Phl contact center industry to double in 5 years

MANILA, Philippines – The Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) released a report touting the dominance of the Philippine contact center industry in the global outsourced voice services market with revenue growth outpacing the global benchmark by almost twice the rate and its global market share growing to 24 percent, or almost 50 percent higher than its share five years ago.

The Philippine contact center industry is projected to sustain its growth in the next five years, from about $6.2 billion in revenues for 2010 to about $14.7 billion by 2016 – more than doubling the size of the industry, and corresponding to a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 percent.

At the same time, the industry is expected to employ about 816,000 FTEs (full-time equivalents) by the end of 2016 from about 344,000 in 2010. Seat capacity is also projected to grow to more than 500,000 by 2016.

To further emphasize the remarkable growth of the industry, the estimated revenue for the Philippines for 2010 has exceeded the estimated revenue of India at $5.6 billion to $5.9 billion as reported by Everest.

This was attributed to the increase in the Philippines’ share in the global call center outsourcing market from 15 percent in 2006 to nearly 24 percent in 2010.

The market share is also projected to increase to about 29 percent by 2016 if the industry’s growth is sustained at the projected CAGR of 15 percent.

The growth of the Philippine contact center industry from 2006 to 2010 (at 15 percent CAGR) was noted to be comparably faster than the rest of the world, which is projected to grow by only 12 percent over the same period.

“We can attribute our phenomenal growth to the quality of service our world-class professionals consistently deliver,” says CCAP president Benedict Hernandez.

“We can also point to the growth strategies our industry has undertaken to expand to new geographical markets and verticals as well as extend our capabilities in language support and higher value skills,” he adds.

During the rapid growth of the Philippines in the last five years, other milestones were also achieved – from a diversification of support for up to 17 languages; an expansion of market reach to now include EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia), Latin America and Australasia; an extension of industry experience and expertise to now support a wider array of industry verticals including banking and finance, high technology, telecommunications, power/energy, airline, and government services; and an elevation of service offerings to now include financial advisory, health care management, legal help desk, B2B technical support, and sales channel management.

Driving the growth of the industry in the last decade has been the principal role of the CCAP, the leading organization representing the Philippine contact center industry.

The CCAP now has 80 member companies and accounts for about 70 percent of total revenues in the industry and for about 80 percent of the industry FTEs and seats.

Such optimistic growth projections are not without risks, however, as the industry faces increasing challenges that could constrain such growth.

Among the challenges include the following critical areas of concern:

• Ensuring the long-term sustainability of a qualified labor pool supply, particularly for front-line and management talent;

• Talent retention;

• Guaranteeing continuing government support for the industry, particularly in providing a consistent, favorable regulatory and incentive environment; and

• Cost concerns, particularly on labor inflation, infrastructure and utilities, and foreign exchange stability

“In order to ensure the Philippine contact center industry maintains unhindered growth for the next five years, CCAP has undertaken an ambitious effort to transform the industry,” Hernandez says.

In the first 10 years of the industry, the CCAP has focused on proving the feasibility of the Philippines as a call center outsourcing location, growing the industry to attain economies of scale, and molding the industry to achieve resiliency in light of environmental pressures such as that of the global financial crisis of 2008.

In the next five years, the CCAP will be forging ahead with plans to revolutionize itself and the industry by adopting an industry roadmap that focuses on improved speed, efficiency and scale.

Among the priority thrusts and programs of CCAP for the next five years are in the following areas:

• Sustaining the supply of qualified personnel and elevating their skill proficiencies via the establishment of a Global Competitiveness Institute;

• Improving employee welfare and retention via the establishment of an HR (Human Resource) Council, and continuing research and intervention;

• Strengthening the industry and CCAP brand through an integrated media, PR and branding program;

• Improving the business environment for call centers via PPP program development; and

• Consolidating all these efforts via the establishment of a full-time CCAP executive team.

Through these thrusts and programs, the CCAP envisions an evolving role in the pursuit of its mission — to transform the CCAP into an organization that is faster (more efficient and cost-competitive), higher (a higher quality and higher capability workforce), and stronger (supported by industry-wide and multi-sectoral initiatives). –(The Philippine Star)