Business Process Outsourcing

BAGUIO CITY—Researchers of a Baguio hospital have started looking into medical problems that appear to be common among employees of call centers and other business process outsourcing (BPO) facilities operating at the Baguio City Economic Zone.

Business process outsourcing (BPO) operations such as call centers have generated as much as $3.36 billion this year, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said.

THE 266,000 jobs that the government has so far generated this year from its information and communications technology (ICT) efforts may grow to more than one million in 2010, the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) said.

MANILA, Philippines — To keep up with the industry’s rapid growth, some business process outsourcing (BPO) companies flock to less-than-ideal places like shopping malls for lack of enough office space.

The Philippine call center industry is expected to grow threefold in the next four years with annual revenue projected at $7.3 billion in 2010 and capacity at 500,000 seats, venture capitalist Intellectual Property Ventures Group Corp. (IP Ventures) said.

CALL CENTERS are turning more and more to gimmicks and gadgets — aside from offering higher wages — to reel in the few skilled workers still looking for jobs, an industry official said.