The Cebu Investments and Promotions Center (CIPC) is optimistic that the Business Process Outsourcing industry will remain upbeat despite the victory of Barack Obama, who have been vocal about his anti-outsourcing stance.
"The ideology to protect jobs cannot be bigger than the need to be competitive globally. Globalization has forced America and the world to be competitive in service," said Joel Mari Yu, CIPC managing director.
A source from the BPO sector, who refused to be named, told The Freeman that call centers are now closely monitoring movements in US regulations as President elect Obama takes his seat early next year to lead the economic-troubled country.
She said big call center companies and its thousands of employees are now worried that companies who are getting outsourcing jobs outside their countries, like the Philippines, may pull-out because of Obama's anti-outsourcing bid.
If this will be implemented, BPO stakeholders feared that thousands of jobs will be affected, especially that most call centers are now servicing most if not all companies from the US.
Yu, however, remains optimistic that Cebu will continue to attract BPO companies from the US, amid fears of a slowdown due to Obama's strong views about outsourcing of American jobs overseas.
Yu admitted there were indeed speculations among BPO stakeholders here that Obama's administration might convince American call centers in the country to return to the US for more jobs for its citizens.
CIPC records showed that Cebu currently has 22 call centers with around 20,000 agents, as well as 36 foreign direct IT-related investments.
US Ambassador Kristie Kenney for her part has made assurances that call center companies that have branched out in the Philippines would probably maintain their business here.
"Call centers will continue to be strong. They’re successful because the Philippine work force is so talented," Kenney said earlier.
Even local businessmen have earlier expressed optimism of the Democrats' "protectionist policies" under the presidency of Obama will have little, if not, no effect on the local BPO sector.
Yu said that while 82 percent of the clients of the BPO firms are in the US, the industry also service clients in United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, and even from outsourcing powerhouse India.
Apart from the US, he said industry stakeholders are also trying to tap potential markets like the European bloc.
The BPO industry is considered as one of the sunshine industries in the Philippines. As of 2007, the industry employed around 300,000 workers and generated $4.9-billion revenue.
By 2010, the industry hopes to provide a million jobs and to generate US$13 billion revenues, or a 10 percent share of the global market.
Moreover, an American BPO practitioner still believes that outsourcing will still continue to flourish.
“In today’s economic crisis, there is all the more need for the Western world to outsource most of its work. So regardless of political issues, outsourced jobs will likely be steady where it is,” said Mike Murphy, an American executive who started the Philippines and India operations of Convergys.
Murphy said that there are far more benefits in offshoring so it will actually make complete sense that companies abroad will continue doing it.
He said that outsourcing jobs provides a company the time advantage to carry out the allotted requirement of its clients.
He said that labor cost is also way cheaper if jobs are outsourced to countries with a lower cost of living.
“When US companies offshore jobs, they could still keep their businesses afloat in the States because they cannot do it back home since operation cost will be more expensive,” said Murphy.
“Bottom line is that it’s actually cheaper to have the business here, there are a lot of benefits such as time differences, holiday differences, skill level differences and when you weight that in there are more advantages than disadvantages,” he said.
Murphy even stressed that with the global economic crisis, there might even be more outsourced jobs in the coming years.
“The good news about the crisis is that there will be more jobs here and even in the States. Outsourcing can boost the economy while creating more jobs, although it may not be the same but there will be a boost in the employment rate. This will be a win-win situation for everybody,” he said.
Murphy said that the Philippines have an edge over other BPO destinations because the nature of Filipinos is more inclined to the Western culture.
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