According to a recent IBM survey, the Philippines employs more call center agents than India—350,000 in the Philippines compared with 330,000 in India. Though India has long been the leader in many outsourcing sectors, the Philippines has been growing rapidly for many reasons.

One key reason for this rapid growth is the high population of fluent English speakers in the Philippines, due in part to the significant American influence in the country since World War II. Also, because of this American influence, those who speak English in the Philippines speak with an American accent rather than a British accent, which enhances their ability to communicate with American customers.

Another reason for rapid growth of the business process outsourcing (BPO) market in the Philippines is the strong support for the industry from the Filipino government. This support from the government translates into a strong regulatory environment combined with BPO friendly policies. In addition, the Filipino economy is growing rapidly, having survived the 2008 recession without contracting, and it ranks fairly high in several global economic indicators, including a lower unemployment rate than the U.S.

Although call center outsourcing and other BPO services have long been popular cost-saving solutions, global demand for BPO services is projected to grow significantly in the wake of the 2008 recession. Companies that are restructuring as the economy emerges look to outsourcing as a means of increasing productivity and reducing costs. The Global Industry Analysts estimate that the global market for BPO will exceed $930 billion by 2015.

Offshore staffing companies, such as Zylun, offer the cost-saving appeal of outsourcing without the headache of increased HR and administrative responsibilities. Therefore, companies wishing to outsource call center, live chat, web development, and other BPO services will enjoy lower up-front costs along with long-term cost savings as the staffing firm takes care of recruiting and hiring employees as well as providing office space, computers, and other essential tools for offshore employees.

Image Source: Renjith Krishnan