UK body confers outsourcing award to PHL

The Philippines is an “abundant graduate workforce” that makes it a “veritable offshore giant for the UK BPO market,” a UK-based outsourcing trade association said when it gave the Offshoring Destination of the Year Award to the country for the third time.

The country bested nominees Egypt, Sri Lanka and Ukraine to clinch the top award given by UK’s National Outsourcing Organization, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement.

The NOA — a recognized, 20 year-old outsourcing trade association in the UK and a founding member and prime mover of the European Outsourcing Association — also noted the country’s 92 percent literary rate, a 36-million labor force with 450,000 university graduates per year and about 100,00 finance and accounting graduates, and the general ability to understand and speak English with a neutral and understandable accent, as factors that make the country a good place to outsource.

The country’s “world-class telecommunications infrastructure and unparalleled government support in the form of income tax holidays of up to six years and other fiscal and non-fiscal incentives also heavily boosted the country’s chances,” the DFA also noted.

Fiscal incentives after the initial four- to six-year income tax holiday include granting outsourcers who locate their offices in buildings and installations accredited as Philippine IT economic zones a flat five percent tax rate on gross income.

The NOA Awards are held every year in recognition of the best practices in the UK outsourcing industry, with 17 categories in contention this year.

The award was received by Commercial Attaché Michael Alfred Ignacio and Trade of Investment Representative Vicente Casim of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center in London.

Awarding ceremonies were held at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel in London on Oct. 22, the statement noted. The Philippines received the same award in 2007 and 2009.

The country’ entry for this year’s NOA Awards was prepared and submitted by the Board of Investments, in cooperation with the Philippine Outsourcing Industry, Business Process Association Philippines and other major players.

7.2B industry and still growing

Industry records show the country’s BPO industry employed around 442,000 employees and garnered revenues of $7.2 billion last year, a 19% gain from 2008’s $6.06 billion. For this year, revenues are still expected to hit $9.5 billion.

The country has become a location of choice for outsourcing in the fields of customer service; legal and medical transcription; backroom operations for finance, logistics and accounting; and software development and animation — all primarily because of cheaper labor costs and an English-speaking workforce.

Working conditions and compensation remain of “good quality” for the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) workers, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said.

However, it also noted that BPO employees — the majority of whom are working in call center facilities — suffer from work-related health problems.

Among these problems are sleep disorders, fatigue, eye strain, neck, shoulder and back pains, and voice problems. The ILO study also indicated that BPO workers have less freedom, and are constantly under “high levels” of stress.

Some of the stress-inducing factors mentioned in the study were harassment from irate clients, excessive and tedious workload, performance demands, monotony, and regular night work. – DM/KBK, GMANews.TV