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What has made the outsourcing so successful in the Philippines?
By 2016, unemployment rates were recorded at an all time low of 4.7%. This change is believed to be directly correlated to the growth of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO or outsourcing).What comprises the foundations of the industry is manpower. Outsourcing has created over 1.5 million jobs in just three years with numbers continuing to rise. Latest UN estimates put Philippine population at about 106 million citizens making it the 12th most populated country in the world. In any company, manpower is about quality and quantity. Both have to be be at an international level. Personnel in outsourcing must be equipped with the knowledge and the skill to navigate the global stage with professionalism and expertise.
Filipinos have adapted well to these demands. The country has a long history of overseas employment in blue collar jobs. The Filipino is no stranger to foreign lands. This is coupled with the educational standards of the Philippines which requires extensive amounts of immersion, simulation per profession, and the use of English almost as a first language in many Filipino schools. The copious amounts of graduates each year provides outsourcing companies with leeway in carefully selecting their employees, ensuring that only the best and brightest are taken in. The Information Technology – Business Process Outsourcing (IT-BPO) alongside the Global In-house Center (GIC) industries are the recognized as the Philippines’ largest job generators in the present day
Very much like the rest of the world, the new generation has grown up well with technology at their disposal. Children at increasingly younger ages are now more adapted to technological advances such as cellphones and the internet. The Philippines ranked 1st in a global survey on the most number of hours spent on social media.
Most Filipino homes have at least one cable television, one cellphone, and one computer. They are taught how to use basic software at early levels in school and are almost always provided with their own computers at their workstations later on in their careers. Computer skills are required for any profession outside of manual labor. It is at the very least an advantage over fellow applicants that many would flaunt in their resumes. In the advent of faster, cheaper, and more reliable internet, more and more outsourcing companies are setting up shop in the Philippines. This allows for more job opportunities and quality of life improvements.
The outsourcing industry has been existing for nearly a decade by the early 2000s. By then, it was already the 2nd largest contributor to GDP. It reached critical numbers for both employment and revenue during 2016. What contribute to this rapid change was the entry of bigger players such as Accenture, Convergys, and JP Morgan. In 2011, Xilium Professional Services entered the scene to provide for its own brand of Virtual Medical Assistants and Virtual Business Assistants.
What differentiates these companies from others is the system by which they operate. Constant asset development, public relations improvements, and securities control contribute to the success of these moguls. By 2012, thirty-six companies of similar caliber had an income totalling to 3.4 billion USD annually in the Philippines alone. Since then, the industry has only improved and several dozen companies are currently generating approximately an approximated 24 billion USD annually. There are strong predictions that GDP could reach 55 billion USD income by 2020.
The industry has encountered its share of challenges in the past but it has always overcome. Filipinos are known across the seas for their work ethic, adaptability, and endurance. Instead of rendering that service abroad, outsourcing has allowed for international employment in local deployment. The Philippines has an abundance of quality manpower, the technological knowhow, and the corporate structure to boot. All that has allowed for the outsourcing industry in the Philippines to thrive through the years.
Writing should be one part informative and one part entertaining. It's what differentiates a generic piece of text from a well-written article. Rey Palmares dedicates much of his time to fine-tune that craft, juggling the joys and frustrations of writing with those of his law school life outside of the office. He's making it work so far.
