Filipino Call Centers: Towards a better Service Industry

The year 2011 had showcased some of the best facets of the BPO industry. In almost all countries, both developed and developing ones, the industry had flourished abundantly despite recurrent and ominous global financial and political threats.

In the Philippines, the industry permeated almost all imaginable service sectors. While, at its dawn, what was considered as a Filipino call center was only involved in customary back-office and customer support contact service; today, what defines a Filipino call center covers an overwhelming scope of possible outsourced services: technical support, transcription, virtual assistance, Research, Surveys, Telemarketing, etc.

 For 2011, Filipino call centers exhausted even wider horizons for growth and revenue. Apart from its exemplary work in the above mentioned service areas, the industry also excelled in venturing into new and fresher shores. Of these latest ventures, the Health and Finance service sector of the country experienced noticeable progress.

According to the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP), increased investments in Filipino Call Centers had resulted into over 21% expansion growth for the country’s health care services and financial subsector. Such growth is noteworthy not only since it actually surpassed the projected 15-20% growth rate for 2011, but more so since it concretely proved how accommodating and adaptable the outsourcing industry is, especially towards perennial areas such as the health and financial sectors.

 Overall, this is good news for 2012. It poses both the opportunity and the challenge to look closely into all possible areas that can benefit from the profitability and growth-laden offers of the outsourcing industry. With stronger public and private partnerships and sustained innovation, other sectors (agriculture, fishery, education, manufacturing, etc) in the country’s still struggling economy can now, at least, hope.