36 biggest BPO firms in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines - The country's business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is expected to create around 124,000 new full-time jobs this year.

"Based on sectoral projections, we are confident that BPO firms will be able to add an average of 124,000 well-paying jobs annually from 2014 to 2016, or a total of 372,000 new posts over the next three years," Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo said in a statement.

Romulo said big BPO firms are expected to drive the creation of new jobs in the country.

"As they draw in more business, the super BPO firms can quickly scale up their activities here and hire extra staff, while reducing cost per unit of output owing to greater operational efficiency," he said.

At the same time, Romulo revealed the list of the country's 36 biggest BPO firms, based on 2012 revenues.

1. Accenture Inc. (P28.104 billion in revenues);
2. Convergys Philippines Services Corp. (P17.281 billion);
3. JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A-Philippine Global Service Center (P10.805 billion);
4. 24/7 Customer Philippines Inc. (P7.711 billion);
5. Telephilippines Inc. (P7.241 billion);
6. TeleTech Offshore Investments B.V. (P6.978 billion);
7. Sutherland Global Services Philippines Inc. (P6.805 billion);
8. Stream International Global Services Philippines Inc. (P6.738 billion);
9. Sitel Philippines Corp. (P6.364 billion);
10. Deutsche Knowledge Services Pte. Ltd. (P5.754 billion);
11. Sykes Asia Inc. (P5.617 billion);
12. IBM Daksh Business Process Services Philippines Inc. (P5.516 billion);
13. Aegis PeopleSupport Inc. (P5.445 billion);
14. TeleTech Customer Care Management Philippines Inc. (P5.402 billion);
15. IBM Business Services Inc. (P5.211 billion);
16. Telus International Philippines Inc. (P4.962 billion);
17. Shell Shared Services (Asia) B.V. (P4.821 billion);
18. HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Philippines) Inc. (P4.700 billion);
19. ePLDT Inc. (P4.147 billion);
20. SPi CRM Inc. (P3.501 billion);
21. ACS of the Philippines Inc. (P3.492 billion);
22. VXI Global Holdings B.V. (P3.266 billion);
23. Emerson Electric (Asia) Ltd. (P3.230 billion);
24. StarTek International Ltd. (P3.094 billion);
25. IBM Solutions Delivery Inc. (P3.019 billion);
26. Sykes Marketing Services Inc. (P2.760 billion);
27. SPi Technologies Inc. (P2.626 billion);
28. Genpact Services LLC (P2.552 billion);
29. Macquarie Offshore Services Pty. Ltd. (P2.522 billion);
30. Thomson Reuters Corp. Pte. Ltd. (P2.265 billion);
31. AIG Shared Services Corp. Philippines (P2.357 billion);
32. Hinduja Global Solutions Ltd. (P2.194 billion);
33. Lexmark Research and Development Corp. (P1.956 billion);
34. ANZ Global Services and Operations (Manila) Inc. (P1.869 billion);
35. Maersk Global Service Centers (Philippines) Ltd. (P1.859 billion); and
36. Manulife Data Services Inc. (P1.745 billion).

Romulo noted these 36 firms posted a combined revenue of P192 billion in 2012.

BPO giants such as Accenture and Convergys currently have more than 35,000 employees each in the Philippines.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Convergys gets high marks for ethical business practices

MANILA, Philippines - Convergys, the global leader in customer management, has earned an "advanced" rating for its ethical business practices.

Convergys is the only BPO and one of five companies in the Philippines with this rating from the Integrity Validation System (IVS) of the Integrity Initiative, a nationwide, private-sector led movement.

"Convergys’ Global Operating Model ensures the same level of integrity and transparency in our business units across all the countries where we operate, in all transactions and operations, as well as in measuring performance and developing the careers of our people. Over and above that, our company’s leaders straightforwardly and consistently set the tone of integrity, transparency and meritocracy – this makes a big difference," Ivic Mueco, Convergys’ Country Manager for the Philippines, said.

Convergys was among the featured companies at the recent 2013 Integrity Summit.

The IVS starts with a voluntary self-assessment taken by companies who are signatories to the Integrity Pledge, a commitment to conduct all business transactions and processes with integrity and transparency. The self-assessment is followed by an independent validation by the Integrity Initiative.

Companies with "advanced" rating are considered to have maintained extensive and effective practices in their organizations and are demonstrating best practices in 6 focus areas: Top Management, Dealing with Employees, Dealing with Clients, Dealing with Business Partners, Dealing with Finances and Dealing with Government, Communities, Environment and other Key Stakeholders.

"As we are in the customer service industry, our employees regularly deal with confidential customer information and integrity is of paramount importance. Our employees are the first line of defense against the threat of fraud," said Convergys Senior Director-Finance Aldrin Dulig.

Convergys' best practices on integrity include annual refresher courses that all employees are required to take, accompanied by validation exams to ensure their knowledge and understanding of the company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, as well as Privacy and Security policies.

The company has also established a Corporate Ethics and Security hotline, allowing employees to report any suspicious activity.

Vendors and suppliers also undergo accreditation and proper documentation. They are considered based on the merits of their products and services, and gift-giving is not allowed.

Convergys has also enjoined over 100 of its suppliers to commit and sign the Integrity Pledge, making it the number one contributor to the movement.

Convergys is now on its tenth year of operations in the Philippines, with more than 37,000 employees.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How Pinoys helped Convergys become a global leader

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino call center worker in Cebu managed to impress Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer so much that he sent a commendation letter to the company.

The call center agent is just one of nearly 36,000 Filipinos, who make up 44% of Convergys' global workforce.

Convergys president and CEO Andrea Ayers has nothing but praise for its Filipino employees, who have helped the BPO company flourish since it set up shop in Manila ten years ago.

"We have grown in double digits (in employee headcount), each of those years, year-on-year, a testament to the good work and strong talent here.We now have 35,900 employees in the Philippines and still growing," she said in a press briefing in Makati City on Thursday.

Convergys, the number one provider in US customer management services BPO market, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its operations in the Philippines, where it currently has 21 sites.

Ayers is proud that Convergys is the Philippines' largest private employer, and has received the BPO Employer of the Year award three times. The Philippines is also where Convergys has the largest operations or 44% of its 80,000 global workforce.

Ayers attributed Convergys' successful operations in the Philippines to the deep talent pool.

"The most important thing for us is access to talent, people. Not only agents but the leaders that surround our agents and make decisions... We (also) look for infrastructure, technology, a focus on education is important for us," she said. "We want to be in places where we can sustain a business for years and years. I want another decade here and another decade after that."

Convergys managing director Marife B. Zamora agreed, noting that the Philippines is still a top-notch destination for customer management services to Convergys clients from North America, UK and Australia.

"The biggest advantage continues to be availability and high quality of potential employee pool found in the Philippines," she said. "Another cornerstone of our success is the support of the government because they know this is the second largest revenue generating industry here."

Ayers sees more growth in the industry, but noted there will be a shift to more complex, knowledge-based transactions.

"(Call centers) won't be obsolete.It will just evolve... You need more agents. We see the 10-year trend for growth in our industry, and it shows growth in agent headcount positions," she said

First facility in Mindanao

Convergys is set to open its 22nd facility in Abreeza Technohub, Davao City in September, the company's first in Mindanao.

Ivic Mueco, country manager for Convergys Philippines, noted there were 750 applicants who lined up on the first day of recruitment in Davao.

"We're in the process of hiring our first 400. We are very proud to be in that region, to a certain extent that's a region that needs help," Mueco said.

As for future facilities in other cities in Mindanao, Mueco said the company will still have to assess the performance of the Davao facility before making a decision.

While most of Convergys' contact center facilities are in Luzon, it also has facilities in Cebu and Bacolod.

"We will end with 22 centers this 2013, second to the US which has 30+. We support almost all of the industries under Convergys' array: financial services, technology, cable, satellite, telecommunications, automotive, retail and healthcare," Mueco said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com