BPO in Philippine Context

Philippines is considered as one of the developing countries in the world because of its several political and economic instabilities. The world oftentimes recognized the country through its bad reputation in peace in order and corruption. This downbeat information about the country creates a negative effect both on its tourism and economy.

Philippines is a good example of generalization mentality victim. If particular situation is happening in one part of the country it doesn’t speaks about the totality of the country. Because of this prevailing mentality, lot of businesses makes the gaffe of precipitately concluding that the country is in distressful circumstances because of petty chaos in the peace fragment of the general public. Even there are suppose eventualities the operations of country’s BPO industry remained unabated because the government is committed in protecting the interests of the business sector of the country.

Moreover, the present government has doing its part in keeping the peace and order of the country to assured investors and companies that there will be no anarchy and chaos. The government is committed in realizing the potentialities of the industry. Flanking political and economic stability is improving the government is also committed in enhancing the language and communication capabilities of Filipino workforce. Across the educational system of the country English proficiency of secondary and college students are given much attention.

The negative propaganda against the country was changed by showing other country that the government can safeguard peace and order for its people and investors. In fact, the President of the country is deeply involved in promoting the country as best destination for outsourcing. Through her guidance number of investors flanked the country to place their money in the BPO market. If this budges will be augmented by cooperation the promise of this industry will be fulfilled by employing millions of Filipino until 2010.

http://www.majorarticle.com/Article/Call-Centers-and-the-Situation-of-the-Philippines/91665

www.logicallinc.com

REASONS OF OUTSOURCING IN THE PHILIPPINES

1. Multi national companies had their back room operations here in Philippines. Multinational companies such as Dell, Hewlet-Packard, Motorola, General Motors to name a few had existing contact centers here in the country.
2. Large international financial institution such as JP Morgan Chase Bank and HSBC has chosen Philippines to be their offshore location.
3. Attrition rates in key locations such as Manila and Cebu, are gradually increasing for specific skills and middle managers.
4. The Philippines has a good labor pool that is scalable at low cost. Country’s labor cost is much lower than India, and wage inflation and attrition ratios are lower.
5. The Philippine government is conduit in making the country suitable for outsourcing. Tax incentives and exemptions were given to augment the needs of the industry.
6. Cultural affinity.
7. The Philippines is the third largest English speaking nation in the world. Aside from English spoken language, Filipinos are also knowledgeable when it comes to Spanish language. The country can also serve the Hispanic communities around the world.
8. Philippines have a clear edge over all its offshore contenders due to its high end telecommunications infrastructure. Philippines do not encounter the “last mile” issues exist in India because the massive build up of trans-pacific communication with a significant amount of voice/data communication bandwidth available plus the effort of local telecommunications company in establishing digital connectivity throughout the country.
9. Filipinos were taught to have a neutral accent which is essential in doing business with American customers.
10. Many studies and research done by different international research groups proved that Philippines is the best destination to outsource business because of its people, culture and infrastructure.

www.logicallinc.com

Philippines To Be Number One Outsourcing Site

In 2000, only four Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies were operating on Philippines shores; and there were only about 2,500-plus call center agents manning the lines. Within seven years, that population has grown exponentially with more than 120 BPO companies requiring more than 200,000 agents at any given time.

The Philippines is gradually becoming one of the most sought after BPO site in the global market. It has surpassed all market expectations, and outsourcing companies are reaping the benefits; while at the same time, help strengthen the Filipino economy with the influx of dollar-based businesses. There are many factors that contribute to this countrys popularity among foreign investors, but for the purpose of discussion, this article will concentrate on only two: English fluency and the steady progress of infrastructure development.

English Fluency

Today, the Philippines ranks third in the global market when it comes to providing outsourcing services, with India and China still retaining the top two spots. India, however, subscribes to the British-style of the English language complete with a very pronounced accent, and native sensibilities. China, on the other hand, despite the fact that it is producing more technical school graduates and scientists yearly, (which is highly desirable in the BPO industry) still has to contend with its fluency with regards to spoken and written English. English fluency is one of the primary reasons why many US BPO companies are looking into the Philippines as an alternative source of skilled manpower.

The Philippines is the 3rd largest English speaking nation in the world (after USA and UK), and has, for a certain time been under American governance. This makes it easier for Filipino outsourcing agents to come to grips with American sensibilities and mode of speech. It also helps that the country is seemingly US centric: following the same accepted accounting principles, the same engineering standards, the same medical standards, and sometimes, even the same laws. For clarification purposes, India, the world leader as outsourcing service providers is more UK centric, and thus poses a lot of problems with regards to US-based companies promoting American sensibilities.

Another factor that contributes greatly to English fluency in the Philippines is that the workforce is comprised mostly of college graduates from reputable schools, and has undergone extensive and / or longer periods of training.

Steady Progress of Infrastructure Development

Infrastructure development is very important in the business world. Development means reliable telecommunication and transportation infrastructure, which translates to lower operational costs for the BPO companies.

The National Capital Region or more popularly known as Manila is the commercial, educational and financial hub of the nation. Here, investors are finding suitable niches that that affords their clients the excellent service their companies bank on, with relatively lower operational costs as compared to the same kind of service in the US and even in India. Here too, is the site for the most numerous qualified college graduates actively seeking positions in the different outsourcing companies. (Not that this has posed any problems prior because according to many market trend research, the demand for qualified agents still outweigh greatly the manpower supply.)

Some BPO companies are even reaching out to other parts of the Philippines like Cebu, Davao and Pampangga: three provinces that have lower costs of living, lower business office rentals, lower housing rates, but with steadfast infrastructure development that can now compete globally when it comes to telecommunications and transportation advancement. All this basically means that the BPO companies can bring down their rates even further to entice more US-based businesses to outsource jobs in the Philippines.

www.logicallinc.com

Logicall, Security

Logicall’s security infrastructure has Global Standard equipments and tools to best support your business solution. Redundancy for all business critical systems.

o Redundant control processors are employed on all LAN switching and PBX systems.

o All firewalls utilize failover for redundancy on power, and servers are deployed as redundant pairs and utilize redundant hardware from Tier 1 providers (HP).

o Our multiple E1 allows the network to react to failures and automatically providing the ability to re-route voice and data traffic to redundant circuits quickly and efficiently.

o Logicall utilizes redundant server capacity, enterprise back-up standards, UPS and generator power sources.

o Disaster Recovery Plan.

o Access control list, anti-virus systems, and firewalls which utilize failover for redundancy.

o Customer care area, and customer transactions included 24×7x365 security, alarms, asset management and anti-theft protection, secure-client specific customer care area, paper shredders, closed-circuit television monitoring and recording, and inbound and outbound voice conversation recordings. Access restrictions and monitoring includes:

§ Employee/ Non-employee identification badges, guest/ visitor logs, and authorized personnel escorts.

§ Unique user ID’s and passwords, and restricted access to printers, removable media, and the Internet

Logicall and TransCosmos merging

MANILA, Philippines – A Japanese business process outsourcing (BPO) firm is investing P120 million in the country to finance the expansion of its local partner, Logicall, Inc.

Transcosmos, Inc., one of the biggest call centers in Japan with 22 offices and over 20,000 employees, merged with the mid-sized call center last month to reach a wider English-speaking market.

Kenji Obata, who now sits as vice-president of the Transcosmos-Logicall merger, said the Japanese firm had spoken with more than 20 companies and even considered taking the business to India before deciding to partner with LogiCall.

“We needed a partner who has an identical sense of values and mentality to be aggressive in entering the English-speaking market. Second, the equipment and facility that Transcosmos has is almost identical to the equipment and facility that Logicall is using,” Mr. Obata said.

Logicall is a three-year old BPO with 300 seats at its lone office along Chino Roces Ave. in Makati City.

Logicall Executive Director Archie C. Rodriguez said the company hopes to double capacity by yearend and keep the organization growing.

The company hopes to have 3,000 seats by 2011. “We’re looking at having as many as 6,000 to 8,000 employees,” he said.

He added that the merged BPO should start reaping $20 million in revenues annually by then.

Logicall is looking for new locations where it can expand in Metro Manila, while key cities like Cebu, Davao and Bacolod will be explored two years from now.

Like other BPO companies, Transcosmos-Logicall expects the local industry to continue growing.

The government earlier said the sector expects to yield $13 billion worth of revenues by 2010.

“The Philippines has a bright future in the BPO industry. There are also BPOs in Australia and India, but the trend now is that they come to the Philippines,” Mr. Obata said. – Anna Barbara L. Lorenzo, BusinessWorld

GMA7

www.logicallinc.com

Logicall

Logicall Incorporated has been in business since 2005. Logicall provides an array of sophisticated outsourcing in the Philippines. We specialize in providing flexible, high quality customer service through multiple communication channels encompassing phone, web, chat, fax and email. Our goal is to provide enhanced offshore services in a proactive and responsive manner, acting as a partner to our client’s business. Logicall anticipates trends and delivers new ways of growing client’s customer satisfaction and retention rates, thus delivering profit, through timely, insightful and proven solutions. We provide cutting edge training and continuing education programs solely supported by an in-house team focused on nurturing employees. Additionally, we practice a corporate culture whose foundation is built on respect, cooperation, opportunity, courteous service and results. Logicall is a privately held wholly owned Philippine Corporation, strategically we are located in Makati, Philippines. The company has a team of entrepreneurs and professionals which focuses in helping clients to it’s flexibility to put them in a competitive edge.

Logicall, Incorporated specializes in providing primarily outbound and inbound outsourced customer management solutions and services with the emphasis on technical support and customer service. At LOGICALL, we create and manage bespoke, flexible and professional outsourced solutions designed to fit your own requirements. Customized solutions allow extensive savings and increased revenue.

We provide communication tailored to your needs. Our clients can choose from a variety of services through the following channels: voice, email, or Web support.

Three Gifts to the Customers

Each customer is looking for three important gifts when talking to a customer service representative (CSR). They will not literally ask this but if you miss those three you lose the chance of sale and service.

Fast result is always expected from you. Potential customers don’t decide instantly on what to buy or service they’ll need from you. But when a decision comes up your customer is expecting you to deliver the service as quickly as you could. Creativity is the name of the game. Look for workable ways to fast track the transaction so that your customer can enjoy the service in the earliest time possible.

Customer will buy things or services than can ease their lives. You should be ready to provide easy procedures for them. Oftentimes customers are not after the price but the convenience and ease that they get from certain merchandise or service. The user-friendly features of the product and service would definitely increase your sales. Furthermore, make your buying procedure simple and easy to follow so that your customer can easily buy from you.

Lastly, give your prospect and customer personal attention. Personal attention means you’re taking responsibility of their account. Give them the opportunity to ask questions. Remember only interested customers will have the time to ask question. Many will buy if they get valuable information from your answer and make sure to promote your product or service in your responses to every query. Answering questions is not time consuming. Be ready for the questions that are often asked by prospective customers.

Fast result, easy procedure and personal attention, these are the gifts that your customers want from you. Many of them won’t ask for these things but will not buy unless you deliver these gifts. Make it sure customer receives these three gifts and make an effort to improve quality of your service.

http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-articles/DONT-OVERLOOK-THE-3-SPECIAL-BENEFITS-EVERY-CUSTOMER-WANTS-FROM-YOU-162-page-2.html

www.logicallinc.com

Three Gifts to the Customers

Each customer is looking for three important gifts when talking to a customer service representative (CSR). They will not literally ask this but if you miss those three you lose the chance of sale and service.

Fast result is always expected from you. Potential customers don’t decide instantly on what to buy or service they’ll need from you. But when a decision comes up your customer is expecting you to deliver the service as quickly as you could. Creativity is the name of the game. Look for workable ways to fast track the transaction so that your customer can enjoy the service in the earliest time possible.

Customer will buy things or services than can ease their lives. You should be ready to provide easy procedures for them. Oftentimes customers are not after the price but the convenience and ease that they get from certain merchandise or service. The user-friendly features of the product and service would definitely increase your sales. Furthermore, make your buying procedure simple and easy to follow so that your customer can easily buy from you.

Lastly, give your prospect and customer personal attention. Personal attention means you’re taking responsibility of their account. Give them the opportunity to ask questions. Remember only interested customers will have the time to ask question. Many will buy if they get valuable information from your answer and make sure to promote your product or service in your responses to every query. Answering questions is not time consuming. Be ready for the questions that are often asked by prospective customers.

Fast result, easy procedure and personal attention, these are the gifts that your customers want from you. Many of them won’t ask for these things but will not buy unless you deliver these gifts. Make it sure customer receives these three gifts and make an effort to improve quality of your service.

http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-articles/DONT-OVERLOOK-THE-3-SPECIAL-BENEFITS-EVERY-CUSTOMER-WANTS-FROM-YOU-162-page-2.html

www.logicallinc.com

Stairways to Success

Business Process Outsource is fast pace industry that gives equal opportunities to its employees and management staff. According to some experts if you want to acquire fast growth in terms of position, join the BPO industry. However, contrary to popular belief, promotions in this industry are not gained overnight; one must really work hard in order to achieve their professional goals. Here are some suggestions for you to achieve your dream position in the industry.

No matter what you do, the first thing that your superior will check on you is your attendance. Perfect attendance doesn’t mean you’re just present during calling time but instead it talks about your promptness in coming to work. Remember every minute counts.

One the other hand, you may have an impeccable attendance but if you don’t performed well, this also signifies incompetence. In the call center industry, there is very little space for excuses since performance is often based on numbers and statistics. Meeting the set metrics is a given but in order to excel you have to excel, something that’s not very easy to do. An agent who is consistent in his statistics and metrics will have a great chance of moving to the next rank. Attitude and maturity are factors that affect your promotion. Maturity does not refer to age alone, but to how you react on the issues that surround you. Matured people are those people who carry themselves with winning attitudes. Most of them gain the position because they have the right mind set and attitude towards their job. With maturity is being physically presentable. It talks about propriety and deportment. Being presentable refers to dressing appropriately for work and the different work functions.

Visionaries are those who never lose hope in achieving their goals. If you want to be promoted ask yourself if your vision is realistic and attainable. The BPO industry does not need people who love mediocrity. Visions will be carry out if you have plan of action in achieving it. Are you the kind of person who can’t the dynamic nature of the industry or easily complains when it comes in shifting of schedules? In this industry flexibility of bodies and minds are required. People who can instantly adjust to emerging needs of the industry are those people who have easily rise to the next level of work. Working in this industry is working with real people. Your work ethics must be grounded in harmonious relationship with your co-employee and your superiors. Valuing your co-workers will help you achieve your dream in the company because some superiors ask feedbacks from other people about your performance and attitude. They want to know you from the view of your colleagues. Building good relationship with your boss will help you gain his trust in giving you more challenging position. He will help you to have a better path in the company.

Don’t settle for being a silent worker. Be proactive. By doing this, your superiors will get to know you. Being proactive means looking for solutions rather dwelling on the problems. As a proactive individual you should learn to do things even before your superior ask you to do it. If you want change, better get your hands dirty. There are a small number of agents who has this trait. Better be proactive and surely you’ll catch the attention of your superiors.

http://keysinunez.com/2007/11/08/8-tips-to-a-fast-promotion-and-a-lucrative-career-in-a-call-center/

www.logicallinc.com

BPO in Philippine Context

Philippines is still recognized as a developing countries in the world because of its several political and economic instabilities. The country is knows for the negative publicity being relayed and exploited by the media. This downbeat information about the country creates a negative effect both on its tourism and economy.

Philippines is a good example of generalization mentality victim. If a particular situation is happening in one part of the country it doesn’t speaks about the totality of the country. This inhibits investors from taking advantage of the wonderful benefits of setting up business in the country. However despite all these challenge. The BPO industry remains to be strong and continuously growing due to the government’s commitment to protect the industry. Moreover, the present government is doing its part in keeping the peace and order of the country to assure investors and companies that there will be no anarchy and chaos. The government is committed in realizing the potential of the industry.

The government is also taking strides in improving the language and communication capabilities of the Filipino workforce. Across the educational system of the country, English proficiency of secondary and college students are given much attention.

The negative propaganda against the country was changed by showing other countries that the government can maintain peace and order for its people and investors. In fact, the President of the country is deeply involved in promoting the country as best destination for outsourcing. Through her guidance number of investors flanked the country to place their money in the BPO market. If this budges will be augmented by cooperation the promise of this industry will be fulfilled by employing millions of Filipino until 2010.

http://www.majorarticle.com/Article/Call-Centers-and-the-Situation-of-the-Philippines/91665

www.logicallinc.com