RP moves up in value chain in BPO sector

THE Philippines is moving up the value chain in the contact-center industry as the country is expected to capture more business in the high-end or premium voice segment owing to the innate talent and English-language capability of Filipino Agents, according to Indian business process outsourcing  firm WNS Global Services.

Keshav Murugesh, group CEO of WNS Global Services, said the premium voice segment relates to some of the work it is doing for clients mostly in the banking and insurance industry, where the associates deal with complex transactions or provide advisory service to the customers.

“These are inbound unscripted calls and require the associate to have deep domain knowledge, as well as decision-making skills. We already provide such services to our clients from other WNS centers and are building these capabilities in the Philippines too,” he told the BusinessMirror.

This means better pay for the Filipino agents as Murugesh said the salaries for such work are differentiated through higher skill allowances and performance incentives.

To prepare for this, Murugesh said WNS will be using a mixed approach to build the capabilities and skills for this segment.

“While we are tying up with some schools locally to provide students with relevant industry training, the focus is on [honing the skills of] the associates further internally and [transitioning] the associates to such complex voice programs as they move up the learning curve,” Murugesh said.

The premium voice segment, he said, is important for clients who want to give their customers a fantastic experience beginning from the phone call.

“We expect the premium service in the voice side to shift to the Philippines,” he said.

WNS currently has about 1,200 agents in the country and has just inaugurated its new 300-seat facility in Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City. It is looking for another site to host its next 500-seat expansion. About 80 percent of its current Philippine operations is in the voice segment.

WNS also has facilities in India, Costa Rica, Romania, Sri Lanka and the US, employing a total of 22,000 personnel. –Max V. de Leon / Reporter, Businessmirror