Philippines contact center sector expects strong rebound

MANILA, Philippines — The local contact center sector expects to outpace global growth in terms of revenue and employee count this year, the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) said.

During the CCAP’s Contact Islands conference, CCAP chairman Benedict Hernandez presented the outlook on the country’s contact center sector, which is expected to rise by nine percent in terms of revenue this year, higher than the six to seven percent growth in the global market.

In terms of full-time employees, the Philippine contact center sector is seen to expand by about eight to nine percent this year, also higher than the six to seven percent growth globally.

Hernandez said the CCAP’s survey, conducted earlier this year covering 42 firms which represent over 300,00 employees, showed they expect double-digit growth for the local contact center sector this year.

“The story of our industry was a really tough 2020 for many of us, still tough in 2021. But the market is rebounding. The Philippines is rebounding together with the market but because we are highly differentiated, no other country could do contact center better than the Philippines. We are enjoying faster growth than the global market,” Hernandez said.

To support the growth of the sector, he said government policy needs to be responsive to the needs of the industry.

“We need a policy framework that can be as dynamic as the needs of the industry. The very first one of which we need is a long term solution to this hybrid work-from-home (WFH)  model which we don’t have. We have an extension but we need to work on a really lasting solution,” he said.

The Fiscal Incentives Review Board has issued Resolution 19-21 which allows the information technology – business process outsourcing firms to allow up to 90 percent of total workforce under WFH arrangement until Jan.1, 2022.

After Jan.1, next year, WFH would be allowed until March 31, 2022 at a 75 percent ceiling.

Hernandez said infrastructure would also be needed to support the growth of the sector.

In particular, the sector would need IT infrastructure that would allow employees to be productive anywhere.

Amid the pandemic, CCAP is also working with local government units on vaccination efforts.

“CCAP has entered into partnerships with various local government units to ensure vaccinations for employees,” CCAP president Jojo Uligan said.