Call Centers

By John Mangun, Businessmirror, Nov 21, 2017 Maybe it’s because the new high-tech sex robots have been in the news lately that we are hearing again about the death of call centers due to “artificial intelligence.” It might be well to point out that it is called “artificial” for a reason. Likewise, a “sexbot” is…

By Charina Clarisse Echaluce, Manila Bulletin, Oct 8, 2017 Access to basic health services and information would soon be provided to over a million call center agents, as they are at risk of many serious health problems.

Malaya, Aug 31, 2017 The Philippines will continue to lead in the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) space globally, with the contact center sector driving the growth despite the challenges of automation, according to Benedict Hernandez, president of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP).

June 30, 2017 / Dan DiMaggio One big issue in May’s three-day strike by 38,000 AT&T workers was the company’s offshoring of jobs. To shine a spotlight on the issue and strengthen international solidarity, a group of union members visited the Dominican Republic a couple of weeks before the strike to meet the call center…

By Yash Sharma, Jun 24, 2017 Note- This article addresses the basic leakages in the lifestyle of nightshift workers. These leakages are primarily- sleep cycle disturbance, eating irregularity and lack of physical activity.

by Joel Guinto, ABS-CBN News, Jun 7, 2017 MANILA – Companies seeking to cut costs may be tempted to downscale their call center operations in favor of artificial intelligence, but it’s the human touch that secures customer loyalty, making the business more profitable in the long run, an outsourcing industry leader said Wednesday.

Read more here.

By Catherine Pillas, Businessmirror, Apr 16, 2017 Business-process outsourcing (BPO) firms in the Philippines will not be affected by US President Donald J. Trump’s protectionist stance, according to the chief of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza).

By Boo Chanco (The Philippine Star), Mar 31, 2017 Our largely American BPO industry is apparently on a roll. The BPO sector is expected to generate $40 billion in revenues, 7.6 million direct and indirect jobs, 500,000 jobs outside of the National Capital Region, and cover 15 percent of the total global outsourcing market by…

By: Roy Stephen C. Canive, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Mar 24, 2017 The call center sector is expected to hit about $20.4 billion in revenues in the next six years, accounting for over half of the total target of the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry.

India Infoline News Service, Mar 03, 2017 In US, both the Democratic and Republican parties have come together to reintroduce the US Call Center and Consumer Protection Act, to prevent transfer of American jobs overseas and also, to incentivise companies that have their call centers in US.

https://www.cwa-union.org/news/bi-partisan-bill-save-us-call-center-jobs-introduced-in-house-and-senate Today, the “U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act” was introduced in both the House and Senate, to protect workers and consumers and to curb the off-shoring of American jobs.

By Joseph Williams, Feb 23, 2017 How long do you think it will be until virtually all tier 1 call center agents are replaced by AI bots? I addressed this a bit in my Machine Learning session at last year’s Business Communications Summit.

By Rea Cu, Businessmirror, Feb 12, 2017 Protectionist policies will weaken the country’s business- process outsourcing (BPO) sector should US President Donald J. Trump push through with his plans to implement trade reforms, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).

http://www.mitel.com/blog/multi/2017/02/8-call-center-trends-2017 We saw a lot of changes to the call center and customer experience landscape in 2016. Cloud communications and virtual agents were on the forefront of everyone’s minds, and social media was more important than ever. 2017 is shaping up to be the year of strategic thinking: better analytics, more intentional social media conversations…

by Businessworld, Feb. 01, 2017

Jean-Marc Robillard, Jan 28, 2017 On January 25th, Bell sponsored a very successful “Let’s Talk” day again this year, and it reminded me of the upcoming Mental Health Week in Canada, which runs from May 1st-7th 2017. For anyone who has worked in customer service, or in a contact center in general, mental stress is…

by Aaron Pressman, Jan 26, 2017 With the new president dedicated to keeping jobs in the United States, several senators are asking for a special focus on call center workers. Four Democratic senators led by Bob Casey of Pennsylvania plan to send a letter to President Trump on Wednesday seeking an executive order to help…

By Drew Robb, November 22, 2016, http://www.enterpriseappstoday.com/call-centers/call-center-best-practices.html Having the right technology and procedures in place can help contact centers improve productivity and customer engagement. Call centers (also known as “contact centers” these days due to the addition of email, text and video into their repertoire) could well be one of the most complex areas for…

By David Reyes, October 1, 2016, http://www.sportsrageous.com/others/call-center-jobs-philippines-become-obsolete-soon/49031/ In the Philippines, the Business Processing (BPO) industry, which is commonly called the call center industry, generated around $22 billion, last year, creating close 1.1 million jobs in the country. But all this may change soon, as Newsweek recently reported an increasing number of companies across the globe…

BY MIRREN GIDDA, 9/29/16, http://www.newsweek.com/how-new-technology-automation-ai-take-away-millions-jobs-call-centers-503726 You need help with your bank account or advice about your mortgage. You call the help line. And then, after a lengthy wait, tapping more information into your phone and being transferred to the right department, you reach a call center worker, an actual human being. By that point, however, you…

By Richmond Mercurio (The Philippine Star), July 9, 2016 – 12:00am MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines remains the world’s top call center destination despite growing challenge from other countries, the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) said.

By TREFOR MOSS, June 21, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/robots-on-track-to-bump-humans-from-call-center-jobs-1466501401 MANILA—The Philippines’ economically important call-center industry has joined the growing list of businesses at risk of being gobbled up by automation.

by Roderick T. dela Cruz, the Standard, May 14, 2016, http://thestandard.com.ph/business/205609/philippine-call-centers-on-the-verge-of-change.html Call centers and business process outsourcing companies are on the verge of change to meet the demands of the millennial generation, according to an industry expert who provides communications solutions for the IT-BPO industry.

FILIPINO firms are having difficulties hiring competent and skilled technical and professional personnel and call-center agents, according to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

THE PHILIPPINES is now the call center “capital” of the world, Moody’s Analytics said in a recent report, displacing India as Filipinos prove to be a better option for skilled workers in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, but faces a crucial government transition, with continuity of anti-corruption efforts hanging in the balance.

Call centres have created millions of good jobs in the emerging world. Technology threatens to take those jobs away again WHETHER in Nairobi or Albuquerque, a shopping centre is not really a shopping centre unless it has at least two anchor tenants. These can be department stores, cinemas or bookshops—anything that will fill a large…

Change is coming to the Philippine call center industry, with a former newsboy who now heads the local unit of a US software company delivering the compelling message.

Even highly-skilled employees in the business process outsourcing sector are seen to benefit from the P15-increase in the daily minimum wage for private sector workers in Metro Manila as employers seek to correct the wage distortion caused by the wage hike.

MANILA, Philippines — Staff turnover has always been a big concern for business process outsourcing (BPO) companies in the Philippines.