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BUSINESS-process outsourcing companies remained the
biggest source of employment for Filipinos, even outside
the metropolis, data from the recent International ICT
Awards revealed.
Eighteen
of the total 29 companies that vied for seven award
categories disclosed growth in the number of their
employees last year, hitting nearly a hundred thousand.
One of
them is Accenture Inc., awarded BPO Employer of the
Year, with its employment growth hitting nearly 40
percent over 2006 to over 15,000.
Other
companies that vied for the award also posted employment
growth.
Dell
Philippines Inc. said it has grown from 300 employees
since establishing its first contact center here early
2006 to 2,500.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. subsidiary ePLDT
Ventus said it has 6,803 full-time employees; ICT
Marketing Services Inc., on the other hand, said it has
over 7,000 employees and 4,800 work stations in five
contact centers in Metro Manila.
Seven-year-old Maersk Global Services Centers
(Philippines) Ltd., on the other hand, forecasts 1,200
employees by the end of this year, from a thousand
workers by the end of 2007.
“Everybody’s hurting from the strong peso—I’d like to
believe that we’re not alone in this conundrum– but the
business models we, or these players here, have seem to
be working,” a Teletech Customer Care Management Inc.
executive told the BusinessMirror before the awarding
ceremonies began late Thursday.
The
executive added that most BPO companies remain resilient
despite the slowdown in the
US
economy.
Teletech,
which vied for the BPO Company of the Year award, said
it “is on its way to hit its 20,000-employee mark by end
of 2008 and 25,000 by end of 2009 with six to 10
additional call- center facilities.”
Currently, it has over 15,000 employees in 10 locations
across the country after six years.
Teletech,
awarded last year as Fastest-Growing BPO Company of the
Year, and seven other companies lost to Sitel
Philippines Corp.
ICT
Marketing was adjudged this year’s fastest-growing BPO
company, besting Sitel and two other firms in this award
category.
Oscar
Sañez, president of the BPO Association of the
Philippines, said in his closing remarks the sector’s
growth targets are on track.
Teleperformance, for example, said it is “looking to
procure additional locations across the country.”
Convergys Philippines Services Inc., which has more than
11,500 employees across eight locations, said it will
open its center in Bacolod City by April this year.
New
York-headquartered ExlService Holdings Inc. said its new
operating center in the Philippines will open in the
second quarter of 2008.
The
International ICT Awards, the second after launching
last year, “recognizes the organizations and individuals
who contribute the most to put Philippines and Filipinos
in the minds of global business leaders.” |
