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Vol. XXII, No. 94
Tuesday December 02, 2008, 3:20 PM
The Economy
OUTSOURCING FIRMS plan to improve their marketing campaigns, the supervisory skills of middle managers and address high attrition rates among their staff in a bid to weather impact of recession on the industry’s biggest client country, the US.
Gillian Joyce G. Virata, Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) executive director for information and research, said that, despite the economic slowdown in the US, there are still pockets of industries that could be tapped.
"We just have to continue more effectively marketing the Philippine offshoring industry [in other countries], while in the US we have to [attract] industries and companies that have not been outsourcing as much," she said.
Ms. Virata cited as example the US health care industry and engineering services.
In a separate interview, Game Developers Association of the Philippines President Gabby K. Dizon said his subsector, which is one of the youngest in the industry, needs to improve marketing efforts to fuel growth. "The key is building in the mind of investors that games are being made in the Philippines because, currently, we are not in the conversation when there are talks [on the potential outsourcing sites for gaming]."
Mr. Dizon said since the game outsourcing sector is relatively new at five years, it has enough room to double its revenues to $7 million next year. "It’s not saturated yet. There are lots of investors we can tap from arcade games to PC games," he said. "Gaming is resilient; we still see growth. It may not be as fast as we envisioned, but it will still grow."
Animation Council of the Philippines President Grace A. Dimaranan said her group will continue its campaign to convince parents that there is a career in the arts. "We are not on track to meet our 2010 target of 25,000 employees because there are not enough artists around since parents do not want their children getting into the arts," she said.
Officials from six outsourcing groups yesterday expressed confidence that the industry will meet its 2010 target of $13 billion in revenues despite the recession in the US, which accounts for over four-fifths of its businesses. The groups cited the growth of interest in outsourcing from non-US clients and the expected return to this cost-cutting solution once the US economy recovers as reason for their hope.
Shifting demand
Ms. Virata said offshoring firms must also prepare for a shift in demand for services in the US due to the changing conditions there. "Since there are lower sales [in the US], companies there may require more people that will offer collection services instead of sales support, which would need a different training," she said.
BPA/P is also developing basic supervisory and management courses for its members in a bid to reduce employee attrition rate, which stands at 15% to 19% of total workers a year. "Companies have to improve work environment and develop managers and supervisors, the factors commonly cited in surveys on attrition in companies," she said.
Mr. Dizon and Ms. Dimaranan said they are also continuing ties with schools so students would have the skills required by the industry once they graduate.
Still, a summary of results of a November survey on non-voice BPO firms (which make up a third of the entire industry) conducted by BPA/P and Out-source2Philippines showed that 96% of respondents believe that 2009 prospects for them are good. About 51%, said their prospects are excellent. While none of the respondents said 2009 prospects were poor, 4% answered "fair."
The respondents cited chief impediments to growth as finding enough qualified personnel, the impact of the spreading global crisis, as well as intensifying competition.
"The results show that we must be relentless in developing human resources to meet global demand," BPA/P CEO Oscar R. Sañez said in a statement. — Don Gil K. Carreon
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