAL beng coronel grace dimaranan miguel garcia GIL GENIO benedict hernandez BETH LUI BARRY MARSHALL DAN REYES myla rose reyes From L to R: Sean Georget, Executive Director, Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (Can-Cham); Gil Genio, Head, Globe Business; Romit Gupta, Country Head, Wipro BPO Philippines Ltd. Inc.; Nora Terrado, Country Manager, Headstrong Phils, Inc.; Rahul Singh, VP, Genpact Services LLC; Henry Schumacher, EVP, European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines; Celeste Ilagan, Executive Director, Board of Investment; Peter Maquera, CEO, SPi Technologies Inc.; Marife Zamora, Country Manager, Convergys Phils.; Maulik Parekh, EVP and General Manager, TeleTech Customer Care Management Inc.; Nerisse Ramos, FVP and Head of Corporate Business Group, PLDT; Oscar Sañez, CEO, Business Processing Association of the Philippines; and Richard Mills, President, Can-Cham. BPO Industry Applauds ICT ... Mills also acknowledged the valuable contribution of the BPAP, saying, “From day one, we’ve worked with the Business Processing Association of the Philippines. The idea was to form a partnership with them to be a supporting party to their objective of promoting the BPO industry.” The industry’s best The most coveted BPO Company of the Year award went to TeleTech Customer Care Management Inc. A leading BPO company, TeleTech provides a full range of front to back office outsourced solutions like customer management, direct sales and marketing, training development and delivery, recruiting, staffing and workforce management, loan processing, benefits and claims administration, vendor management, payroll administration, and eCommerce. With more than 21,000 people by the beginning of 2009, it is considered the largest BPO employer in the country. It expects to exceed a manpower count of 25,000 by this year’s second quarter. Convergys Philippines was named BPO Employer of the Year for excellence in leadership, strategic HR practices, commitment to continuous improvement, corporate social responsibility involvement, and active support of the international ICT industry in the Philippines. [See related story – Ed.] Winning this award for the second time since the ICT Awards was launched in 2007, the U.S.based multinational corporation is aggressively expanding operations in key cities of the country despite the global economic crisis. It also maintains employee-centric management and development programs to strengthen employee loyalty and retention. Stresses Convergys Philippines country manager Marife Zamora: “Our greatest asset is our people. Without them, Convergys could not have established the kind of reputation that it has today, both in the Philippines and across the globe.” Headstrong Philippines Inc. was awarded Best Midsized BPO Company of the Year. Headstrong is an IT consulting organization and a diverse BPO company that focuses on outsource software and software-enabled services to global clients. On receiving the plaque of recognition, Headstrong Philippines president Nora Terrado said: “The Philippines has truly become the BPO destination of choice for software services, which we will ensure, as a company, to maintain by further strengthening and developing our unique differentiators and core processes and by consistently delivering value to our clients.” Indian-based WiPro BPO Philippines Ltd. Inc. was awarded Best New Locator for its “promising and aggressive operations in the country.” A global services provider delivering technology-driven business solutions for its clients, Wipro is the world’s “first CMMi Level 5-certified software services company and the first outside the U.S. to receive the IEEE Software ProcessAward.” Having just begun operations in Cebu in April last year, it is now providing customer services and back-office operations to various international companies. The Fastest-Growing BPO of the Year award went to Genpact Services LLC, a company that manages business processes for it global clients, “combining its process expertise, information technology, and analytical capabilities with operational insight derived from experience in diverse industries to provide a wide range of services using its global delivery platform.” Genpact posted an impressive revenue growth of 300 % in 2008. Last year, their employee roster also gained a meteoric rise from 375 to 1,300 people. The Most Innovative Company of the Year award went to Cutting Edge Productions in recognition of its multitasking capabilities in music production and editing, as well as audio and motion graphics. Owned and managed by multi-awarded film composer and musical arranger Jessie Lasaten, what used to be a simple production shop in 2003 has evolved into a “total support group for the creative vision of clients and advertising agencies.” In the meantime, Celeste Ilagan, Executive Director of the Board of Investments, received the ICT Individual Contributor of the Year for her exceptional involvement in the “promotion and facilitation and giving assistance to BPO companies.” • Accenture, Inc. • APAC Customer Services, Inc. • Convergys Philippines • Sutherland Global Services • TeleTech Customer Care Management Inc. • TELUS International Philippines Inc. BPO Employer of the Year • AIG Business Processing Services, Inc. • Convergys Philippines • ePLDT Ventus • IBM in the Philippines • ICT Marketing Services Inc. • Sitel Philippines Corporation Best Mid-sized BPO Company of the Year • Affinity Express • Headstrong Philippines Inc. • Netsuite Philippines Inc. • NorthgateArinso • Pointwest Technologies Corporation Multi-sourcing BPO of the Year • AIG Business Processing Services, Inc. • Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific (Hong Kong) Ltd • IBM in the Philippines • SPi Technologies, Inc. • Sutherland Global Services Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES Fred Ayala Chairman Dan Reyes Continuation from page 1 Bright horizon ICT Awards Philippines added a new category this year: the Multi-Sourcing Company of the Year. The new award recognizes the company that best caters to BPO, IT outsourcing, and engineering services outsourcing line of businesses. This category’s first winner was SPi Technologies, for “successfully serving over 350 global companies in publishing, health care, legal, automotive, electronics, and financial services in mostly non-voice highvalue services.” Mills elaborates on this new category: “We wanted to highlight companies that are providing more than one service in the Philippines. Many of them are solely call centers or solely financial service providers, but there are those that perform many more functions. We wanted to emphasize this. SPi does a lot of other services like medical, legal, and publishing services.” With the ICT Awards bringing together over 400 industry players, even for just one night, Mills looks forward to good prospects for ICT in the Philippines. Even though the global economic crisis is slowing things down all over the world, the ICT industry is still projecting a growth rate of over 20% this year. “We think it’s a great time for the Philippines,” says Mills. “And if you look at the industry five to six years ago, it employed almost zero jobs. Today, it employs 450,000. To my knowledge, there is no other industry in the world that has grown to such a degree as this industry has grown. Even in this so-called traumatic economic crisis right now, we’re going to add another 80,000 to 100,000 jobs this year. That’s a tremendous achievement in this environment.” . International ICT Awards – Philippines 2009 Finalists BPO Company of the Year OFFICERS Best New BPO Locator of the Year • StarTek International Inc. • vCustomer Services India Private Limited • Wipro BPO Philippines Ltd. Inc. Fastest Growing BPO Company of the Year • Genpact Services LLC. • NCO Financial Systems, Inc. • Siemens IT Solutions and Services • Sutherland Global Services Most Innovative BPO Company of the Year • Affinity Express • CCTP Cybercity Teleservices Philippines • Cutting Edge Productions, Inc. • Glow 3D Animation Studios, Inc. • Maersk Global Services Centers ICT Individual Contributor of the Year Award • Celeste Ilagan, Executive Director, Board of Investments • Dan Reyes, Country President, Sitel Philippines Corporation • Jon Kaplan, President, TeleDevelopment Services Inc. Vice Chairman Oscar Sañez President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Guinto Corporate Secretary Karen Batungbacal Treasurer Barry Marshall Assistant Treasurer Martin Crisostomo External Relations Director Jonathan De Luzuriaga Membership and Industry Affairs Director Jamea Garcia Talent Development Director Gigi Virata Information and Research Director editorial advisory board JONATHAN DE LUZURIAGA Oscar Sañez gigi virata businessinfo inc. ARMIE DUARTE President heinz bulos Publisher cora llamas Editor in Chief william dizon Art Director DONNA LARAGA Executive Assistant joyce gamboa MARLA SILAYAN-GONZALEZ michael alan hamlin MALOU ROSAL Contributing Writers BONG MERCADO Photographer advertising contacts nette roselo Administrator business processing association of the philippines 9th Flr. The Palisades Condominium 107 perea St., Legaspi Vill., Makati City Tel: 817-BPAP (2727) Fax: 817-8141 E-mail: [email protected] PEACHIE G. CORTEZ Operations Director businessinfo Inc. 16th Flr. IJ3 Burgundy Corporate Tower 252 Sen Gil Puyat, Makati City Tel: 856-4956 Fax: 856-4954 E-mail: [email protected] www.bpap.org Breakthroughs BPA/P Stories BPO Industry Mid-Year Status ... June 16 entitled, “State of the BPO Industry: Mid-Year Report.” Noshir Kaka, partner of McKinsey & Company provided an update of the position of the Philippine BPO industry in the global BPO market while Mike Henderson of Sykes Asia provided the industry perspective based on his company’s experience. A panel of industry CEOs including Beth Lui of Accenture, Marife Zamora of Convergys, Neil Elias of Logica, and Fred Ayala of LiveIt Solutions discussed their own take on the state of the industry. David Blumanis of APC by Schneider Electric also presented the effect of the crisis on clients and how they could cope using costeffective infrastructure. “The results of the survey suggest that, despite some challenges associated with the global financial crisis, innovative firms are identifying new opportunities as a result of the crisis,” Virata said in an interview. “This is enabling them to continue to expand their businesses.” Results of the survey and speaker presentations were distributed to forum participants and can be purchased by the public from BPAP or TeamAsia. Approximately 100 C-level executives in BPO firms attended the June 16 briefing, which took place at the Tower Club in Makati. Measuring impact Among the other preliminary results, Virata noted, was that while demand for BPO services remains strong, labor supply remains an area of concern for many firms. Forty-five percent of respondents indicated that their firms hire only six or fewer applicants out of every 100 before training. More than half of the respondents, meanwhile, indicated they hire seven or more applicants out of every 100. Still, a positive indicator for the industry is that attrition is either the “same,” “decreasing,” or “decreasing significantly” in the view of 79% of respondents, with 53% of respondents www.bpap.org According to many of the firms surveyed, the crisis’ impact was either moderator or minor. saying that attrition in their companies is 10% or lower. However, a significant number of respondents, 29%, said attrition in their firms runs between 11%–20%. Seventeen percent said attrition is above 21%. In a separate interview, ExcelAsia president Rita Trillo-Ugarte said, “We see sustained, strong demand for our services with the result that our firm continues to grow rapidly.” ExcelAsia provides recruitment and training services for a number of large BPOs in the Philippines, and has expanded rapidly over the past year according to Trillo-Ugarte. ExcelAsia is also a major sponsor of BPAP’s CEO forums. Service providers themselves indicate that expansion efforts are continuing, resulting in increased demand for workers. StarTek, a midsize value-added BPO, recently announced that it is ramping up its Makati facility to full capacity to meet expanding demand for complex services. Convergys opened three new call centers in Cebu, Santa Rosa, and Quezon City in April that will provide almost 3,000 new jobs and increase the company’s headcount to 16,000 in the Philippines. Telus and Sitel have also opened new sites in recent months. In a related development, Thomson Reuters recently announced that it has established a team to support global legal content initiatives, its most profitable division, in the Philippines. The company already provides services in five other operations areas, including the investment and advisory division, from the Philippines. “The Philippines is providing increasingly complex services for Thomson Reuters customers worldwide,” Raoul Teh, Senior Site Officer for the company, said recently. Miguel Garcia, CEO of industry supplier DTSI and a member of the BPAP board, forecasts that the Philippine BPO industry will grow overall by about 20% this year. According to BPAP CEO Oscar Sañez, BPO industry estimates show an addressable global IT-BPO market of US$450 billion. The penetrated global IT-BPO market is expected to generate US$130 billion in the next two years, suggesting that demand for BPO services will continue to outpace supply for many years. Sañez says the Philippine BPO industry aims to capture 10% of that market. Industry response The BPAP-O2P survey was in the field from March 31 to April 29. Invitations were sent to 571 BPO executives and 160 completed the survey, providing a 28% response rate. april - june 2009 3 Continuation from page 1 Hiring will continue throughout the year. Respondents represented approximately 25 BPO sectors ranging from advertising services to legal knowledge process outsourcing to software development. Thirty-eight percent of respondents said their firms have more than one BPO facility in the Philippines in more than 35 tier-one, tier-two, and tier-three urban areas. The size of respondents’ firms in terms of headcount ranged from less than 500 (40%) to 501 to more than 15,000 (60%). Twenty-one percent of respondents’ firms employ more than 1,000. Survey co-proponent Outsource2Philippines (www.outsource2philippines.com) provides a cost-effective, timely mechanism for companies to receive professional support in analyzing the suitability of outsourcing selected operations to the Philippines, and in implementing outsourcing programs. TeamAsia (www.teamasia.com) is an awardwinning strategic marketing communications firm that develops place, corporate, and personal brand strategies, creative concepts, and marketing communications programs for clients. It specializes in non-traditional communications channels, including the Web, contact center services, direct marketing, PR events, and direct marketing communications collateral. . Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES BPA/P Stories AdEPT Program to Further Develop BPO Workforce’s ... 4 Breakthroughs april - june 2009 The high-quality English proficiency skills of Filipino call center agents is one of the main reasons that have drawn clients and locators to do business and set up shop in the Philippines. However, a low 5% passing rate for college graduates who apply for work in IT-BPO companies prompted the authors of this initiative to develop ways to improve the hiring rate. BPAP and COCOPEA started their partnership two years ago, sharing notes and exploring ways to increase the synergy between academe and industry. Benedict Hernandez, eTelecare Global Solutions Senior Vice President and the BPAP Trustee-in-charge of the program, reveals that AdEPT was “based on an industry language training program developed seven years ago to help address the low 5% passing rate of new graduates―with language as the main reason for not meeting recruiting standards.” Atty. Ma. Jamea Garcia, BPAP executive director for talent development, describes the first few steps, “We compared the English lessons taught in our schools and the English training lessons given by the industry. We realized that we teach the same things—but differ in our methods.” “Whereas classroom learning in the country is given as lectures, the English training conducted by members of our industry is very interactive—participants are given time to participate and practice their language skills,” she adds. Meanwhile, representatives from the educational institutions were also beginning From l-r: Benedict Hernandez, eTelecare Global Solutions Senior Vice President and BPAP trustee in charge of the AdEPT program; LiveIT Solutions CEO and BPAP chairman Fred Ayala; Senator Mar Roxas, Chairman of the Senate Education Committee; and Dr. Vincent Fabella, Head of Linkages in COCOPEA and concurrently President of the Jose Rizal University. to realize the growing need for their curriculum to be more in step with industry requirements. Dr. Vincent Fabella, Head of Linkages in COCOPEA and concurrently President of the Jose Rizal University, acknowledges, “Many of our graduating students were not ready for the workplace, something that has always been of concern to me. The only way to improve on this was to partner at an association-to-association level with industry. COCOPEA has been focused on improving education, and we found a partner in BPAP which is focused on going beyond growing individual companies to growing the industry as a whole.” From l-r: Dr. Vincent Fabella, COCOPEA; Jamea Garcia, BPAP Executive Director for Talent Development; Sen. Mar Roxas; and Grace Abella-Zeta, President of the People Management Association of the Philippines. Annual Report on Top-10 Next Wave Cities™... Continuation from page 1 Confidence is one area that needs to be addressed, according to Grace AbellaZeta, President of the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP). Zeta opines, “Communication skills refer to confidence in dealing with people and not just grammar skills. Some honor students from the prestigious schools who do well in written English sometimes falter during an interview mainly because of lack of confidence.” An English-only environment Mentoring and guidance will be the backbone of the AdEPT program in a radical departure from the regular classroom scenario, which has a teacher lecturing about the rules and principles of grammar and style to students who merely listen. Under the AdEPT program, a typical class lasts from four to six hours. The instructor will lecture only half of the time, the rest of the period being taken up by games, role-playing, and other activities that will encourage the students to talk in an all-English environment. For 2009, BPAP is targeting an enrollment of 22,500 students, 60% of which should be qualified for employment after finishing the program. BPAP member companies will be partnering with educational institutions to mentor and train their teachers to enable them to sustain the program in the long-term. Says BPAP chairman Fred Ayala: “The key is to help the different stakeholders see what is in it for them and to help them act on their own. We can just be a catalyst. Hopefully, hundreds Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES the production of the NWC scorecard—made the major editorial decisions for the annual report. The working group includes CICT’s Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua and Commissioner Monchito Ibrahim; BPAP’s CEO Oscar Sañez, Virata, and Research Consultant Tonette Consuelo; and BPAP members Jones Lang LaSalle Leechiu (JLLL; David Leechiu, President) and John Clements Consultants (Carol Dominguez, President). Former Board of Investments (BOI) Director Celeste Ilagan was part of the group before leaving the BOI last month. DTI is also represented by PEZA and its Regional Operations and Development Group. CICT and JLLL provided support by assigning researchers to augment BPAP’s two-person research unit. Researchers Mae Agne of CICT and Ana Peña of JLLL joined Virata and Consuelo in interviewing sources and experts, verifying and updating data, and drafting and editing the report. BPAP telecommunications and real estate members also provided information and participated as advertisers to help defray the cost of the publication, and BPAP member Asiatype supported marketing efforts and is leading the design and production process. BPAP and Asiatype will be the major distributors of Next Wave Cities™ 2009. . of schools will walk this same path because we were able to come up with a standardized curriculum and methodology along with a very tight integration with potential employers that effectively has made the schools’ job easier.” The collaboration between industry and academe is welcomed by the government, with Senator Mar Roxas remarking during the launch: “The partnership between industry and academe is laudable and good because in effect, industry is telling the schools the kind of skill sets and competencies that their companies need. This will give the schools the chance to integrate that training into their regular courses.” Roxas is Chair of the Senate Education Committee. Roxas added that the programs born out of the industry-academe collaboration such as AdEPT “need to be institutionalized and spread to all the school systems and not just in a few. They can’t be taught in just one semester here or there. What would be advisable is that they become part of the English-language and reading-comprehension skills that students learn in college, and perhaps even as early as grade school and high school.” An individual coming out of the AdEPT program would be more equipped to speak and communicate. Hours of practice and the knowledge that he or she can speak fluent English will give that individual the confidence to face other people while utilizing a language that is not his or her mother tongue. Zeta names other benefits to the student, “This gives the individual a competitive advantage over other applicants. If you have good communication skills, you can make yourself heard and you can assume other positions in the company.” Hernandez explains the benefits of the program to the industry as a whole: “The program will also provide immediate talent needs of industry with a 60%–70% track record of converting near-hires to full-time hires. Graduates of AdEPT will increase the talent supply of industry, broadening the pie of qualified applicants. “Furthermore,” says Hernandez, “by enabling students to enter the workforce, you invest in them. In return, the students will develop more loyalty to the industry because they appreciate that investment when no one else would do the same.” . For more information on the AdEPT program, please call BPAP at 817-2727(BPAP). TOP 10 NEXT WAVE CITY: ILOILO SECTION TITLE Top 10 Next Wave City: Iloilo Chart 2. Accessibility RANK 3 Chart 1. Top city outside Luzon 77% 72% 4 68% Infrastructure 89% Cost 87% 7 91% 1, 2 67% 92% BERM By Air By Sea Iloilo International Airport (opened in 2007) Sea Port: Iloilo Port Travel Time: Travel Time: (from Manila) 55–69 minutes; 11 daily flights (from Manila) 20 hours; 12x weekly (from Cebu) 35 minutes; 2 daily flights (from Cebu) 12 hours; 1x daily Carriers: Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Air Philippines Cruise Lines: WG&A Super Ferry, Negros Navigation, Sulpicio Lines, Trans Asia Top Hotels Iloilo Centennial Resort Hotel, Days Hotel, Sarabia Manor Hotel, Amigo Hotel, Hotel Del Rio, Punta Villa Hotel RANK 3 81% Overall Score Talent Marilao-Meycauayan, Cagayan de Oro City, Calumpit-Malolos, and Lipa City. “Next Wave Cities™ 2009 aims to address the information needs of two major stakeholder groups: investors looking to operate outside Metro Manila and Metro Cebu; as well as local business, education and training, and government organizations that can support IT-BPO operations in their localities,” says Gigi Virata, BPAP executive director for information and research and editor in chief of the report. “It also consolidates the research efforts of BPAP, CICT, and DTI in preparing these locations as IT-BPO hosts and in attracting investors to them.” The number of graduates from these locations, population data, comparative costs, sites accredited by the Philippine Export Zone Authority, other ready IT-BPO spaces, information on telecommunications and power facilities, and locator headcounts are among the detailed data that will be included in the report. Data maps created by Paperless Trail, a company that presents business data in innovative ways, will show relative locations of schools, malls, and locators in each of the NWCs. The members of the NWC working group—the same organization that directed Continuation from page 1 total of 13 flights from Manila, Cebu, and Davao (Chart 2). International flights and service from an additional local carrier are expected to start in the first half of 2009. The city also has a domestic and international port managed by the Philippine Ports Authority, a river wharf for regional shipping, and an inter-island wharf. Mass transportation throughout the city is provided by the popular jeepney. There are few major roads, none wider than four lanes, and traffic can get congested during rush hour. But a single vehicular fly-over was constructed in 2007 to alleviate traffic at the city’s main intersection. In early 2009, local Iloilo officials announced that planning for a second major flyover project had begun under the President’s Bridge Program of the Department of Public Works and Highways, a program funded by the French government. Fiber optic connection for BPOs in Iloilo is provided by major telecommunications providers and networks such as Bayantel, Globe, and PLDT. As of January 2009, there were A-class facilities 2 68% Iloilo NWC Mean NWC = Next Wave City Source: BPAP-CICT-DTI Scorecard (October 2008) The City of Iloilo ranked third in the Next Wave Cities (NWCs) scorecard with an overall score of 81% (Chart 1). This high ranking can be attributed to the city’s top score for Cost (87%) among the top-ten locations in the scorecard (Chart 1; tied with Cagayan de Oro City). Iloilo city also has the second-best business environment and the fourth-highest score for Availability of Talent in the entire scorecard of over 30 locations. Therefore, outside of Luzon and Metro Cebu, Iloilo City is one of the best locations for BPO and ITO companies in the country. Most cost-efficient city The city has some of the lowest rates in real estate rentals, average base pay, and power (Table 1). Property developers in Iloilo offer a full range of products, from residential to commercial of varying classes and types. Therefore, while average rental rates among the top-ten NWCs are highest in Iloilo at Php451 per sq m, monthly rental rates for commercial space start as low as Php250 per sq m. Average base pay for non-agricultural workers is Php5,170 a month, significantly lower than the NWC median rate of Php6,556. Table 1. Costs in Iloilo Compared with Other Next Wave Cities Iloilo City Labor (Php/month) Real Estate/Rent (Php/sq m) Power (Php/kwh) 5,170.00 451.00 NWC Mean 6,556.00 404.00 NWC High 6,798.00 451.00 NWC Low 5,170.00 310.00 4.09 5.40 5.67 3.38 NWC = Next Wave City Source: BPAP-CICT-DTI Scorecard Modern and reliable infrastructure Iloilo City is strategically located in the center of the Philippines making it accessible by land, air, or sea. As Western Visayas’ financial center, the city has long been a regional hub of trade, commerce, and industry and hosts a number of industrial and investment areas. Recent infrastructure developments, including fiber optic connections and PEZA-accredited IT parks, have transformed the city into a prime location for BPOs and ITOs. Iloilo is 45 minutes away from Manila by plane. The new Iloilo Airport, 20 km outside the city, hosts regular daily transfer flights which connect Iloilo to domestic and international destinations. Specifically, Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, and Air Philippines fly a January 2009 NextWaveCities Journal ready for occupancy for BPO locators in Iloilo City (Table 2). The SMCI IT Center was the first BPO site offering of real estate firm SMPrime Holdings and Anthem Solutions-DTSI. Office spaces at this center were leased in 2008 and filled quickly with locators including Teletech. More prime BPO-ready space is being developed. Major developer Megaworld Corporation has invested Php1.5 billion for the developme nt of the Iloilo Business Park on the 54 hectare old airport site in Mandurriao district. The park’s master plan includes a retail component, theme park, hotel and convention center, and IT park. The Ayala group of companies is similarly looking at constructin g a two- to four-story building to cater to BPO and ITO investments. Other property developers in Iloilo City include Crown Asia, Fil-Estate, Filinvest, and Sta. Lucia Realty. As of January 2009, there were at least 15 BPO and ITO companies located in Iloilo City including major players Callbox, ePLDT Ventus, and Teletech Table 2. PEZA IT Buildings and Parks—Oper ating and Proclaimed in Iloilo City As of October 2008 PEZA Site Amigo Mall (Building floor area = 40,382.00 sq m) Gaisano Capital Info Center (Building floor area = 69,110.78 sq m) Robinsons Place Iloilo (Building floor area = 78,158.00 sq m) SMCI IT Center (Building floor area = 101,735.57 sq m) 4 NextWaveCities Journal Location Developer Corner Iznart and Delgado Streets General Luna Street, La Paz Ledesma Street Benigno Aquino Ave., Mandurriao Available Space (sq m) Fully occupied La Filipina Uy Gongco Corp. Lease Rate (Php/sq m) 300 HEVA Management & Development Corp. Robinsons Land Corp. 4,800 400 SM Prime Holdings Inc. Fully occupied N/A January 2009 3 Sample pages of the NWC report Excerpt from Next Wave Cities 2009’s introduction: “There are obvious limitations in providing information through a scorecard, and it was hoped that this report would address some of those limitations by allowing more in-depth reporting and analyses. But there are also limitations inherent in producing publications such as these on activities and situations that are constantly changing and, in this industry, also fast-changing. “However, there are many aspects about the 10 locations that topped the first run of the scorecard (done in October 2008) that should remain true even in such a dynamic environment. For example, these locations will probably always be among the areas that produce the most graduates in the Philippines; they will also most likely always be among those with access to the best infrastructure. Therefore, even as the top-10 list will likely have some striking changes after the next run of the scorecard (this year), Next Wave Cities™ 2009 should remain a useful reference for companies looking for alternative ITBPO locations and for local stakeholders in all Philippine towns and cities looking for ways to move up the scorecard.” www.bpap.org BPA/P Updates Breakthroughs april - june 2009 5 From the CEO Desk By OSCAR SAñez T Marketing on All Fronts he BPO train which left the station only two years ago following a road map of growth continues to chug along unperturbed by the global slowdown, seemingly unstoppable in its drive to continue to generate export dollars for the country’s GDP and additional employment opportunities for the Filipinos. On the penultimate year of its road map plan, BPAP is ramping up the execution of its portfolio of initiatives in all the road map themes of talent, business environment, Next Wave Cities™, and Team 2010. You can read all these updates from the BPAP Directors in this quarter’s publication and also partly during the mid-year CEO Forum. With the government pushing the recovery plan support fund to the private sector, particularly the Export Development Council, BPAP has also moved proactively in submitting a set of initiatives that serve to aggressively market the Philippines as a BPO destination to our target investor countries. If the government support comes through, we will see a truly global campaign to promote the industry through advertising on several important touch points of cable, print, and out-ofhome media. This is also the first time we will see a joint BPAP-SEIPI campaign on a single platform to promote both industries using the Filipino knowledge worker as “handle.” Given that these two sectors are the two largest dollar earners after OFW remittances, it does make sense for the government to aggressively promote these two. Already, the first half of the year had been quite busy for BPAP on the international trade conferences front. In partnership with the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), we have established presence at the Gartner Conference in Las Vegas, the Software Development Exposition and Conference (SODEC) in Japan, and the Cebit Conference in Sydney. All of them had the opportunity for country-sell seminars and exhibitor/ business-matching sessions. With the global crisis still taking its toll on many industries, it’s really the most opportune time to get the Philippines on the aggressive marketing path. This is the time that most CEOs are under pressure to carry their companies through the difficult times. This is the time for CEOs to deliver cost-savings solutions that will get their companies to improved levels of competitiveness. There’s no better time for the country to get ourselves to be “top-of-mind” with these CEOs.” . The Insider By Jonathan De Luzuriaga BPAP Executive Director for Industry Affairs N A United Front o one will dispute that much quoted proverb that there is strength in numbers—but I daresay that that strength is powerful and effective only if the numbers that are boasted about are in unity. The strength of unity sometimes surpasses the strength that can be found in numbers. Just take a look at the history books. The fabled Spartan 300 (relived in comic book and cinematic glory fairly recently) turned back a formidable Persian army that was more than ten times larger. Or the Battle of Agincourt where a tired and outnumbered British army conquered their French enemies who were of a far superior number. Unity makes us strong because it encourages us to pool our resources, exchange ideas and information, and, most of all, form a bedrock wall of trust that cannot be broken and, thus, can help us stand strong against the onslaught of any adversity. Unity of purpose and spirit does not necessarily mean homogeneity of style or identity. The members who freely choose to come under one banner maintain their independence, their diverse philosophies and lifestyles, and their own individual goals even as they fight for one common cause hand-in-hand with their brethren. It is this unity of purpose that industry associations such as BPAP have always sought to establish. In spite of our own unique strengths, value propositions, services—and in spite of the competition that exists among the members, a reality in any business sector including ours—the ITBPO industry has to be united if we are to continue with our momentum and build on the gains that we had won the past years. www.bpap.org Individual members have accomplished many good things on their own but, joined together in an industry association, we can be unstoppable. To begin with, various sectors in society—such as government and media— will begin to take us seriously if they see us acting us one. Concerns raised by one strong body that means business will definitely get a hearing more than several lone voices in the wilderness, no matter how loud they are. Friends in media who seek information or data from us will find our findings more credible if they are consistent and do not vary from one member to another. The same is true of foreign partners or potential clients who see an armada of Philippine delegates come to their side of the world to talk about the advantages of setting up shop in the Philippines—with one common objective and sans the crab mentality that we have become notorious for. An authentic united front would give them good reason to show us the beginnings of trust. Then there is the exchange of ideas mentioned earlier in this column. Some studies in countries like Canada, for example, show that industry associations have become the birthplace of innovation that have propelled their respective industries to new and higher ground. In responding to their own industrial challenges, they create the solutions that in turn lay the groundwork for growth and development. United we stand—and only in unity we shall ascend. . For feedback, email [email protected] Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES 6 BPA/P Updates april - june 2009 Breakthroughs Research 2009: The Road, So Far By Gigi Virata BPAP Executive Director for Information and Research Annual report on Top-10 Next Wave Cities™ The Philippine delegation at the Philippine pavilion at Gartner BPAP external affairs director Martin Crisostomo, Avanti People Partnership president Nerissa Reyes and Glenn Lagcao of DPC Data Crisostomo with Gartner Account Manager Craig Sherter Hitting Two International Road Shows Within a Month: My Baptism of Fire By Martin Antonio S. Crisostomo BPAP Executive Director for External Affairs W hen I assumed my post as BPAP Executive Director for External Affairs four months ago, I quickly found myself faced with two challenges: the Gartner Vendor Management Outsourcing Summit in Las Vegas, followed by the CeBit Australia exhibition and trade mission. These two conferences became my baptism of fire. These two events happened within days of each other—the Gartner conference in early May and the CeBit event from May 12 to 15. BPAP CEO Oscar Sañez, Sec. Ray Roxas-Chua (CICT), and I had to fly up north to the U.S. then jet to the south Down Under all in a span of two weeks. On May 9, my boss Oscar and I arrived in Manila from Las Vegas early in the morning, had a hot shower in our respective homes, packed up some fresh clothes, and hopped on another plane that would fly us to Sydney at 8 p.m. the same day. How’s that for a stopover? In terms of preparation for these two events, I was going through my learning curve as quickly and efficiently as I could sans assistant and yet with the imperative to hit the ground running. I applaud the government’s support of BPAP’s efforts to promote the Philippines as a desirable investment site. These are trying times where the first budget item to be cut is the allocation for marketing and any help, especially from the government, is a big break. Warm response budget cuts despite It was with these conferences that I began to refine my ability to take calculated risks, given the financial constraints and the photo-finish preparations due to the endless red tape. In a sense, this process was like giving birth—it was very difficult but, in the end, you look at the results and say it is worth all the close calls and the heartache it took to get it done. It was stressful, but worth every drop of sweat. Getting people and companies to sign up for these two trade fairs was not an easy task either. To get Filipino participation for the CeBit event, we initially signed up five delegates, with others trickling slowly in until we were able to register 14 Philippine representatives for the trade fair. Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES For the Gartner event, we went through the process of sending out invitations to potential delegates at a time when belttightening and marketing budget cuts were the order of the day for the firms we were inviting. The slots were limited to eight pods, as this was what the funding from government could cover. However, it turned out that we needed a lot more than that. Several companies wanted to participate despite the limited number of pods. But wanting to make “everybody happy” as much as possible, with the help of our cooperative organizers from Gartner, we were able to have additional delegates and companies participate in the trade conference. We ended up having 21 delegates attend the Gartner summit. The number of leads we got, especially from the Australia road show, was very encouraging and I plan to write about the conversions of the two trips in my next column. Now that I have two big international trade shows under my belt, I feel that I have found my place in the BPO industry. When I was in government I saw myself as a promoter of the country for good international publicity and image. And now, I find myself still a promoter of the Philippines but as an investment location. I thank the wonderful delegates who participated in both trade shows. They were so helpful, cooperative, understanding, and fun to work with. I would like to express gratitude to the Philippine government, to the staff and leadership of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology in particular, not only for facilitating the release of the funds for the trips but also for its strong support of its leadership and staff . Most of all, I would like to thank my BPAP family which is always there to listen and help in times of difficulty. It was a radical shift of paradigms for me in the last four months, transitioning from my past job as Press Undersecretary to my present role as the BPO industry’s marketing director. But I will definitely continue waving the flag and will continue to serve the country through this industry…because my new suit feels really great! . At the start of this year, BPAP’s research unit (BPAP research consultant Tonette Consuelo and I) was augmented by two researchers who were assigned to help us part time: Mae Agne from the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) and Ana Peña of Jones Lang LaSalle Leechiu (JLLL) (until May 31, 2009). Mae and Ana were generously “offered” to us by bosses CICT commissioner Mon Ibrahim and JLLL president David Leechiu, respectively. Our common task was to provide the content for the first BPAP publication on the top-10 Next Wave Cities™ (NWCs) within the first half of the year. Our proposed outlined was refined and approved in December 2008 by the NWC working group composed of CICT head Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III, BPAP CEO Oscar Sañez, then Board of Investments director Celeste Ilagan, John Clements Consultants president Carol Dominguez, other representatives of the Department of Trade and Industry, Mon, David, Tonette, and me. Asiatype’s managing director Philippe Saurel and project manager Levi Balanon also worked with me before the Christmas season to lay out the production requirements and the details of our partnership for the publication. Tonette, Mae, and Ana then took over the hard work of gathering, verifying, and updating data and information from national and local governments, ICT councils, and other local stakeholders; telecommunications and real estate companies; and online sources—to put together papers, replete with charts and tables, on each of the top-10 NWCs. We also discovered a new resource asset in Paperless Trail which produces digital maps from extensive databases. These maps will be a prominent feature of the publication. I was also pleasantly greeted with generous support from the telcos and real estate companies with content and ad placements. We are in the middle of the last concerted push to complete all the reviews and final detailed work within June to hit our target of launching the premier annual report on the NWCs, entitled Next Wave Cities™ 2009 (See related Front Page story – Ed.). BPAP-O2P forums on pressing industry issues At the well-attended and highly rated CEO forum Going Voiceless in December 2008, featured speaker Nikhil Rajpal (Everest global services head) showed how, by 2012, the demand for non-voice services was expected to comprise 90% of total business process outsourcing (BPO) demand. He also outlined the current and, importantly, potential capacity of the Philippines to capture more of this market. His talk caught the attention of Tata Medado, managing director of Asia Pacific College. Tata’s concern was how to better prepare the academe as the main supplier of talent for information technology and BPO in the higher-value non-voice (and even highervalue voice) services. It was unanimously agreed on by BPAP’s CEO forum team (Frank Holz of Outsource2Philippines, Michael and Monette Hamlin and their team at TeamAsia, and me)— with the concurrence of Oscar and BPAP’s executive director for talent development Jamea Garcia—that the issue identified by Tata and related concerns around bridging the perennial skills gap easily qualified as urgent for the entire industry and, therefore, as a topic for a forum. Instead of just CEOs, however, we included academic officials and human resource heads of industry players in our target market for the forum. With support from Excel Asia (major sponsor), Ayala Land (minor sponsor), and World Pacific (refreshments), the forum produced a very engaging discussion actively participated in by a very engaged audience. Their common demand was for more time to continue the dialogue! (See related article - Ed.) The choice of topic for the second CEO forum for 2009 was a no-brainer. We immediately launched a survey on the impact of the financial crisis, and it was also no surprise that 83% of the respondents reported that the crisis has affected their operations. More surprising, but also confirming previous surveys and anecdotal reports, was that the response to the crisis of 49% of respondents was to increase their workforce by 11% to up to 200%. Providing new services was also a common response. As is our practice, we planned a CEO forum to delve deeper into these responses. The forum was held on June 16 at the Tower Club. McKinsey and Company partner Noshir Kaka presented the Philippine position in the global market, Mike Henderson, Sykes Asia’s Vice President for the Asia Pacific Rim presented the industry perspective, and David Bulamis of American Power Conversion (APC) presented the suppliers’ perspective. Sector representatives of some of the most influential BPOs in the country participated in the panel discussion; they included Beth Lui of Accenture, Marife Zamora of Convergys, Neil Elias of Logica, and Fred Ayala of LiveIt. APC was the forum’s premier sponsor, Excel Asia and TeamAsia the major sponsors, Thomson Reuters and Teledevelopment minor sponsors, Business Mirror, Manila Bulletin and Radiopartners media partners. We aim to have a total of 3 to 5 periodic surveys a year and 3 to 4 CEO forums. A constant check on the industry’s “temperature” and a repeated look at key metrics to establish trend lines are among our goals for the year. Among others Our regular plate of tasks also includes maintaining, updating, and improving our industry database. We hope to do this in tandem with the sector associations and representatives. We’ve also participated in government efforts to improve industry statistics and, recently, after almost two years of meetings, we finally agreed on how the industry can be classified under the international system of classifications. This means that it’s very possible that the National Statistics Office will soon start planning to collect annual data on our industry. The BPAP board has also identified cost and productivity as areas that we need to keep track of and work has begun—slowly, I admit—to design the work flow of this initiative. Tonette and I are optimistic that, with the help of the many partners mentioned above, we will soon have the pages of Next Wave Cities™ 2009 flowing through the presses. We are also confident that O2P and TeamAsia will continue with the excellent work they’ve been doing on the periodic surveys and CEO forums. Finally, when the above happens, your BPAP research team can squeeze into our work load more of your requests for custom research, among others. . www.bpap.org BPA/P Updates Breakthroughs april - june 2009 BPAP-O2P and TeamAsia Forum on IndustryAcademe Skills Gap Provokes Heated Discussion T Ateneo President Fr. Bienvenido Nebres, S. J., presents an overview of The Philippine Main Education Highway TeamAsia managing director Michael Hamlin (back to camera) moderates the lively discussion with panelists (from L-R): Dr. Ester Garcia of the University of the East (partly hidden), Dr, Vincent Fabella of Jose Rizal University, Alejandro Melchor III of IBM Philippines, Barry Marshall of J. P. Morgan Chase, Rina Clamor of Accenture, and Noel Duldulao of Sitel. Courses, Career Caravans and Convergence he Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and Outsource2Philippines (O2P), in cooperation with TeamAsia, held a briefing entitled Delivering the Human Resource: Aligning Supply with Demand in Philippine Education on March 10, 2009, at the Ateneo Professional Schools in Rockwell, Manila. ExcelAsia Training and Development provided invaluable support as backed up by Ayala Land Inc. World Pacific also supported the event. BusinessWorld and Radio Partners helped promote the forum. BPAP CEO Oscar Sañez opened the program by putting into context the issues surrounding the supply of talent for the ITBPO industry and its on-going efforts to work closely with the academe to match requirements. Frank Holz, CEO of O2P, presented the results of the survey that preceded the forum. Top-line survey results showed 82% of companies projecting positive job prospects for 2009, with about half expecting to increase their workforce by over 15%. Danilo Reyes, who was then ending his pioneering stint as head of Sitel’s Philippine operations, presented the demand side of the talent equation with both the positive characteristics of Philippine graduates as well as the areas where curricula and teaching methods may need some adjustment to meet industry needs. In response, Father Bienvenido Nebres, S. J., President of Ateneo de Manila University, presented the programs of the Presidential Task Force for Education (PTFE) in bridging the skills gap. He reported that the PTFE works closely with several public and private organizations to develop road maps and partnerships to continuously 7 review and update the professional education curricula. Father Nebres then passed the lectern to Tata Medado, Managing Director of Asia Pacific College (APC), who described APC’s program to coordinate screening and training for aspirants sponsored by the Quezon City government through the Far Eastern University’s training program. A lively discussion, moderated by TeamAsia’s managing director Michael Hamlin, ensued among panelists Rina Clamor (Accenture), Noel Duldulao (Sitel), Dr, Vincent Fabella (Jose Rizal University), Dr. Ester Garcia (University of the East), Barry Marshall (J. P. Morgan Chase), and Alejandro Melchor III (IBM Philippines). The panelists dissected the peculiar phenomenon of how, with just 100 hours of additional training, as many as 30% of applicants can be transformed from “near-hires” to actual hires—and why this is not more broadly achieved within the four years of undergraduate education. Many possible explanations were discussed such as training methods (lecture-based versus interactive), class time (1 hour, 3 times a week in college versus 2 weeks of full-time training), and the difficultly of changing traditional academic structures and mind sets. The discussion provoked many participants in the audience to pipe in with their own experiences, failures and successes, and suggestions for closing the skills gap. Post-event evaluations showed that the event met the expectations of 98% of those who attended and 90% rated it very good or excellent; the common complaint was the lack of time to keep the discussion going. . — By Gillian Virata. For the first semester of the year, your BPAP talent development team has been hard at work ensuring that our talent initiatives are on track to meet our 2010 targets. By Jamea Garcia W BPAP Executive Director for Talent Development e are pleased to inform you that last May 18 to 29, we were able to train 40 faculty members from 21 schools on the AdEPT courseware. We held the training session at the Jose Rizal University (JRU) Campus. Around 40 teachers came from all over Luzon, some from as far north as Tuguegarao and Masbate. They gave up two whole weeks of their summer vacation to attend this intensive training course. Was it worth it? Most definitely—according to the participants. Now comes the hard part. All of these trainees are expected to roll out the classes in their respective universities and we hope to see a vast improvement in the English proficiency of their students. This we hope to achieve in the next few months. Developing leaders On the management development program, BPAP has partnered with the Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) to develop a series of leadership development programs for the BPOs. We launched a leadership development program for new managers last April 24. This is a competencybased curriculum using HBP content. The program uses a blended learning and participant-centered approach, where the participants go through a self-paced online learning module and a facilitated weekly discussion. This program runs for a period of 10 weeks. There are currently two batches taking this course. The third batch will www.bpap.org start on July 6, 2009. We encourage team leaders, supervisors, and newly promoted managers to go through this course. In addition to the leadership development program for new managers, BPAP and HBP will launch, in the first week of July, a leadership development program specifically designed for mid-level managers. This program is targeted for operations managers, account managers, program managers and the like. This is again a competency-based curriculum using HBP content. We are flying in Ms. Nikki Nyugen, a professor from University of San Francisco and UC Berkeley to conduct this 6-week program which will run from July until August. Again, we encourage everyone to send participants to this program. The BPAP Career Caravan has now grown bigger with the participation of the Commission of Information and Communications Technology (CICT). This program has been renamed Convergence 2009. The official launch will be on June 29, 2009, at the CICT grounds and we will be travelling to our first city in July. In addition to the 10 Next Wave Cities™, we will now include Cebu as part of the road show for Convergence 2009. These are just some of the developments for the HR initiatives with more activities and programs planned for the coming months. We are counting on the unwavering support of the industry for these endeavors. . Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES 8 april - june 2009 Industry Report Breakthroughs PSIA Conferences in Tokyo, Sydney, and San Francisco T he Philippine Software Industry Association (PSIA) has embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign to showcase the sector as a choice IT & Outsourcing destination to the global markets by participating in a number of international conferences: The 18th Software Development Expo (SODEC) in Tokyo, Japan; CEBIT 2009 in Sydney, The winners of the 1st MT Skills Challenge Australia; and JavaOne in San Francisco, USA (upcoming as of press time). Since 1988, PSIA has been working with the government, academe, private sector, and other concerned stakeholders to further the objectives of its 140-strong membership in line with its goal to make the Philippines competitive in the software development services market worldwide. . Left: The participants of the essay writing competition spent hours developing their essays on a topic about a yet unfamiliar industry. Right: The transcription skills challengers went through a series of elimination rounds until the final top 10 were named. During the BPO Summit at Crowne Plaza, only three emerged as winners. MTIAPI Stages its 1st MT Skills Challenge The Medical Transcription Industry Association of the Philippines, Inc., (MTIAPI) successfully staged its first MT Skills Challenge last December 2008. Over 60 students from 16 different colleges and universities all over Metro Manila participated in the competition that aimed to promote medical transcription (MT) as a viable career for Filipino graduates. The participating schools were: Arellano University, Asia Pacific College; Centro Escolar University–Makati; Centro Escolar University–Manila; Colegio De San Juan De Letran; De La Salle University–Lipa; FEATI University; J.P. Sioson Colleges, Inc.; Jose Rizal University; National College of Business and Arts–Cubao; Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila; Technological University of the Philippines–Taguig; Tomas Claudio Memorial College; Universidad de Manila; University of Santo Tomas; and the University of the Philippines. The competition had two parts: the On-the-Spot Essay Writing Contest and the Transcription Skills Challenge. Participants were initially screened on November 25, 2008, at the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) in Diliman, Quezon City. Thirty-six essay-writing participants worked on the general topic “Medical Transcription–An Alternative Global Career Suited to Filipino Professionals.” Meanwhile, 28 participants of the transcription skills challenge competed for inclusion in the top 10 after the elimination round. The awarding of winners for the essay- writing contest and the final face-off of the Transcription Skills Challenge were held during the second day of the BPO Summit Philippines at Crowne Plaza Galleria in Pasig City. The final round was held at the Plenary Hall, where attendees of the MT tracks conference saw first-hand the complex but exciting work of a medical transcriptionist. Winners of the On-the-Spot Essay Writing Contest were:Emil Karlo de la Cruz, University of Santo Tomas (first prize); Katherine Denise Queri, University of the Philippines (second prize); and Miriam Joy Tumamak, Jose Rizal University (third prize). The finalists in the Transcription Skills Challenge were: Miriam Joy Tumamak, Jose Rizal University; Crisan Salagado, SPi; Myrna Suarez, DLSU Lipa; Charmaine Roque, JP Sioson Colleges; Corene Joi Generoso, CEU; Simonette Paragas, SPi; Andrew Agaton, UST; Romnick Dolores, Tomas Claudio Colleges; Maricor Villaluz, CEU; and Dave Edward Jandusay, FEATI. Simonette Pragas of the SPi MT Training Center eventually won the first prize. Tumamak and Geroso won second and third prize, respectively. Support for the competition from the students, academic institutions, and MTIAPI member companies makes a second staging in 2009 on a much larger scale very likely. . The Philippine delegation led by CICT commissioner Monchito Ibrahim, PSIA president Ma. Cristina (Beng) Coronel, Japan market head Tae Abe-Abion (not in picture), PTIC-Tokyo representative Toshio Yambe and PSIA executive director Jo-Anne Loquellano pose in front of the Philippine pavilion at SODEC. CICT commissioner Monchito Ibrahim and PSIA president Ma. Cristina (Beng) Coronel hand tokens of appreciation to Japan Users’ Association of Information Systems (JUAS) after an information session on Philippine IT & Outsourcing opportunities. Arup Maity, CEO of BlastAsia and a member of PSIA’s International Marketing Committee (left) and Diane Suico, PSIA’s Marketing Program Director (right), with Robby Cannings of TRT (center), a prospective client for IT outsourcing. Arup Maity of PSIA International Marketing Committee BlastAsia, Inc (1st from right); and BPAP external relations executive director Martin Crisostomo (2nd from left) are among the members of the Philippine delegation interviewed by the press at CEBIT Australia 2009. Philippine Call Center Industry Expects Healthy Growth Amidst Economic Slowdown Industry Event to Tackle Strategies to Generate Revenue Growth and Cost Savings MAKATI—MAY 28, 2009—The contact center industry in the Philippines will continue to grow in 2009, despite the global economic slowdown, based on the general consensus among members of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), the country’s official trade group for outsource and in-house contact centers. A CEO forum engages the CCAP stalwarts in CCAP’s 2008 Conference and Expo (from l-to r): Dave Rizzo, Regional VP for Operations, Teleperformance; John Langford, EVP, ICT Group; Vic Endaya, President and CEO, Advanced Contact Solutions; Dan Reyes, Country Manager, Genpact Services LLC.; Benedict Hernandez, SVP - Philippine Operations, eTelecare Global Solutions; Maulikh Parekh, former SVP and Gen. Manager of TeleTech; Annie Reyes-Pineda, COO, Pacific Hub; and Raffy David, Director of Marketing & QA, Pilipinas Teleserv. Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES However, the challenge to achieve cost savings and new growth areas remains. These critical issues and strategies will be discussed during the upcoming CCAP Annual Call Center Conference & Expo 2009 with the theme “Navigating Through the Global Crisis” this July 15-16, 2009 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City. The CCAP Annual Call Center Conference & Expo 2009 is the flagship event of the contact center industy, which attracts around 6,000 executives, managers, supervisors, and agents of outsource and inhouse contact centers. CCAP was established in October 2001 by seven founding member companies. Today, it counts 53 of the largest local and multinational contact centers in the country. Now on its fifth run, the CCAP convention, exhibit, and job fair features more panel discussions with CEOs, analysts, economists, support sectors, and call center agents; 32 new conference topics on operations, HR, technology, and career development; a new conference track for call center startups called Call Center 101 Plus; more booths at the expo with the latest products and services; and a bigger job fair with more job openings. The conference sessions follow the theme with topics focused on generating revenues and cost efficiencies, such as “Fueling growth through mergers and acquisitions,” “Recession-proof your call center,” “Impact of efficient supply chain management on your bottom line ,” “Low cost and effective recruitment straegies,” “Tried-and-tested tactics for retaining your top people ,” “Using technology to generating cost savings,”” New trends in call center automation,” “Motivating your team to achieve key metrics,” and “Work-life balance in a 24/7 world,” among others. . Interested parties may contact the CCAP Secretariat at tel. no: 889-7763 or telefax nos. 886-4407 and 844-8341 or email [email protected]. www.bpap.org Breakthroughs SPECIAL REPORT 9 Quezon City Creating Jobs, Promoting Investment to Address Crisis Investors’ business forum focuses on local opportunities Fast-developing Quezon City announced on May 11 that 5,000 jobs are now available in a range of industries there. The announcement followed the release of a Social Weather Station (SWS) survey indicating that 34.2% or 14 million adult Filipinos were not working and looking for jobs in the first three months of 2009, up from 27.9% and 11 million in the previous quarter. Many of the jobs being created in Quezon City are in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry and support sectors. According to Jones Lang La Salle Leechiu country head David Leechiu, 44 BPOs presently have operations in the city, making it the third-largest BPO center in the country by number of facilities. Quezon City’s combined BPOs provide services for clients primarily in North America from 18,000 seats. But the number of BPO jobs available is expected to increase further as a result of an aggressive campaign to BPO investors undertaken by the city government. In a survey by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) and Outsource2Philippines early this year, 68% of respondents said they expect to increase their workforces this year by at 6 % or more; meanwhile, 49% said their workforces will expand between 11% to more than 200% in 2009. Quezon City’s effort to recruit BPO investors was apparent in a recent business forum organized by the mayor’s office with the assistance of strategic marketing communications firm TeamAsia. The briefing for senior BPO executives focused on Quezon City’s efforts to become what www.bpap.org Industry Report april - june 2009 it calls the ‘future perfect cybercity.’ Featured speakers included government officials responsible for creating a BPOfriendly environment and top officials of BPOs with operations in the Philippines. The 120 delegates in attendance included prospective investors. Pioneering BPO hub According to Mayor Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr., however, Quezon City is not only creating jobs. It is also training Filipinos to fill them. Indeed, at the core of the city’s investment promotion program is its people. Because BPOs locate in attractive labor markets, Quezon City provides specialized training to prepare residents for BPO jobs. In recent years, Quezon City has evolved into a thriving business hub with government-built and -supported infrastructure, reinforced security, and affordable housing opportunities. These features, said Mayor Belmonte, attract young professionals and investors alike. Not surprisingly, the city played a pioneer role in the development of the BPO industry in the Philippines. Quezon City’s Eastwood City Cyberpark was the first BPO-ICT (information and communications technology) hub to be developed in the country. At present, the city has 28 ICT parks registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). It was ranked the number one most competitive city in Metro Manila in 2007 by the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center and seventh in the 2007 ranking of Asian Cities of the Future, a comparative evaluation published by the London Financial Times. Business executives including Sykes Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific Rim Michael Henderson and IBM Philippines president James Velasquez Quezon City Mayor Feliciano (Sonny) Belmonte, Jr. with Quezon City officials and industry experts at the Quezon City ICT business forum. (Top L-R) Michael Alan Hamlin, Managing Director, TeamAsia; Jonathan de Luzuriaga, Industry Affairs Director, Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P); James Velasquez, Country General Manager and President, IBM Philippines, Inc.; Honorable Mayor Feliciano (Sonny) Belmonte, Jr., City Mayor, Quezon City; Commissioner Mochito Ibrahim, Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT); Jose Rainier A. Reyes, Head of Offshoring and Outsourcing Industry, Globe Telecom; Manny Sabalza, Assistant City Administrator, Quezon City and Head of the ICT/BPO Task Force. (Bottom L-R) Michael Henderson, Managing Director for Asia and the Pacific Rim, Sykes; Police Senior Sup. Elmo DG San Diego Sr., Police District Director, Quezon City; John Castelo, VP-Business Development, Araneta Center Inc.; Tunde Fafunwa, Chief Consultant and CEO, BayanTel; Jose E.D. Lloren Jr., Director for Asset Management, Convergys; David Leechiu, Country Head, Jones Lang LaSalle Leechiu commended the city administration’s efforts to provide an ideal training, technology, security, and infrastructure environment for existing and future investors. At the forum, Belmonte returned the compliment, thanking “all the speakers and panelists of this forum for their support of Quezon City’s endeavor to develop and promote our city as an ideal business location.” He added, “We are determined to sustain our position as the most competitive city in Metro Manila and the Philippines and provide our people abundant and rewarding job opportunities even during this time of economic crisis.” A panel discussion, moderated by BPAP executive director for industry affairs Jonathan de Luzuriaga, discussed the capabilities of Quezon City as a BPO hub. TeamAsia provided the overall event management for the investor briefing, from conceptualization, production design, and program generation to demand generation and on-site event management. “We were honored to partner with Mayor Belmonte in this initiative to encourage investors to locate in Quezon City as it seeks to extend its leadership in the BPO industry,” said Monette Iturralde-Hamlin, President and Founder of TeamAsia. . Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES 12 Insights april - june 2009 Breakthroughs The opinions expressed and the information provided here come from the individual contributors of the respective companies, and must not be taken as official statements from BPAP. Improving your Bottom Line Through Health Risk Management By Amy Laverock and Emmy Navarro Time to measure the impact of workforce health on the organization Every industry has its health risks. These risks vary depending on organizational culture, job nature, and work environment. While manufacturing jobs come with the risk of muscle, bone, and joint injuries, white-collar jobs including those at BPOs have unique health risks that can include poor ergonomics, sleep disturbance, and the one that we are all familiar with: stress. We are not only exposed to risks at work but also in everyday life, whether it is from eating fast food, a lack of exercise, personal stress, or a family history of certain illnesses. The typical young demographic makeup and rapid rise in income levels among BPO workers have meant that many in the industry feel immortal and may dismiss the development of a healthy lifestyle as irrelevant. Unfortunately, when we look at many employee health profiles in the Philippines, we see disease profiles of middle-aged individuals in relatively young populations. The Philippines is not alone; we see similar issues in other markets. Let’s compare the health issues in India’s BPO industry with the Philippines’ for example. (see table 1) HR professionals in the BPO space cannot eliminate all health risks that may be associated with BPO work. These risks, based on anecdotal information from BPOs, may include sleep disturbance, lack of exercise, intake of stimulants (e.g., caffeine, nicotine, alcohol), and stress. However, HR professionals can influence the speed and extent to which their organization develops solutions to help employees understand and better manage their risks. Employers who do manage organizational and individual health risks will develop a competitive advantage. From a health perspective, BPOs in the Philippines have two opportunities that don’t exist in India. First, while unscheduled absence is common in the Philippines, it is less of an issue in India where pay for time off for illness is less prevalent. This means that by tackling the issue of health-related absence, employers in the Philippines can make great strides in reducing labor costs. Second, the Philippine government has placed an onus on employers to fund and deliver health services like making available medical practitioners on site as well as annual medical exams. If properly designed and delivered, these services can actually improve employee health and hence deliver a competitive advantage to the business, at no additional cost to the company. It is time to ask: to what extent are health risks affecting your organization? Do you know what portion of your employee population smoke? How many of your workers have hypertension? How many feel positive about the upcoming six months? How are these factors affecting employee attendance and attention? Does employee behavior translate into a poor attitude toward customers, which means less queries resolved on the first call? Are these the factors that are driving the use of your health plan and the visits to your on-site clinic? Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plan costs have been increasing by 30%– 100% over the past three years, driven mainly by increased utilization and the underlying disease drivers in both employees and their dependents. The necessary steps Developing a key set of metrics monitored regularly by senior management and quantifying the impact of health on customer service, productivity, benefit costs, and retention levels will become key talent management activities into the future. So how can BPO employers in the Philippines tackle these issues to give them a competitive advantage in the global BPO Table 1. Key health issues in the BPO industry Key Issues BPO Problems to Solve • High absence rates • Growing medical plan costs • High employee turnover BPO Opportunities to Seize • Optimizing current spending on annual medical exams and onsite medical clinics • Improving employee health profiles with investments in health risk management programs to reduce burnout and improve customer service India Philippines ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ market? Once the baseline metrics are in place, they can take the following steps to manage the health of their employee population: 1. Take an inventory of your current health spending. How much are you currently spending on medical insurance, preemployment medicals, annual medicals, wellness, vaccinations, etc.? Which of these are generating ROI? Are there gaps relative to employee needs? 2. Focus on the top two or three health risks. If the health risks facing your organization are a high consumption of carbohydrates and stimulants, sedentary lifestyles, and sleep disturbance, it is advisable to provide coaching to employees on how to manage these risks. 3. Look at ways to monitor and address organizational stress levels. A certain level of pressure is needed to maximize productivity, but too much pressure can result in fatigue, ill health, and burnout, with a corresponding drop in productivity. Taking these steps will save you medical costs and improve the health and productivity of your workforce. It will also help you differentiate your employment value proposition and continue to attract and engage precious talent. . About the authors: Amy Laverock is a Principal and the Benefits Consulting Leader for the health and benefits business of Mercer in Asia Pacific. Emmy Navarro is Senior Vice President and Business Leader for Marsh Risk Advisers & Insurance Brokers’ Philippines health and benefits practice. Marsh and Mercer are wholly owned subsidiaries of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. Weak Office Demand in Asia Pacific Leads to Lease Incentives ACPI’s new president: Rowena “Weng” Bagadion of Media Farm, Inc ACPI’s vice president, Nestor Palabrica ACPI’s new secretary, Peter Tan Carrillo ACPI’s new head of finance, Erwin Escubio ACPI Welcomes its New Board for 2009-2011 The Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc., (ACPI) voted its new set of officers for 20092011 in general elections held at the University of the Philippines Technohub in Quezon City last March 28. ACPI’s new President, Rowena “Weng” Bagadion, is the Chief Executive Officer of Media Farm, Inc., a global company that has been providing e-learning, animation, and IT outsourcing services to clients from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Asia Pacific since 2000. Currently, Bagadion is aggressively exploring the Spanish and Latin American markets. (See Exec Profile –Ed.) Supporting Bagadion as ACPI Vice President is Nestor Palabrica, General Manager of one of the biggest animation companies in the country, TOEI Animation. Palabrica, who was ACPI’s President from 2001-2003, has been serving as the association’s vice president since 2007. Palabrica obtained his mechanical engineering degree from the University of San Agustin in Iloilo and started his professional career as a Training Assistant for Engineering Equipment, Inc. (EEI). When EEI and TOEI Animation Corporation merged, he became Group Supervisor. In 1994, he was appointed Assistant Vice President for Operations of EEI-TOEI Animation Corporation. When the company became known as TOEI Animation Philippines, Inc., Palabrica was named General Manager. ACPI’s elected Secretary is Peter Tan Carrillo, Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES Studio Manager and Business Development Manager for Interactive Arts Services Manila, Inc., a U.S.-based firm that operates its production division in the Philippines. Carrillo has more than 20 years of advertising experience, setting up an advertising firm that launched successful campaigns in brand and image building for clients that included known personalities in the Philippine political arena. Finally, given the task to supervise the council’s financial status is Erwin Escubio, Director for Finance and Business Development of Cutting Edge Productions, Inc., the company responsible for producing the first Filipino fully digital animated flick, Dayo sa Mundo ng Elementalia. A chemical engineering graduate with an MBA from the University of the Philippines, Escubio has worked as Project Manager for several NGOs, state agencies (both foreign and local), and associations, among them the National Centennial Commission, Canadian International Development Agency, Provincial Government of Bulacan, Barasoain Center for Innovative Education, Personnel Management Association of the Philippines, and Ford Foundation. Also joining ACPI’s board of directors are Father Danilo Isidro of Ateneo de Naga University, Richard Padilla of Challenge Systems, Inc., Benjie Marasigan of De La Salle-College of St. Benilde, Mike Torres of Eacomm Corporation, Ricky Orellana of Mowelfund Film Institute, Eric Tansingco of Take One Animation, and Grace Dimaranan of Top Peg Animation, who served as ACPI’s President from 2007 to 2009. . 18 May 2009, Hong Kong— Colliers International has recently released the Asia Pacific Office Market Overview—May 2009. The quarterly report covers 26 locations and includes the analysis of the office market trend in 1Q 2009. Despite initial signs of stabilization in various financial markets around the world in 1Q 2009, the volume of investment, exports, and imports in the Asia-Pacific region’s private sector continued to contract. This slowdown in global economic activity significantly affected demand for office space in the region. Colliers International manager of research Ramon Jose Aguirre adds other reasons for the slowdown: delayed expansion plans, review of operations, and increase in supply of office space. He also notes that “the Philippines’ office market is still faring well compared with our counterparts in Hong Kong and Singapore where office rental rates have gone down by around 40%–50% since the middle of last year. This is because the main demand driver [the BPO industry] for the local office segment remains relatively resilient.” Throughout the region, tenants responded during their lease renewal in 1Q 2009 by negotiating for lower rentals, downsizing floor area requirements, downgrading to secondtier developments, or a combination of the above. Meanwhile, the number of tenants planning to sublet their excess space due to the contraction in business requirements notably increased. “Seeing the weakening occupational demand, many landlords were willing to offer competitive lease terms to new tenants such as rent-free periods or cash subsidies toward fit-out costs,” noted George McKay, Managing Director, Corporate Services of Colliers International, Asia Pacific Region. In what is becoming a more competitive market to maintain and attract tenant demand, average office rentals in the region registered a drop of 4% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) during 1Q 2009. Rentals in Hong Kong and Singapore declined by as much as 15.4% QoQ and 21.8% QoQ, respectively, in 1Q 2009. On the sales front in 1Q 2009, institutions and real estate investment funds, which have been the most common buyers of large properties in the past few years, stayed on the sidelines or waited for better market entry points to emerge. A moderate number of owner-occupiers and private investors were interested in buying quality, but mainly mid-priced, office developments. “Due to the sustained global economic consolidation, the occupational side of the real estate market in Asia Pacific is expected to remain relatively weak in the coming quarters of 2009,” said McKay. “However, the anticipated beginning of relaxation in banks’ lending attitudes toward commercial real estate is expected to serve as a positive stimulus to the current downturn. Therefore, the pace of decline in both rental and capital values is expected to taper off during the second half of 2009.” Colliers Macaulay Nicolls Inc. (CMN), operating as Colliers International, is a leading global real estate services company that provides a full range of services to real estate occupiers, developers, and investors worldwide. The organization’s 12,700 employees span the globe in 294 offices in 61 countries. Services include brokerage, property management, hotel investment sales and consulting, corporate services, valuation, consulting and appraisal services, project management, mortgage banking and research. . www.bpap.org Breakthroughs Insights april - june 2009 Myth-Busting Call Center Assessments By Hayley McCarthy and Steven Finch Assessment by counting errors does not take into account the candidate’s over-all communicative competency; neither can voice recognition software measure his communicative ability. Call centers live and die on Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSATS). So if our customers are looking for smooth communication and a favorable outcome, what are we doing to make sure that communication is smooth? A good communication assessment will ensure accurate recruitment and relevant training for the people who deliver those all-important CSATS. So why are so many call centers still using assessments that don’t work? The reason: there are a lot of myths about call center assessments. This article tackles five of the big ones: Myth no.1 : Error-counting is a good way to assess basic proficiency. Error-counting alone is never a good way to assess proficiency and has been rejected as an approach by all leading assessment experts. Assessments based purely on errorcounting have often resulted in the hiring of poor communicators while turning away good communicators at the door. Look at the following example. Which answer shows better communication skills? Question: What did you do today? Answer 1: I woke up. I got dressed. I went to work. Answer 2: Funny you should ask because today I have the busiest day imaginable! I have been in a breakfast with friends, then stuck on heavy traffic for almost an hour, during which time I thought my head might explode! Then, of course, I...um…arrived here. According to pure error-counting approaches, Candidate 1 would do extremely www.bpap.org well while Candidate 2 would probably fail (because of fillers and errors in prepositions and tenses). The problem with counting errors is that it doesn’t take into account the candidate’s overall communicative competency. For example, while poor communicators often stick to “safe,” simple structures (answer 1), better communicators will attempt complex expressions and vocabulary, sometimes making errors, in order to communicate more effectively (answer 2). This very popular—but very flawed— approach of using error counting to assess proficiency is in dire need of revision if the Philippines is to continue setting the standard for BPO. Ultimately, poor communication equals poor customer experience Myth no. 2: Pre-screening by using automated voice tests or casual telephone-interview staff saves money. While voice recognition software is highly advanced, it cannot measure communication ability. Because of the rigid requirements of these kinds of tests, spontaneous communication cannot be measured and could even mean you achieved a lower score. The software is more suited to karaoke machines than job applications. Unfortunately, speaking loudly with the right intonation at the right times does not necessarily mean you are a successful agent! Moreover, research done by Dr. Jane Lockwood, a leading expert on call center assessments, shows that lower proficiency assessors are more likely to reject good candidates. This means that if your phone screen staff are not highly proficient, you could be losing the best candidates before they even enter your building. And the reason why all this costs you more? Unreliable assessments lower your conversion rates because they reject viable candidates and raise the cost because tests are charged on a per 13 head basis. Additionally, more resources are needed to upskill weaker candidates who were inaccurately hired. diagnoses that will help you provide targeted upskilling throughout their tenure? Grammar provides the building blocks to language and a successful call center agent needs to be comprehensible to provide service on the phones. But it doesn’t end there. From the point of view of a customer, a Western accent and perfect grammar will never make up for poor service (which often comes out of poor skills in listening and explaning and lack of cultural awareness,). Would you rather have perfect grammar or perfect service? According to Dr. Sue Hood, a world expert in applied linguistics, subject-verb agreement, prepositions, minor consonant errors (such as th) and fillers (such as ‘um’ and ‘er’) do NOT typically cause communication and rapport breakdown in call center interactions. However, according to research conducted by Ma. Lourdes S. Bautista of De La Salle University, as well as Dr. Lockwood and Dr. Gail Forey, the following DO commonly cause communication and rapport breakdown: misuse of pronouns, misuse of modality (saying ‘would’ instead of ‘will’), and lack of intercultural awareness and discourse competence (no clear logical flow). What does your assessment system test? CSATS problems is for all departments to use the same assessment framework so that, while each department may use it differently, the organization is streamlined along a common approach. Imagine the benefits in efficiency and impact if quality assurance can accurately identify the causes of low CSATS and if these problems can be addressed by coaching-driven solutions (coaching agents on the identified problem areas), training-driven solutions (targeting your curriculum to more effectively meet the needs of the account), and recruitment-driven solutions (hiring people with the communication profiles required). This myth-busting exposé ends with the story of an old lady who bought a parrot. When the parrot did not speak upon her arrival, she went out to buy him a mirror. When he still did not speak, she kept buying a new toy each day, hoping to encourage her pet to communicate with her. Finally, he croaked out a few words and died. In response to her question why the bird died, the pet shop owner asked the lady for the bird’s last words. The old lady replied, “Yes! He said something that sounded like ‘Feed me please.’” The moral of this rather silly tale is this: With communication as our core business, we must be careful to address the real issue, and not plug the holes with superfluous “mirrors” and “toys.” . Hayley McCarthy is the Communications Director of FuturePerfect Business English Specialists, and Steven Finch is the company’s Senior Language Training Specialist. FuturePerfect is a leader in business communication with specific expertise in BPO industry requirements. Myth no. 5: Dif ferent Myth no. 3: Accent and departments need different grammar are the keys to assessments for communication. communicative competence. The best and most efficient way to address Myth no. 4: Businesses only need number scores for assessments. All call centers need numbers generated from communication assessments to work with benchmarks. For example: account X requires a competency rating of 3.5, but this candidate only has 3.0 so he needs training for 75 hours. But his is not a one-time test! Your agents will be continually developing, supported by trainers and coaches. What better use for assessments than to have detailed competency Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES 14 april - june 2009 Executive Profile Breakthroughs Animation and Entrepreneurship The new ACPI president sets her sights on new markets By Marla Silayan-Gonzalez Photos by Bong Mercado Scooby Doo, Tom & Jerry, Addams Family, The Mask, The Jetsons, Dragon Ball Z, Captain Planet, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles—these popular animated films have one thing in common—they were drawn by talented Filipino artists who have been making their mark in the U.S. animation industry for several years now. Though some of these homegrown artists have been recognized in the media, what we are seeing “is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Rowena Bagadion, President of the Animation Council of the Philippines (ACPI). “Animation is anything that involves movement or transformation of images. Especially with the ever-evolving technology, animation is not limited to feature films or cartoons, but also includes advertisements and commercials with computer graphics, Web- and console-based games, interactive Web sites, real estate and architectural walkthroughs, and e-learning. Anything that brings an image to life is technically under the scope of animation, so it’s a pretty vast field.” Bagadion is also President and Chief Executive Officer of Media Farm Global, the country’s leading provider of e-learning services and solutions, and a classic example of modern-day “hybrid” animation studios. The Philippine animation industry earned approximately US$120 million in 2008 and has been growing at an average of 25% annually. Three-point agenda ACPI’s membership is composed of animation studios who are mostly into foreign and domestic outsourcing, educational institutions that provide animation and game development programs (both degree and non-degree), and original content producers. To ensure that the goals of the industry and its membership are achieved, Bagadion discloses her term’s threepoint agenda: The first goal is to encourage and support entrepreneurship in animation and game development. As an entrepreneur and former economics professor, Bagadion emphasizes the vital importance of promoting entrepreneurship to help the industry prosper. “Getting more business people to invest in animation and game development will create more jobs, which will have trickle-down effects across the industry and throughout the country,” she enthuses. Banking on the business that has been spurred by the recognition of Filipino artists. Bagadion confidently says, “I want the number of studios in the country to double by the end of my term in 2011.” There are currently some 80 animation studios in the country. In order to make this a reality, Bagadion is working on a number of projects, topmost of which is the establishment of an innovation center for animation and game development. This center is envisioned to be the first in the Asia-Pacific region, and will serve as a venue Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES This artist-entrepreneur envisions the creation of a “Filipino animation brand.” for incubation, training, and showcasing. This venue would have the most extensive selection of equipment and software applications to enable entrepreneurs and producers to incubate their new businesses or projects without expending huge capitalization, help train trainers for schools, and generally be a showroom-laboratory where the latest in animation and game development may be displayed, tried, and tested. Bagadion is also working with a number of educational institutions to develop entrepreneurship courses and degree programs. The second objective would be to facilitate more diverse international exchange and exposure, both inward and outward. As ACPI President, Bagadion brings her love of learning and networking with her as she works to expand the Philippines’ share of the animation market. She recently met with the Honorable Jocelyn Batoon-Garcia, Philippine Ambassador to Venezuela, who strongly believes that Filipinos have an innate competitive advantage in animation and wants to push animation services in Venezuela. Weng cites as well her excitement in learning that the Philippine Trade and Investment Center is part of London’s present mandate to promote other higher value outsourcing services from the Philippines in the United Kingdom and Ireland, with animation one of the priority sectors. One avenue of promotion is the Animahenasyon festival, the industry’s flagship annual event which showcases the talent of Filipino animators, professionals and amateurs alike. Now on its third year, it has become a popular venue for creative minds to exhibit their work and where industry members vote on the best of the best. For the next Animahenasyon, Bagadion envisions mounting an international forum where animation experts from several continents can share their experience, exchange ideas, and collaborate on projects with Filipinos. She hopes to bring in participants and kindred creative spirits from France, Spain, U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, Colombia, and Argentina. “We all can benefit from increased exposure to more varied, global animation,” she says. Aside from an exchange of ideas, knowledge and resources, an area for business matching will be provided during the festival. Finally, Bagadion envisions the creation and production of more original Filipino content that will spur on a “Filipino animation brand.” She also wants to eventually field the work of the Animahenasyon winner as an entry into an international competition. The innovator within Bagadion’s humble beginnings fueled her drive, shaped her work ethic, and infused her with the readiness to spot opportunities. This daughter of a poor family worked for her own schooling, earning a double degree in economics and education at De La Salle University. Her first job was as research assistant to Dr. Isagani Cruz. Bagadion looks back at the lessons learned during those early struggling years, “I had to be resourceful and innovative. But, more importantly, I have learned that it is critical to plan ahead and put contingencies in place. “I do a lot of traveling, mostly for work but also for pleasure. Especially when it’s workrelated, I plan my itinerary so that I arrive in a place the day before the event as a contingency in case something happens—like lost luggage. If everything goes well, I use the extra day exploring the place and familiarizing myself with the locals and their culture. I love seeing new places and meeting new people—and being able to experience these things ahead of time helps me immensely with my networking. I may forget a person’s name but I remember the person—and I guess they remember me, too, because often I get calls and projects from people I met years ago.” After a year of teaching at De La Salle University–Manila, Bagadion became Editor in Chief and later Director of the university press. Feeling she needed a change in scenery, she capitalized on her journalistic skills to try her hand as a writer for Manila Bulletin. Eventually, along with her college friends whose parents were generous enough to provide financing, she ventured into publishing a travel magazine called Onboard Philippines. Media Farm was subsequently born to service the design needs of some of the magazine’s advertisers. A short stay in the U.S. brought her to the world of outsourcing. Two months into their arrival in that country, she brought back her first outsourcing assignment for Media Farm. To Bagadion, opportunities come as a consequence of attitude. She says, “I am a very optimistic person. I believe there is good and bad in everything. If you focus on the bad, you will surely find it. I choose to look for the good in people and circumstances, and sure enough, I find it. If you surround yourself with positive things, you attract positive things. Everyday, I count my blessings no matter how small or insignificant they may seem, and the more I do this, the more I feel fortunate and thankful. I also believe in giving—whatever you give will come back to you a hundred- or even a thousand-fold!” Not surprisingly, Bagadion is also the founder of a non-profit organization called ALTF which helps individuals and organizations get into e-learning. Media Farm currently has more than 30 fulltime employees and a few dozen freelancers. They are also part of an export coaching program called CBI-ITO which is funded and implemented by the Dutch government. This program is central to Media Farm’s expansion plans in Europe, particularly in capturing the Spanish-speaking market. Becoming a global player Diversification and expansion are on top of ACPI’s agenda. Bagadion maintains, “In the past, ACPI mostly participated in trade fairs, exhibitions, and conferences only within the Asian region. In terms of foreign outsourcing, the industry has relied heavily on Asian and U.S. markets. We know these markets like the back of our hands. But if there’s one thing that the global economic crisis has taught us, it is that we need to expand our reach, to explore new markets. And this is what we are determined to do. It is time we show the rest of the world how great Filipino animators are!” ACPI is a member of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP). “We are very grateful for the support that BPAP is giving the animation industry. BPAP houses us in their office, which helps the association save money. In terms of our global efforts, we also hope to join BPAP’s road shows, particularly to the US and Europe.” In addition to Europe, Bagadion is also pushing very hard for the animation industry to explore the Latin American market which she says is “literally virgin territory.” Bagadion believes that the future for the Philippine animation industry is “exciting, especially for those who are fluid enough. The global crisis certainly affected some of our members but we have an almost bottomless pit of animation and creative talents. The world is a big place and opportunities abound for those who are willing to go the extra mile to find them.” . www.bpap.org Breakthroughs Corporate Profile april - june 2009 15 Why Convergys Philippines is the 2009 ICT Awards’ BPO Employer of the Year Programs give employees opportunities to build a future with the company BY Malou Rosal. Photos by Bong Mercado Asked as to how the company nurtures its relationship with its personnel “from the hiring to the resignation stages,” Convergys Philippines country manager Marife Zamora gives this story of one former employee. This call center agent applied at Convergys after hearing good things about this company, especially its care for people. Before his appointment with Convergys’s HR, he expressed a concern for discretion, not wanting to broadcast this career move prematurely within a small industry. He was instructed to call ahead when he was on his way to Convergys’s Alabang office, and to give his car’s plate number. He complied, though wondering what his car plates had to do with a job interview. Upon reaching the Alabang office, he was pleasantly surprised when the security guard, immediately recognizing his plates, waved him to a parking space particularly reserved for him. Then, he was ushered to a private room where he signed the logbook away from the public’s prying eyes of the public. Impressed at how his concern was addressed, the man worked for Convergys for the next few years. Our story does not end there. The man eventually resigned from Convergys. But unlike other departures, his was probably the best experience of an employee leaving an organization. Shortly after he resigned, Convergys’s HR informed him that as he had already finished with his paperwork, the remainder of his salary and his clearance would be available in four weeks. But after only two weeks, HR called him again, saying that the paperwork was ready and his salary available. HR was true to its word, and the security guard treated him warmly in spite of the fact that he was a departing employee. His family has happy memories as well of his former employer. The man said, “On Valentine’s Day, my wife would receive a Valentine’s card from Convergys saying ‘Thank you for understanding your husband and the kind of work that he does.’ During Christmas, my children would get Convergys T-shirts their size, sent to the house. No other company would do that for my kids.” After finishing that story, Zamora remarked: “Convergys Corporation has been Fortune’s Most Admired Company for nine consecutive years now. I think it’s really the people-centricity of the corporation that has been the reason why we have been recognized as the company that employees would want to work for. I’ve been with companies which I thought were the best things since sliced bread. But when I got into Convergys, its focus on the employees and the employees’ wellbeing is just overwhelming.” 2009 PEZA Investors’ Appreciation Day. The Outstanding Employer award applauds organizations that “generate the most jobs, highly regard the welfare of their workers, and maintain harmony between workforce and management.” PEZA has recognized Convergys with these awards six times, with three wins each for both categories. With programs that develop talent and foster career advancement, Convergys’s goal is “for every employee to become a key point of differentiation and a competitive advantage for the company.” Employees are given much opportunity to “build a future” with the company with the following avenues: a comprehensive step-by-step career path for its agents and team leaders, a Management Development Program to prepare senior team leaders for management roles within operations, a Transition to Management program for ongoing training of managers, and a robust online learning academy called Personal Development Center through which employees can earn higher academic degrees. Convergys embraces a philosophy of building from within. Ninety percent of the manpower complement of its team leader population is reared from within, partly due to its successful team leader development program, which has been such a great retention and employee satisfaction tool. This is evident from its employee satisfaction survey results, which indicate that Convergys’s employees value personal and professional development. Zamora is a veritable font of satisfactory employee experience. She relates, “Mark Serrano was from International School, then went to the U.S. for his collegiate schooling. When he came back, he joined us as a Team Leader. That was in 2003, and he was one of our pioneer employees. Today, he is a Senior Operations Manager. So, first as a Team Leader, after two years he was promoted to Operations Manager, then after two years he was promoted to Senior Operations Manager.” “Chris Mirador also started as a Team Leader and today is a Director,” Zamora also says. “He moved from Team Leader, Operations Manager, Senior Operations Manager, Director—four promotions in six years.” Stringent selection process Speed of promotion, though, does not mean a comfortable career path. Convergys has also gained a reputation for having a stringent selection process. Business Development Director Jose Mari Mercado recounts how this reputation has preceded them even as far as Bacolod: “I was hearing Mass, and the gospel for the day was the parable of sowing seeds where some of it fell on the fertile ground and some of it fell on the thorns. The priest giving the homily was explaining how it’s a selective process. And then he goes, ‘It’s just like Convergys. Here in Bacolod, Convergys hires only the best people.’” Zamora reiterates: “We go for the best and the brightest. No average, no fence sitters, no moderates. It’s really the cream of the crop. On the other hand, Convergys may not be the kind of company who would give you the highest compensation. We would be competitive but I don’t think we would be the highest-paying employer in the marketplace.” “But definitely,” Zamora says, “if you look at the total compensation package, total compensation benefits, and total the financial component as well as the personal and professional development component, I would think that we are tops in the game.” In the next few years, Convergys envisions continued growth and expansion to keep up with the BPO industry’s everincreasing demands. Mercado observes, “One of the benefits of being Employer of the Year is that people want to come to Convergys. Because when we talk about expansion, it is in direct correlation to our capacity to hire, to attract the right balance. The demand for the business is here, not just for Convergys but for the Philippines itself. There’s so much demand right now for offshoring and outsourcing.” Convergys would also like to be a major contributor to BPAP’s dream of generating US$13 billion in revenues and over 700,000 employees in the industry in the next few years. Although their current contribution of 17,000 people may still be a long way off the target, nothing is impossible. For beyond these forecasts, Zamora shares an inspiration: “For this year ,our battle cry is ‘Number One by a Mile.’ We have been number one. But we’re saying that now, we’re going to be a mile ahead of number two. Because in this global economic turmoil, it’s only being a leader, and being a leader by a mile, where you can retain that leadership status.” . Building from within Little wonder why the company received the BPO Employer of the Year Award for 2009 in the recently concluded prestigious annual ICT Awards. In fact, this is the second time that it was honored for the same award, the first being in 2007. Convergys has also been recognized as an Outstanding Employer and Outstanding Exporter at the www.bpap.org Convergys Phils. country manager Marife Zamora believes in recruiting only the best – “no fence sitters, no average, no moderates.” Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES 16 april - june 2009 People / Places / Events Breakthroughs The Gartner Vendor Management and Outsourcing Summit May 4 – 6, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas BPAP external affairs dir. Martin Crisostomo, Con. Gen. Marijo Aragon, BPAP CEO Oscar Sanez, Pointwest president Beng Coronel, CICT Sec. Ray Chua, Farmout president Grace Marti, and John Clements CEO Carol Dominguez Pointwest team - Beng Coronel, Renato Quizon and Jowee Reyes Kaisa Consulting managing director Teh Opinion, Ms. Dominguez of John Clements., Gartner analyst Cathy Tornbohm and BPAP director Crisostomo Sencor president George Martel (center) with colleagues (from l-r) Berwin Yap and Jay Manahan Imperium CEO Imperium Fernando Contreras Jr. (right) with colleague Rafferty Tan BPAP’s March GMM The Induction of new members. From l-r: Oscar Sañez, BPAP CEO; Carlo Rufino, Managing Director, RHL Properties & Dev’t. Corp.; Larry Barlow, Chairman, NRG Global Solutions Pty Ltd.; Michelle Bubke, CEO, NRG Global Solutions Pty Ltd. ; Ramnish Awasthi, Site Director, Intelenet Global (Philippines) Inc.; Jose Rafael Lopez-Vito, Associate, Bo Le Associates Philippines, Inc.; Manuel Anselmo, Senior Associate, Bo Le; Jose Balderama, Managing Director, Asia Select Inc.; and BPAP industry affairs director Jonathan de Luzuriaga. Standing, from l-r: Martin De Leon, Director for Bus. Dev., Alphaland Corp; Gener Peciller, Enercon Manager, Shang Properties, Inc.; Phillip Añonuevo, Associate Director for Markets, Jones Lang Lasalle Leechiu. Seated, from l-r: Lirio Ongpin-Mapa, Vice President; Anna Marco, Asst. Manager for Markets, Jones Lang Lasalle Leechiu; BPAP CEO Oscar Sanez; BOI executive director Celeste Ilagan, and DTSI managing director Miguel Garcia. The BPAP team stands behind Gem Valmores, Director –Business Development, Makati Shangri La Manila and Francis Fuellas, Group Property Manager, Shang Properties, Inc. Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES From l-r: Bambi Santos, Teledevelopment; Carlo Francisco, BPO International; Carlo Rufino, RHL Properties & Dev. Corp.; Myra Rocalde, Marketing Executive; RHL Properties & Dev. Corp.; Nette Roselo, BPAP Administrator; Rona Quilban, BPAP Industry Affairs Associate; and Mickey Bernardino, ASCOTT Makati. From l-r: Jonathan De Luzuriaga, BPAP Industry Affairs Director; Marie Jose; Matt J. McKelvey, VP for Operations of Kenexa; Donna Grande, HR Director, Dell; Haidee Enriquez, VP HR ACS; and K.S. Kumar, EVP Sutherland. www.bpap.org Breakthroughs People / Places / Events CEBIT Australia 2009 17 During this trade show, BPAP made hundreds of companies in Australia aware that the Philippines is a prime location for outsourcing. May 12 – 14, Sydney Convention Centre Back row (from l-r): Avanti Director Ray Reyes, DPCDATA Country Manager Glenn Lagcao, TAYHANA group Managing Dir. Mike Sahagun, PLDT VP Jovy Hernandez, PLDT AVP Luigi Lopa . Front row (from l-r): AVANTI President Nery Reyes and Acquire’s Melanie Day Cocktails at the Philippine Pavilion after the Philippine presentation april - june 2009 BPAP CEO Oscar Sanez explains the Philippine advantage to the AustraliaPhilippines Business Conference. Sydney trade attache Michelle Sanchez joins the Philippine Pavilion decorating crew. Events, First Half 2009 The BPAP-Asia-Pacific College partnership advances industry-academe cooperation for industry growth. From l-r: Sean Sanchez, APC IT Head; APC president Paulino Tan; BPAP CEO Oscar Sañez; and BPAP industry affairs director Jonathan de Luzuriaga. www.bpap.org The BPO is one sector that government can use to tap for more foreign investments in the country, said European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines EVP Henry Schumacher in a business forum at Clark last April. Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES 18 Company News april - june 2009 Jebsen & Jessen Communications Forms Global Alliance to Consistently Deliver NextGen Communications Applications Globally Jebsen & Jessen Communications and two other PlatinumCertified Avaya Business Partners joined forces to fulfill the communication technology needs of multinational companies. Jebsen and Jessen, along with founding partners Datapoint, headquartered in Brentford, Middlesex, U.K., and the New Jersey-based Strategic Products and Services (SPS), established the Intelligent Communications Alliance (www.intelligent-communicationsalliance.com) in January 2009 to help customers extract full value from their investments in Avaya communication infrastructure and applications globally. The Alliance provides a consistent global approach to pricing, design, installation, and support for Avaya and Avaya DevConnect Partner solutions. “We have created a new model to assist clients with global communication infrastructure and application deployments,” says Jebsen & Jessen communications regional managing director Harold Thng. “The Alliance is wellpositioned globally and provides a uniform architecture, delivering professional services and consistent coverage to multinational clients.” With over 82 years of collective experience, Alliance founding members serve over 9000 customers across more than 60 countries. “With the challenging economy, it is vitally important for businesses to be as effective as possible,” says SPS chief operating officer Jim Felicetti. “By providing uniform design, delivery and support standards, the Alliance deploys strategic communication solutions, ensures consistency and helps our clients remain competitive around the globe.” As a specialized systems integrator, the Alliance holds over 336 Avaya certifications with expertise in Internet Protocol (IP) telephony, contact center, messaging and unified communications. “The Alliance is highly competent,” says Datapoint CEO Vim Vithaldas. “Through numerous certifications and experience directly related to next-generation communication infrastructure and applications, the Alliance ensures service levels and consistency with every global deployment.” . CPI Positions Northgate Cyberzone as the Premiere IT Park in the South Cyberzone Properties, Inc., (CPI) premier office building developer of Northgate Cyberzone in Filinvest Corporate City in Alabang, continues its commitment to help the growing BPO sector by building high-quality, 24/7-efficient office buildings. Strategically located at the gateway to CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon)—also called the ‘IT Hub of the South’—Northgate Cyberzone’s recently completed iHub 1 still has four contiguous floors for lease. These days, Northgate has construction in full swing on two new BPO buildings, Vector One and Vector Two, which are estimated to be completed by the second and third quarters of 2009, respectively. Both buildings are tailor-made to suit all kinds of BPO entities. Each has 14-stories, a vast 1,550 sq. m. gross leasable area floor plate, and a three-podium parking level. Buildings in Northgate are powered 24/7 without overtime air-conditioning charges. Northgate also has lush greenery, open spaces, wide road networks, and pocket gardens that offer locators a nature-friendly and stress-free environment. Complementary developments like the residential condominium (Studio One) and retail outlet (F@st Bytes) are now operational, putting every resource well within reach. For convenience to its locators, a 24/7 shuttle service to and from the zone is also available, offering transportation options and accessibility at any time, day or night. Northgate Cyberzone’s location at the center of a potential 3-million manpower base makes it attractive to multinational corporations’ offshore and backoffice operations. It has one IT school (Informatics College) within the park and is surrounded by numerous nearby educational institutions in the areas of Alabang, Muntinlupa, San Pedro, and Las Piñas. Northgate Cyberzone is PEZA-registered, providing its locators an economic and strategic advantage through tax incentives and other benefits. . Filinvest Northgate Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES Breakthroughs GE Money Servicing Philippines Drives Corporate Citizenship in a Fast-Paced, Schedule-Intensive Environment GE Volunteers was created to put a single face on GE’s volunteer activities around the world and to extend the GE philosophy of hard work and commitment to the communities where its employees live and work. Its goal is to encourage broad participation of GE employees globally in making a strong impact on their communities particularly in the areas of education, the environment, and community development. Bob Corcoran, GE’s vice president for corporate citizenship and the president of GE Foundation, says, “Volunteerism and giving back have always been a strong part of GE’s culture. This is a perfect way to demonstrate what can happen when good people do great things.” Today, there are more than 150 GE volunteer councils located in more than 41 countries around the globe, each responsible for addressing serious social issues facing their communities. GE coordinates volunteer efforts company-wide by keeping a close eye on societal needs and inviting all employees to build stronger communities. GE employees volunteer over 1 million hours of community service every year. Proving that the spirit of volunteerism can survive and thrive even in a fast-paced, metrics-driven and schedule-intensive environment of a call center business, GE Money Servicing Philippines has about 193 active GE volunteers collaborating with the Philippine National Red Cross for regular blood-letting activities, conducting school projects such as tutorials and career-orientation programs, as well as participating in environmental projects such as the turtle-hatchling release at Bantay Pawikan in Bataan. April and May have been busy months for GE volunteers from GE Money Servicing Philippines. A painting workshop for kids of Food for Hungry Minds was conducted at the Alabang site with renowned Filipino artist Chris Mirang, facilitating the workshop. Film showings that featured the environment documentaries “SIGNOS” (a local production on global climate change) and “An Inconvenient Truth” were held at the Net Cube site for GE employees. Led by GE Corporate’s market development director John Alcordo, GE volunteers joined the Taguig Science High School juniors in a unique educational trip to a hangar where they all witnessed firsthand aircraft maintenance and the overhauling of large jets. Senior engineers from Lufthansa Teknik Philippines related how they started their careers in the industry. Another activity was tutorial sessions where GE volunteers played “teachers” to Tuloy sa Don Bosco street children. During the months of April, May and June, GE volunteers taught basic English to underprivileged children in a daily 90-minute session. This initiative aimed to take children off the streets and provide them the opportunity to learn as well as appreciate the value of education. . TELUS Opens its Newest Site in Araneta Center TELUS International Philippines (TIP) recently opened a site, its newest, in the Araneta Center Cyber Park in Quezon City. The four-story TELUS House Araneta Center is the company’s fourth site in the Philippines; it features a fully equipped recruitment hub, fitness center, basketball court, state-of-the-art operations areas, and commercial establishments in the site’s perimeter. It will also boast of a seat capacity of approximately 3,500 once fully completed. TIP is a leading Philippinebased provider of contact center and business process outsourcing solutions. It is a subsidiary of TELUS Communications, the largest telecommunications provider in Western Canada with CAD$9.5 billion of annual revenue and 11.5 million customer connections. Backed by TELUS, TIP is regarded as a TELUS house Araneta is the fourth site of TELUS International in the Philippines. premier employer in the Philippine outsourcing industry. TIP’s newest site marks just how far the company has come since its humble beginnings in 2001, when it launched its first 100 seats. TIP has since evolved into an outsourcing giant with over 8,000 team members spread across four key sites across Metro Manila. Present during the TELUS House Araneta Center launch were Senator Mar Roxas, Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte, TI president Jeffrey Puritt, TI Chairman Eng Boon Lau, Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Robert Desjardins, CICT secretary Ray Anthony Roxas Chua III, BPAP executive director for talent development Jamea Garcia, and Canadian Chamber of the Philippines president Richard Mills. During the inauguration, a tour of the facilities was also conducted. . SENCOR Awarded Most Progressive Outsourcing Company MANILA, Feb. 24 — SENCOR was awarded the 2009 Most Progressive Homegrown Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Company honors at the 9th eServices Philippines Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition on February 10, 2009. The Philippine Department of Trade and Industry gives the Most Progressive Homegrown BPO Company award in recognition of the development of the most creative and innovative products, services and solutions in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry. The award reflects “the excellent skills and talents of (the) Filipino IT professionals whose ingenuity has produced creative, innovative and application-proficient products and services.” The award selection committee was composed of internationally recognized companies, advisory firms, industry associations, and government entities. These include Gartner, the European Software Institute, the Chicago-based Society for Information Management and the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, SENCOR is a pioneer in the Knowledge Process and Business Process Outsourcing industry. SENCOR’s areas of expertise are in Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO), Business Intelligence (BI), Research and Content Development. Its professional researchers, analysts, editors, attorneys and statisticians service top international companies in the legal, financial, retail and publishing markets. The eServices Philippines Global Sourcing Conference and Exhibition is a high-profile annual forum in Asia for thought leaders and industry movers in the business process and IT outsourcing arena. In this year’s conference, SENCOR President George Martel was one of the industry leaders representing the Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) industry in a well-attended and well-received presentation about the status and future of KPO in the Philippines. SENCOR is a knowledge process outsourcing organization with 25 years of experience in providing information-based solutions that have contributed to the growth of world-renowned brands in the legal, financial, and publishing markets. SENCOR’s areas of expertise are Legal Process Outsourcing, Business Intelligence, and Content Development and Publishing. The company employs a full-time professional team of researchers, analysts, editors, attorneys, and subject-matter experts in such fields as law, IT, and business intelligence. . www.bpap.org Company News Breakthroughs april - june 2009 19 San Antonio Express-News Partners with Affinity Express for Turnkey Solution for Print and Web Ad Production Affinity Express, Inc., the leading multi-shore provider of outsourced, high-volume advertising and marketing design solutions, announced recently that the Hearst-owned San Antonio ExpressNews has implemented the c o m p a n y ’s comprehensive solution for print and Web ad production. Affinity Express will handle a majority of ad production services for the publisher. “We are excited to work with such a respected publication and gratified that the San Antonio Express-News has joined other clients in the newspaper market who have decided to take advantage our turnkey ad production solution,” said Affinity Express President of Advertising Services David McTarnaghan. Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Affinity Express has over 800 employees and maintains production centers in Pune, India, and Manila, Philippines. In addition to having the most domain experience in print and online ad production for newspapers, the company is the only multi-shore BPO in the outsourced graphic space, which offers disaster recovery and business continuity planning for clients. It has more than 8,000 clients in the media, retail, quick printing, and promotional products industries. “As the largest distributor of news and information in South Texas, we have to be aggressive, agile, and innovative in our approach and continually improve to serve both our readers and advertisers,” said Affinity Express President and Publisher Tom Stephenson. “We believe that streamlining processes, expanding our capacity in ad production, and offering more services to help advertisers reach their target audiences will enable the San Antonio ExpressNews to transform our operations and strengthen our company.” The company provides a BPO platform for transformation by enabling clients to lower costs, reduce turn times, enhance quality, and improve profitability. For the Express-News, Affinity Express has implemented Affinity Express Service Bureau v2.1 (AESB v2.1), which is a pre-configured, hosted solution to manage all ad production components and processes. It consists of Mediaspectrum’s AdWatch for ad tracking and administration, eProof for material uploading and full annotation, Component Manager for drag and drop integration into InDesign and QuarkXPress as well as for tracking on the component level, and AdDrop for online material submission with backend automation. It is the only Web services– based system accessible via a web browser from anywhere. Clients have no software or hardware to purchase, install, or maintain. Software licenses and hardware are provided, set up, and managed by Affinity Express. AESB v2.1 is the workflow component of the comprehensive Affinity Express solution, which includes more than 800 graphic designers, world-class processes, and expertise in over 30 software programs and multiple platforms. . Genpact Appoints Dan Reyes Country Manager for Philippines Genpact Limited (NYSE: G), a leader in the globalization of services and technology and a pioneer in managing business processes for companies around the world, announced the appointment of Danilo “Dan” Sebastian Reyes as Country Manager for Genpact Philippines. Reyes will lead Genpact’s operations in the country and work to enhance customer satisfaction while developing local talent and expanding the company’s presence in the country. Reyes has over 20 years of professional work experience in the services and outsourcing industry and is currently a trustee of the Business Processing Association of the Philippines. He was a former Board Director and President of Sitel Philippines, responsible for developing its country growth strategies, increasing revenue and profitability, and managing expansion of service offerings from voice services to back-office processing. Reyes also served as Chairman of the Board and General Manager Infinit Outsourcing, Inc., Awarded ISO 27001:2005 Certification for Information Security Management Infinit Outsourcing, Inc. (Infinit-O), a leading BPO and KPO solutions provider in the financial services, research, and healthcare sectors, recently clinched the ISO 27001:2005 certification by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, the world’s leading verification, testing and certification company, through its accredited international affiliate Certification International. “As an internationally recognized business process outsourcing company and a leading provider of outsourcing solutions, we are delighted to have achieved this high level of recognition,” said Infinit-O President Manolo Aquino. “It is an extremely important achievement and a measure of our service commitment to our clients.” Infinit-O was ISO-certified for its Information Security Management System (ISMS), a systematic approach to managing and ensuring the security of critical information and data. ISMS provides a set of standard for the types of security controls that an organization should implement to recognize and address security risks by establishing controlled procedures, policies, and best practices including data capture, transfer, access, and storage. “Infinit-O takes great honor in being one of the few companies in the outsourcing sector worldwide to receive the ISO 27001:2005 certification,” adds Richard Eldridge, co-founder of Infinit-O. This certification highlights the importance Infinit-O places on safeguarding our clients’ business information and becoming their trusted partner for outsourcing solutions.” . From l-r: Richard Eldridge, Managing Director, Infinit-O; Manolo Aquino, President, Infinit-O; Rene Naravette, Managing Director, Certification International Phils, Inc.; and Cecile Malay, Site Director, Infinit-O. www.bpap.org of Salmat Philippines Inc. and Board Director and Interim Country Manager of Contact World Inc. Prior to joining the BPO industry, he held the position of Sales and Marketing Director in companies like Jardine Salmat and Fujitsu Philippines. “We are delighted to have a leading industry expert like Dan head our operations in the Philippines,” says Genpact President and CEO Pramod Bhasin. “As our clients explore opportunities to boost profitability, Genpact’s ability to deliver bestin-class services globally has become increasingly important. Growing Genpact’s presence in the Philippines will play a vital role in our long-term success and we look forward to Dan’s leadership to drive that growth.” Genpact helps companies improve the ways in which they do business by applying Six Sigma and Lean principles plus technology to continuously improve their business processes. It operates service delivery centers in China, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Spain, and the United States. . Danilo “Dan” Sebastian Reyes as Country Manager for Genpact Philippines How the Bó Lè Associates—StaffRIGHT Partnership Is Making a Difference in the BPO Sector Bó Lè Associates Ltd., the leading executive search firm in Asia, in partnership with StaffRIGHT Solutions, Inc., a top recruitment company in Manila and Cebu dedicated to the BPO sector in the Philippines, have been actively delivering fully integrated recruitment and training services for the BPO and call center industries. Their services have resulted in significant increases in successful placements for support functions in Philippine call centers and newly opened contact centers in Vietnam and China. During the March launch at the Filipinas Heritage Library in Makati, Bó Lè Associates group managing director Louisa Wong-Rousseau said, “Bó Lè and StaffRIGHT’s joint services address recruitment and training requirements on all levels: executive search, senior management, support staff and call center agents. We are investing heavily on better processes and technologies for the recruitment of support functions. All these will serve to lower the BPOs’ overall cost of hiring and build them better succession plans. “This partnership will provide BPOs and other companies that do massive recruitment qualified personnel on a fast pace. Our training programs on leadership development and other soft skills should also help reduce attrition while helping the BPOs grow leaders, supervisors and mid-level managers from within their ranks.” Rousseau explained the benefits of the partnership’s regional network, “We are actively promoting the success of Philippine BPOs to other regional markets including Vietnam, Malaysia and China, helping to diversify revenue sources for local BPOs and further strengthening Philippine leadership in the global BPO sector.” Also present during the launch were StaffRIGHT’s cofounders, Dean Bindless and Andres Diaz Jr., industry veterans who have been involved in the successful launch and growth of several sizable Philippine BPOs. Fred Ayala, Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) Chairman and CEO of LiveIt Solutions, gave the welcome remarks. A panel discussion facilitated by Rousseau discussed the Philippine BPO sector’s global positioning and the steps that companies must take to remain competitive amidst the structural changes in global economies. The panelists were composed of Jonathan de Luzuriaga, BPAP Executive Director for Industry Affairs; Caesar Parlade, General Manager, Deutsche Knowledge Services; Lauro Vives, Chief Analyst and Founding President, XMG Global; and Vida Arciaga, AVP – Human Resources, HTMT Global Solutions Ltd. Rousseau said, “Our Makati office has been at the forefront of placing highly qualified candidates in strategic positions in the leading corporations in the Philippines. “We are committed to encouraging more successful CEOs and leaders to explore career opportunities within the BPO sectors, creating an even bigger momentum to lift the BPO industry into becoming undoubtedly the most important driver of growth for the Philippine economy.” Bó Lè and StaffRIGHT together form a client base of the BPO and KPO powerhouses in the Philippines covering nonvoice and voice with centers covering 200-14,000 FTEs . . Business Processing Association PHILIPPINES
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