slowdown in the Call center and BPO industry?

[kingzyke]

well we all know that the US and major markets are now in recession,but i noticed something lately. The advertisements of the top callcenters are now slowing down in the major broadsheets in the country and the no.1 job that was in demand last week was nursing(see manila bulletin yesterday). also i have seen in the forums of some callcenters in Pex that there are alot of cost cutting going on as well..some apparently dont even have tissue in their toilets anymore.this brings me to the question is the call center now in recession too?(i hope not)and are you feeling the heat?:confused:

[jmsmithsolution]

im in the HR industry for half a decade now and was exposed to Call center operations, its a great opportunity still for the Philippines even if US recession is nearby approaching, why? because they used to cut cost and so would intend to put their investments on low paying sites like the philippines for their BPO needs especially the with the kind of quality of agents that we have compared to India . Our government is projecting a 300 percent increase of labor by 2010 and expected to have 1million agents for that year.

[startrekker]

The recession in the U.S. has created at least 3,000 high jobs for just one account. The account finally decided to outsource brought out by THEIR cost cutting.

The recession is an opportunity for BPO and call center operations, not the other way around.

[Aranda_Bay]

Yeah, enjoy it while Obama's not yet president.

[maratsafin99]

hopefully matalo si OBAMA!

[kingzyke]

jmsmith and startrekker i do get your point that the industry is growing. but what im trying to say is that the growth or pace is now slowing especially compared to the pace last year. I love the call center industry and in fact im in it. but i cant help to notice na it is now affecting us as well(kahit konti)bonuses and incentives are now not given or delayed at some companies, some companies are even at the brink of bankruptcy.

Yeah, enjoy it while Obama's not yet president.
bakit whats wrong with obama ba?

[ambertookme]

non US accounts are booming naman. daming UK and Aussie accounts nagsulputan ngayon.

[Aranda_Bay]

jmsmith and startrekker i do get your point that the industry is growing. but what im trying to say is that the growth or pace is now slowing especially compared to the pace last year. I love the call center industry and in fact im in it. but i cant help to notice na it is now affecting us as well(kahit konti)bonuses and incentives are now not given or delayed at some companies, some companies are even at the brink of bankruptcy.


bakit whats wrong with obama ba?

Some accounts especially inbound sales (order taking) are naturally at a low, if not drastically cut since fewer Americans are buying. However, customer service and tech support will be at a higher demand since most Americans will be demanding more service for their purchases.


bakit whats wrong with obama ba?

Obama's position on outsourcing is not too beneficial for outsourced companies like India and the Philippines. He is actually thinking of removing tax cuts for US companies who outsource (discouraging outsourcing) and shift those tax cuts for US companies who hire within the US (encouraging US employment).

Tapos susuyuin ni Obama mga Fil-Am votes (4 million). Kapal!

[baludoy]

Obama's position on outsourcing is not too beneficial for outsourced companies like India and the Philippines. He is actually thinking of removing tax cuts for US companies who outsource (discouraging outsourcing) and shift those tax cuts for US companies who hire within the US (encouraging US employment).

what about mccain's stand? what's his platform w/ regards to outsourcing? baka pareho lang din? :rolleyes:

[jahpipol]

tandaan natin hindi lang po callcenter ang naka outsource sa philippines.. marami pa po.. at hindi lang americano ang gustong maginvest sa atin.. marami pa.. so just incase matuloy nga si obama.. I dont think na magiging problema satin yun.. Sa tingin ko mas pipiliin paren nila ang philippines because of the unbelievable politeness of filipinos in the telephone and magaling talaga tayo for short..

[Aranda_Bay]

what about mccain's stand? what's his platform w/ regards to outsourcing? baka pareho lang din? :rolleyes:

McCain's Economic advisor is the former CEO of HP and is a staunch proponent of outsourcing. McCain's general stand re the US economy is globalization. Si Obama isolationist. Unfortunately, Obama's stand will get him to win more votes now that Americans stand to lose more jobs due to outsourcing.

tandaan natin hindi lang po callcenter ang naka outsource sa philippines.. marami pa po.. at hindi lang americano ang gustong maginvest sa atin.. marami pa.. so just incase matuloy nga si obama.. I dont think na magiging problema satin yun.. Sa tingin ko mas pipiliin paren nila ang philippines because of the unbelievable politeness of filipinos in the telephone and magaling talaga tayo for short..

This is more of a Quixotic stand on the industry. It is more prudent to prepare for the inevitable because once the US market is gone, the remaining markets (UK, Australia) is not enough to sustain all the players. At this point in time, while the industry has it good, you should do the ff:

- save/invest your money wisely and don't spend it uselessly on Starbucks and the latest electronic toys or trips to the beach or abroad. Invest in real estate not limited to condo units.

- learn a skill everyday in your line of work. Aim to be promoted during every evaluation period. Don't get stuck in the same position for two years in the same position doing the same work.

- stop job shopping looking for the highest salary payer if you are already working for a major player (Etelecare, Convergys, PS).

- build a global personal/business network than useless friendster friends. Be friends with every nationality you come across and get to know.

- learn a new language. Learn 2 new languages one eastern (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) one western (French, German, Italian).

- learn at least 3 blue collar skills like cooking, cutting hair or fixing a car. This is basically survival skills in the worst worse case scenario.

[MarciCinnamon]

Good thread. Major Props to Aranda_Bay. Especially the observation about Obama and McCain,

"McCain's Economic advisor is the former CEO of HP and is a staunch proponent of outsourcing. McCain's general stand re the US economy is globalization. Si Obama isolationist. Unfortunately, Obama's stand will get him to win more votes now that Americans stand to lose more jobs due to outsourcing (-Aranda_Bay)."

Initial Input:
The Off-shoring and Outsourcing Industry is larger than Obama or McCain or any recession. Its just simple business sense, outsourcing cuts costs, no matter how you view it.

The Philippine BPO industry will continue to mature and stratify; hold its position as the voice work destination of choice for the next several years.

The relevant issue will be how the country and this industry's leaders/organizations will pilot it through the next several years.

At least for the next 50 years, I don't think we will see the emergence of an industry that provides at least double the normal salary at entry level. We will probably get up to +/- 30% in fluctuations revenue wise and even through cost cutting aspects through these coming years but the fact remains that Outsourcing is a global historical event akin to the Industrial Revolution with its butterfly effect repercussions.

I concur with Aranda_Bay and would rather wax Quixotic than Sancho Panza my way to an empty savings account. Just in case.

[shinhwaer]

It will somehow make an effect in our industry. I watched Good News in America, wherein a middle class family who earned almost 70k a month is now asking for food from Mother Teresa feeding program near her home. She can't find a job, her husband got an accident making their family crippled from financial security. If we are experiencing low times in our economy, so is America. And with the kind of ego America has, they will probably take back what should be theirs from the beginning in order to help their economy step up from a fall.

[MarciCinnamon]

America (The Government) will just start a new war to fuel its economy. Something its been doing since Day One.

Funny how the news you shared was from the "Good News."

I agree it will affect our industry. Everything affects everything. else True, we can look at track statistical data and see these effects but looking at the larger picture will show us that economies will rise and fall. Its the history impacting movements that persist. Communism is a good example, surprisingly the Chinese have figured out a way to make it adapt to capitalism. Outsourcing is a movement that will not go away like the Betamax format.

Which is why we need an association (lets not use the term union as it implies negative connotations) to protect the Filipino/a BPO worker/professional.

Watchutink?

[kingzyke]

America (The Government) will just start a new war to fuel its economy. Something its been doing since Day One.

Funny how the news you shared was from the "Good News."

I agree it will affect our industry. Everything affects everything. else True, we can look at track statistical data and see these effects but looking at the larger picture will show us that economies will rise and fall. Its the history impacting movements that persist. Communism is a good example, surprisingly the Chinese have figured out a way to make it adapt to capitalism. Outsourcing is a movement that will not go away like the Betamax format.

Which is why we need an association (lets not use the term union as it implies negative connotations) to protect the Filipino/a BPO worker/professional.

Watchutink?

i actually like the idea. i have always wanted to start/join a call center org or association. just to share ideas and opinions, and maybe giving additional benefits for its members.. i just dont like it to be the typical unions that we have here in the country..they just usually go to edsa or mendiola and complain*peace*

[sassy_gurlü]

This is more of a Quixotic stand on the industry. It is more prudent to prepare for the inevitable because once the US market is gone, the remaining markets (UK, Australia) is not enough to sustain all the players. At this point in time, while the industry has it good, you should do the ff:

- save/invest your money wisely and don't spend it uselessly on Starbucks and the latest electronic toys or trips to the beach or abroad. Invest in real estate not limited to condo units.

- learn a skill everyday in your line of work. Aim to be promoted during every evaluation period. Don't get stuck in the same position for two years in the same position doing the same work.

- stop job shopping looking for the highest salary payer if you are already working for a major player (Etelecare, Convergys, PS).

- build a global personal/business network than useless friendster friends. Be friends with every nationality you come across and get to know.

- learn a new language. Learn 2 new languages one eastern (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) one western (French, German, Italian).

- learn at least 3 blue collar skills like cooking, cutting hair or fixing a car. This is basically survival skills in the worst worse case scenario.

Aranda_Bay, gusto ko talaga mga posts mo..will keep these in mind.

[Aranda_Bay]

^
Thanks.

Dagdag ko lang... Learn also a techskill that allows you to work across the globe via the internet (graphic arts, web design, web development, CAD etc). These skillsets I believe will be the last jobs to be removed from outsourcing (compared to customer service, sales jobs) if ever BPO's pull out *knock on wood*

Isang tulugan na lang eleksiyon na!

With Obama's plan of "spreading the wealth" which basically means taxing more the big earners and corporations, looks like corporate America will definitely have no choice but to outsource.

On the other hand...

Obama might give tax incentives to corporations who will not outsource and who will choose to hire locally (US employees).

In that case...

we're screwed!


Something to think about before you sleep.


Vote wisely.

[ssshboom]

Whether Obama wins or not, there's NOTHING to worry about. I've talked to several Americans & expressed their views that Obama cannot stop companies from outsourcing even if he will give tax incentives to companies who chose not to outsource. If Obama can really give that big tax cuts that will match their savings, then, that's the only time these American based companies will stop outsourcing. Imagine, salary of an American is equivalent to 2-3 Filipino / Indian agent that they can hire, can perform same function & can produce same result.

[Aranda_Bay]

American companies who do not have their own BPO outfit (unlike Dell and HSBC) and have to resort to 3rd party BPOs like Convergy's, Etelecare and Sykes etc, would just be saving marginally on costs. If those tax cuts and incentives are large enough, they might just resort to hiring locally (US).

Madali kasi makita savings if you did compare salaries of a US CSR to an outsourced CSR. But if you compare the US CSR salary to the actual cost of outsourcing (BPO seat cost, Int'l travel of principals) maliit lang ang savings. Baka yung tax cuts and incentives ang maging deal breaker.

Obama opposes outsourcing of jobs

February 27, 2008 11:52 IST
Continuing to play the anti-outsourcing card, Democrat presidential front-runner Barack Obama on Wednesday said while America cannot "shy away" from globalisation, it would have to take measures to ensure that jobs are not shipped overseas.

"We have to stop providing tax breaks for companies that are shipping jobs overseas and give those tax breaks to companies that are investing here in the United States of America," Obama said in during a debate with rival Senator Hillary Clinton in Cleaveland, Ohio.

The Illinois Senator, playing to the gallery of those workers who have been displaced in manufacturing jobs as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and generally to the anti-outsourcing crowd, said he would ensure that every pact the US signs has environmental, safety and labour standards to protect workers and consumers alike.

"We can't have toys with lead paint in them that our children are playing with. We can't have medicines that are actually making people more sick instead of better because they're produced overseas," Obama said.

At the same time, he said, Americans cannot "shy away" from globalisation. "We can't draw a moat around us."

"The problem is we've been negotiating just looking at corporate profits and what's good for multinationals," the African-American Senator said adding, "as President, what I want to be is an advocate on behalf of workers".

Facing the heat from US presidential hopefuls who blamed "shipping jobs" to China and India for rising US unemployment, the India Inc had last week launched a counter offensive through the media, telling Americans that the industry is creating new work opportunities for them.

http://www.rediff.com/money/2008/feb/27bpo.htm


Obama opposes outsourcing of jobs
Agencies
Posted: Jun 28, 2008 at 1133 hrs IST
Updated: Jun 28, 2008 at 1305 hrs IST

Taking a tough stand against outsourcing, the presumptive Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama said that the choice is between giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas or give benefit to those corporations that keep jobs domestically.

"We can keep giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, or we can give tax benefits to companies that invest right here in New Hampshire," Senator Obama said at a joint appearance with Senator Hillary Clinton in Unity, New Hampshire.

"We can have a tax code that rewards wealth and hands out billions of dollars more to big corporations and multimillionaires. Or we can provide a USD 1,000 tax cut to 95 per cent of families in America, start rewarding work and not just wealth, and eliminate income taxes for seniors making USD 50,000 a year or less," Obama said, adding that's an agenda for change that we can believe in. That's the choice that we can make in this election.

"We can allow millions of Americans to work full-time but still not make enough to support their families, or we can raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation, and ensure that hard work pays off in America," the Illinois Senator said.

"I don't care black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, young, old, rich, poor. It doesn't matter. There's this sense of what this country is fundamentally about, a fundamental goodness, and that if we tap into that, I am absolutely convinced that we can lift this country up to new and greater heights.

"This is one of those moments in our history when we have to tap the decency of the American people. This is our chance to turn the page on the policies of the last seven and a half years. This is our chance to bring a new energy policy to America and new ideas to America," Obama said at a historic moment during the campaign trail.

"So here's the choice in this election. If you like the direction America is going, then vote for Senator McCain, because you'll definitely get more of the same. But if you think we need a new course, a new agenda, then vote for Barack Obama and you will get the change that you and we need and deserve," Senator Clinton said in her opening comments.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/obama-opposes-outsourcing-of-jobs/328689/


and here's a quixotic view baka sabihin niyo naman nanakot ako:

Obama’s outsourcing assault

September 03, 2008
It will take more than election threats to turn the tide

Posted by: Martyn Hart

The press has been buzzing with the latest American electoral war development. Obama, on one side, has vowed to discourage outsourcing across America stating the age old adage that American jobs should remain in America.

John McCain on the other hand believes that outsourcing is helping to create a healthy competitive US economy.

The question is whether the outsourcing industry is quaking in its boots at the thought of an Obama led siege on one of the biggest outsourcers?

Firstly the numbers involved are, indeed, significant, Forrester Research predicts that 3.3 million US jobs and $136bn in wages may be outsourced to various service providing locations, saving US businesses billions of dollars. However, simply stating that taxes will be placed on these businesses may not deter them as much as the Obama camp believes.

Offshoring is an integral part of the rising tide of globalisation. Whereas in the past, many developing countries could only really compete in global agricultural markets, the ability to provide services such as IT, accounting and customer contact centres is allowing these countries to fully enter the global market and reap the economical and developmental rewards.

There is always a worry, especially within the Western world, that they are harming their own economy by moving jobs overseas. However this should not be the case.

More often than not US companies will be using these offshoring locations to conduct lower level work retaining much of the higher level operations in-house or at least on shore.

The savings that the company gains should allow for more money to be ploughed back into the economy and into expanding the business further, possibly creating more jobs. In fact NOA’s own DTI carried out a study some years back which revealed that for each pound offshored the UK economy benefited by £1.20.

Globalisation cannot be ignored or simply discarded. If the future pans out the way it is forecasted, globalisation will have a positive impact on all countries competing on the world stage.

Outsourcing and offshoring is here to stay and it will take a lot more than an electoral battle fuelled statement to make the big players rethink the outsourcing model.

http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=1214


NOTE: Yung mga Pexers dito na nagtratrabaho sa mga BPO's and CCs na maka-Obama, mag research research muna kayo ng totoong ramifications of an Obama win. Hindi porket maka Obama favorite Hollywood star niyo Obama na rin kayo. :rolleyes:

[Aces_21]

You're right Aranda_Bay, Most of the people here na maka-"Obama" here eh nakikisawsaw lang sa sikat! EEEEEEEEW!

[budiluvsbak]

Call center lays off 900 workers (http://philstar.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=416979&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
Updated November 20, 2008 12:00 AM

In what could be the start of a looming mass displacement of workers due to the financial crisis, about 900 workers at a business process outsourcing (BPO) company were laid off from their jobs.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the country’s largest labor group, reported yesterday that Advanced Contact Solutions Inc. (ACS) retrenched one-fifth of its total workforce after losing a major US-based client that filed for bankruptcy.

TUCP secretary-general and former senator Ernesto Herrera called on the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to immediately provide alternative sources of livelihood for the 900 displaced call center agents.

“The DOLE should ensure that the retrenched staff are absorbed right away by other firms, so as to lessen the potential severance of family income,” Herrera said in a statement.

Despite the displacement of call center agents, Herrera expressed optimism that such a case was isolated and not indicative of more turbulent times ahead for the local BPO industry.

“This is an extreme and exceptional case involving the loss of a key client that became insolvent. Other BPO providers here continue to grow their operations and recruit more workers, although at a much slower pace,” he explained.

But he admitted that firms across all industries have now become more cautious in rolling out expansion plans because of the uncertainty created by the global economic slump.

But Herrera said he is counting on the stronger US dollar and the weaker peso to help BPO providers cope with the more challenging global economic conditions.

“Local BPO providers generate service revenues in dollars, but pay for their cost of operations here in pesos. Thus, the resurgent dollar makes it cheaper for them to cover operating expenses as well as capital spending here,” he added.

As this developed, the militant Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) also urged the government to look into the reported mass retrenchment of workers in the Export Processing Zone.

The group said a legislative investigation is necessary so that appropriate measures and assistance can be immediately provided to displaced workers. – Mayen Jaymalin