BPO – Business Process
Outsourcing
Business
process outsourcing (BPO) is the contracting of a specific business task, such
as payroll, to a third-party service provider. Usually, BPO is implemented as a
cost-saving measure for tasks that a company requires but does not depend upon
to maintain their position in the marketplace. BPO is often divided into two
categories: back office outsourcing which includes internal
business functions such as billing or purchasing, and front office outsourcing
which includes customer-related services such as marketing or tech support.
The Philippines and BPO
There
are a variety of reasons why the Philippine BPO industry has been very
successful these past few years.
The
first reason is that the country has a very good infrastructure in place.
Buildings are already built in major cities around the country ready to
accommodate BPO centers. And to point out, these buildings are built with to
follow the international safety standards. So, these buildings are generally
safe.
Another
reason is that the Filipinos and the Western countries or clients for that
matter, have a similarity in cultures. In a sense, the Filipinos have a strong
sense of the Western culture.
Why
are Filipinos attracted to the Business Process Outsourcing industry?
In
the BPO industry, the work times are usually at night. People in the BPO
industry are working while the rest of the country is sleeping. Most of the
times, BPO professionals work during holidays. Many important occasions are
missed because of the demands of the work. In call centers, the agents don’t
know who they’re talking to. There are times that some of them get harassed by
perverts. In the area of customer service, the agents get the brunt of the
customers complaints. They get irate customers most of the time. In a sense,
they become emotional punching bags. In technical support, agents have to
instruct people how to make their gadgets run smoothly. Most of the times, the
callers don’t know what they are doing. In other aspects, the demands of the
job are also very high. Clients expect high quality output in a short time.
Sometimes, they move the deadline to almost impossible time frames.
Why does the Philippine BPO industry stand out among the rest of
the world?
About 15-20 years ago, the Philippines ranked as deficient in
terms of technological advancement. Again, that was two decades ago. Things
have changed dramatically. Before, technology or the personal computer for that
matter, was out of reach to the common man. To put it simply, it was very, very
expensive. But with the introduction of so many companies producing different
computer software and hardware, the prices have reduced steeply. Now, more than
50% of Philippine households have computers, be it the PC or the laptop. Along
with this development, the Philippines has become at par with the rest of the
world in terms of computer technology.
