What is business process outsourcing (BPO)? The Department of Trade and Industry defines BPO as the “delegation of service-type business processes to an outside service provider.” In the Philippines, industry has become a driving force in the country’s economic development. In 2011, the industry earned nearly $9 billion in export revenue contributing to an approximate 4.8 percent share of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), as reported by the Business Process Association in the Philippines (BPAP). The secretary of the DTI, GL Domingo, says that the goal for this year 2012 is $11 billion, contributing 5% of the country’s GDP. The Philippine BPO industry is divided into sectors namely: Contact Centers, Administrative Support, Transcription, Animation, Information Technology, Engineering, Digital Content/Player Development.
The Contact center or Call center sector led the growth of the industry and placed the country on the map as no. Destination 1 for contact centers and call center outsourcing according to BPAP President and CEO Benedict Hernandez. These companies offer voice and non-voice services. Voice services include technical support services, customer service and telemarketing services. Non-voice services include chat customer support, email response, email marketing, and many other related services; generally incoming and outgoing call handling services.
Additionally, the Business Process Outsourcing Association in the Philippines (BPAP) broadly classified offshore, onshore, nearshore, and outsourced services into three categories. These are ITO services, BPO services and ESO services. However, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services have the lion’s share of the pie. Related services in this category also emerged and gradually impacted the growth of the BPO industry in the country. International research firm Ovum said the Philippines is one of the rising knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) destinations in the world, along with Sri Lanka and China, while India is at the forefront as number one. Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) services have created a bit of a stir lately in the country. As more law firms learn to get a bird’s eye view of the growing market for LPO services. The Philippines is not lacking in talent, the intelligent and English-speaking lawyers in the country will become an up-and-coming workforce in the LPO clientele.
The Philippine Government continues to recognize the importance of the BPO industry in the economic development of the country. DTI secretary GL Domingo recently noted that the Department of Education (DepED) and the Higher Education Commission (CHED) are collaborating to review the country’s educational curriculum, including the efforts of the Technological Skills and Development Authority ( TESDA) to provide training to support the BPO industry given its increasing demand for local talent and skills in the near future. Likewise, the Legislative Branch has shown its support for the BPO industry by ratifying new laws such as Republic Law 10151 and the draft Privacy and Data Protection Law to protect and preserve the rights of owners and employees.
The potential growth of the so-called “sunshine” industry in the Philippines in the coming years will shed light on one of the recurring problems of unemployment in the country. More Filipinos are looking to improve their economic stature with everyone’s help, there is nothing that cannot be achieved.