Myths,Facts or Biased re BPO , 9th Dec, 2015 v2 DLSU-D Demas Cavite Philippines by Prof. Michael Conroy MBA (DBA)

JFINEX-STUDENT SUMMIT
Investment Insights & Asean Integration
.
DLSU-D Cavite Manila
Wednesday 9th Dec, 2015
“MYTHS AND FACTS IN BPO CAREERS”
Adjunct Prof. Mike Conroy MBA (DBA)
&
Co Founder/Non Executive Director of Talk Bpo
michael.oconroy@talkbpo.com
1

BRIEF INTRODUCTION
Talk Bpo ™ Inc. © All rights reserved, 2008 - 2015 2
TO BRIEFLY DISCOVER AND DIFERRENCIATE THE
MYTHS AND FACTS OF THE BPO INDUSTRY
WITHIN THE PHILIPPINES
1. THE INDUSTRY ITSELF IN COMPARSION TO
OTHER COUNTRIES
2. ASCERTAIN OPPORTUNITIES IT MAY PRESENT
TO ONE AS A CAREER OPTION

3Talk Bpo ™ Inc. © All rights reserved, 2008 - 2015
Brief Video
Booming Philippines
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8_2hKZkb18
World Bank told to stop reporting the WBIR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEbGflgb4AQ

Quick Definitions of Myth, Facts & Biased
A fact is something that has really occurred or is
actually the case. The usual test for a statement of fact
is verifiability—that is, whether it can be
demonstrated to correspond to experience. Standard
reference works are often used to check facts.
Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful
observation or measurement (by experiments or
other means).
Source: Wiki

A myth is, broadly, any worldview-based
traditional story, or collection or stories
Source: Wiki

Bias is an inclination or outlook to present or hold a partial
perspective, often accompanied by a refusal to consider the
possible merits of alternative points of view. Biases are learned
implicitly within cultural contexts. People may develop biases
toward or against an individual, an ethnic group, a nation, a
religion, a social class, a political party, theoretical paradigms and
ideologies within academic domains, or a species.[1] Biased
means one-sided, lacking a neutral viewpoint, or not having an
open mind. Bias can come in many forms and is related to
prejudice and intuition.[2]
Source: Wiki

• MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Philippines' gross domestic product will
reach $1.05 trillion (P22.60 billion) by 2029, an economist said.
• IHS Singapore Asia-Pacific chief economist Rajiv Biswas bared his forecast at
the ongoing World Economic Forum on East Asia 2015 (WEF) in Jakarta,
Indonesia, on Tuesday, April 21.
• Biswas said that the total GDP of the Philippines is predicted to rise from $310
billion in 2015 to $500 billion by 2020, buoyed by the rapid growth of the
information technology-business process outsourcing (IT-BPO) industry and
remittances.
• The country’s per capita GDP is also eyed to double from $3,000 in 2015 to
$6,000 by 2024.
• Source; http://www.rappler.com/business/economy-watch/90650-
ph-one-trillion-dollar-economy-2029
BPO PH - MYTH OR FACT?

Services Provided by BPO –

BPO PH – MYTH OR FACT ?
India is now the world’s favored market for BPO
companies, among other competitors, such as,
Australia, China, Philippines and Ireland. The BPO boom
in India is credited to cheap labor costs and India’s huge
talent pool of skilled, English-speaking professionals.
Research by the National Association of Software
Services and Companies (NASSCOM) has revealed that
quality orientation among leading BPO companies, 24/7
services, India’s unique geographic location and the
investor friendly tax structure in India have all made the
BPO industry in India very popular.
Source: NASSCOM

BPO PH – MYTH, FACT OR BIASED?

Here are five (5) clear reasons why the Philippines
overtook India in the call center supremacy.
1. Culture Compatibility
Filipinos have the exceptional ability to adapt easily to different
cultures. This is attributed to the fact that the Philippines has a
lot of similarities to Western cultures as a result of influences
from multiple foreign rulers in the distant past.
After the US ruled the country for several decades, Filipinos
embraced American culture instead of rejecting it. This is
evident in all levels of schools where the English language is
used as a medium of instruction. Just look around in any major
city in the Philippines and you will find American lifestyles. A lot
of Filipinos love to eat American food, wear Western fashion,
watch American movies, listen to English songs, and speak
with a neutral American accent. There is clearly a cultural
compatibility between the Philippines and Western countries,
most especially the US.

2. Neutral Accent
Although the Philippines has 8 major local dialects, Filipinos
are remarkably outstanding when communicating in English
using a neutral accent. This prompted Jojo Uligan, the
corporate secretary and executive director of CCAP (Contact
Center Association of the Philippines), to comment: “When you
train a Filipino to speak English, you would never know if he or
she is Filipino. I think Americans like to talk to a person they
can understand.”
Indians can speak English fluently but their noticeable native
accent remains problematic. Numerous US companies find the
heavy Indian accent unacceptable to many customers. On the
other hand, Filipinos can immediately adapt to and speak in
different Western English accents.

3. English Speaking Workforce
US and UK businesses prefer to outsource to call centers and
BPO Service (Business Process Outsourcing) companies in
the Philippines because of the country’s English proficiency.
ASSOCHAM said that only 10 percent of graduated in India are
readily employable in call centers as opposed to 30 percent in
the Philippines.
The Philippines is a top destination for business outsourcing of
international companies considering the country was named
the world’s best country in business English proficiency when it
earned the highest score in the Business English Index beating
its western counterparts in the US, UK, and Australia. As the
world’s third largest English-speaking country, the Philippines
has a huge talent pool to meet the manpower demands of call
centers and BPO companies.

4. Strong Government Support
The Philippine government has given its full support to the
outsourcing industry.
In the past, a lot of Filipinos traveled abroad to seek high-
paying jobs. Now, Filipinos don’t have to leave the country
since many jobs with competitive salary packages are offered
by call centers.
Government support comes in many ways, including offer of
subsidies to foreign investors, reduced cost of facilities, and
provision of tax benefits. Educational programs are
implemented by the government to further enhance English
language proficiency and technical skills with emphasis on
computer technology. The Philippines is an ideal location for
foreign investors as more overseas companies are either
opening or expanding businesses in the country.

5. Hospitality and Devotion to Work
Filipino hospitality, which is famous all over the world, and the
Filipinos’ devotion to hard work attract foreign companies to do
business in the Philippines. Filipinos are known to have
extraordinary patience when working on the completion of
complex tasks. Loyalty, another trait Filipinos are known for, is
highly preferred by companies for long term employment.
Source: Brad Norman (Modified by Adjunct Prof. Michael
Conroy MBA)
http://www.takingyouforward.com/blog/sme/call-center-
philippines-overtakes-india-as-worlds-no-1/
December, 15th, 2014
.

MYTHS FACTS
BPO is another dotcom phenomena and all the
euphoria is going to be short-lived, with the current
boom ending in a bust.
BPO is a well-established industry built on solid
infrastructure of people, processes and technology
than the marketing hype that drove the dotcom
boom.
As the BPO euphoria dies down, most jobs will be
at risk and are likely to get eliminated.
BPOs have existed in the Western world for many
years, employing a phenomenal three per cent of
the US and UK working population. It's highly
improbable that the current jobs being created in in
the industry will be eliminated.
As the US political backlash against India
intensifies, the Philippines is emerging as the
preferred off-shoring destination for US
corporations.
Election year in the US has made offshore
outsourcing a major political issue. But companies
are still outsourcing non English speaking back
office operations to India. This offers greater depth
and breadth of skill sets than competing countries
like the Philippines.

There are significant quality issues
facing India, resulting in many
companies like Dell, Lehman
Brothers and Microsoft withdrawing
their business from the country.
Some companies have pulled back business from India. But such
instances are few and far between. In fact, many of these
companies have subsequently sent more work to India, despite
initially withdrawing some business.
There is huge attrition in PH BPOs
because the workforce is frustrated
with their jobs and unable to work
odd hours (night shifts) for long
periods of time.
The reason for high attrition in call centres is because of poaching
by competitor BPOs by offering higher salaries and/or
designations. In fact, rather than leaving the industry, most
youngsters are busy job-hopping due to the tremendous
opportunities available within the industry. The difficulties
associated with night shifts are most probably exaggerated.
There are limited career
opportunities within the call
centre/BPO industry; roles are
limited to customer service agents
and team leaders.
The BPO industry offers a huge range of job roles in varied
functions like quality, human resource, finance, IT, project
management, training, facilities management, etc.
BPO PH - MYTH OR FACT ?

Most BPOs in PH tend to exploit their
workforce, forcing them into
monotonous jobs with few facilities or
benefits.
BPOs in PH are today attracting the best talent from various
industries, including hospitality, financial services, retail, medical
transcriptions, travel, etc. This is largely because of better
packages and benefits being offered by BPOs. Examples: home
pick-up and drops, medical insurance, recreational facilities,
range of rewards and recognition schemes.
Working in an IT enabled services
environment results in various
health-related ailments associated
with working for long hours on
computers or talking for long hours
on the phone.
Almost all jobs today involve working on computers or talking for
long hours on the phone. In fact, BPOs tend to be more careful
about proper ergonomics, acoustics and overall workplace
environment than most other companies.
Working in BPOs tends to restrict
future job prospects. There are
limited opportunities to pursue a
career outside the industry.
BPOs provide their people with invaluable international
exposure of working for leading global companies. Also, the
skills developed while working at call centres (eg.
communication abilities, process-orientation, domain knowledge,
etc), are highly desirable, cutting across industries in PH and
overseas.

Most employees treat call centres and
BPOs as a short-term career option,
good for earning a quick buck but not for
building a long-term career.
On the contrary, most employees are building a long-term
career in the industry. In fact, BPOs are attracting the best
talent from other industries that are not able to offer similar
compensation and career growth options
Source: http://www.rediff.com/getahead/2004/sep/01ga-bpo.htm
Zia Sheikh (Modified by Adjunct Prof Michael Conroy) 9th Dec, 2015

“Employment in the business process
outsourcing (BPO) industry hit an all-time high
in August 2014. The growing numbers of
companies drives the growth in the sector,
where employment recently hit 1 million.
The IT and Business Process Association of the
Philippines (IBPAP) says the employment
growth has been phenomenal, from 101,000 in
2004, and 930,000 in the first quarter of 2014.
Size Distribution of Philippines IT-BPO
Industry, by number of FTEs”

Source: FTE Distribution in PH BPAP & Everest April, 2015

BPO PH – MYTH,FACT OR BIAS ?

BPO PH – MYTH, FACT OR BIAS ?

BPO - MYTH OR FACT ?
I would like to leave you with one question today.
Name one Global well known Philippines BPO
company?
?
Are you up the challenge, let’s achieve this, it’s well
over due don’t you think?
The choice is yours, you can choose to be part of the
myths or facts or debunk it!
THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION & BEST WISHES IN YOUR
CAREERS AHEAD & HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

THANK YOU!
TIME FOR QUESTIONS?
COPY OF THIS PRESENTATION CAN BE FOUND ON
SLIDE SHARE-
TALK BPO MYTHS & FACTS OF BPO
JFINEX STUDENT SUMMIT

Myths,Facts or Biased re BPO , 9th Dec, 2015 v2 DLSU-D Demas Cavite Philippines by Prof. Michael Conroy MBA (DBA)

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