Local clientele on the rise for call centers

CALL centers in the Philippines are seeing growing business not only from overseas clients but also from domestic firms, industry official said. In a briefing, Bong Borja, Aegis PeopleSupport Inc. president, said an increasing number of contact centers are now serving local clients during daytime, with most foreign clientele served at night.

“Serving the local market gives us better utilization of our capacities . . . And more people will be working during daytime hours,” Borja said.

“Years ago, we focused on the international market because our cost structure is very high that the local market cannot benefit from [outsourcing]. Over the years, our economies of scale got bigger, so we can now offer significantly competitive pricing [for local clients],” he said.

For instance, Aegis PeopleSupport sees its workforce serving local accounts growing fivefold to 1,000 next year from only 200 this year.

Benedict Hernandez, Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) president, said serving local firms is a way to optimize call centers’ huge investments.

Also, there are lower labor costs as employees will not be paid night shift differential, as well as lower attrition rates as those who do not like working at night would likely stick to a daytime job, he said.

Jojo Uligan, CCAP executive director, said most local clients are from the financial services, food, telco and travel sectors.

Uligan said some local accounts do not require English-language proficiency, as customers can be served through the vernacular.

He said many companies in the country would now outsource customer service operations rather than put up their own.

“One benefit is that local companies can enjoy the same level of service that we give to international clients,” he said. –BEN ARNOLD O. DE VERA, Manila Times