Roles reversed as foreign firms now call Philippines for contact centers

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is seeing a reversal of roles in the global contact center space as foreign investors and clients are now the ones calling for opportunities, the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) said.

“These companies that we are talking to now, they are the ones who are setting a meeting with us. Before, we had to look for these meetings, knock on their doors and beg for 10 minutes of their time just to listen to our story. Now it’s the reverse as they are the ones telling us I need one hour of your time,” CCAP industry affairs director Raymond Lacdao said.

He said several UK, US, and Australian firms which are not yet present in the country are currently exploring opportunities to do business in the Philippines.

“It’s very encouraging. But the interesting part is that we have actually attracted other countries outside of those main countries that we are targeting. We have companies from South Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh. These are not our normal targets but they are interested now,” Lacdao said.

The Philippines has held the distinction of being the world’s contact center capital since 2010.

“There’s a lot of interest with the Philippines that we’ve seen. There’s a lot of interest in our industry because we’ve actually been known as a top provider for professional services,” CCAP president Benedict Hernandez said.

“What’s interesting is there are client coming from the region, like Singapore and Hong Kong. Before they are not even looking at us,” he added.

According to Hernandez, the Philippine contact center industry is expected to generate $16 billion in revenues this year and increase employment to 800,000.

CCAP is planning to bring into the country by September some 100 international investors and clients through the upcoming International Contact Center Conference and Expo to “see for themselves why the Philippines is the ultimate customer experience paradise.”

“We’re hoping most of them, if not all, will translate into a business opportunity for the Philippines. These companies want set up or look for partners where they can outsource some of the work,” CCAP corporate secretary Jojo Uligan said.