With business outsourcing growing fast, the Philippine call centers are experiencing major expansions. U.S. companies continue to increase their call center usage in the Philippines for centralized customer support. The increase of the call center industry in the Philippines is one of the strongest contributors to the country’s economic growth.

Good wages and a modern workplace make it easy for a Philippine call center to attract qualified employees. Manila, Cebu and Baguio are the main locations for Filipino call centers, but Filipino business leaders hope to open centers in more remote areas of the country to improve employment deficits. Making the most of a Philippines call center requires knowledge of a few items:

1. The call center industry in the Philippines is user-friendly because of knowledge of America.

2. Studies show call centers in the Philippines employ high quality people.

3. Many options exist for service in Philippine call centers.

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Call centers in the Philippines easily integrate with U.S. ERP systems

Philippine call centers are at a definite advantage with their educated employees and Westernized technology. The Philippines also model their accounting system after general accounting practices in the U.S. The similarities in these systems facilitate integration of offshore systems with U.S. enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and customers.

I recommend: Select Philippines describes the benefits of outsourcing to the Philippines because of the strong Western influence. Touting the boom of business process outsourcing (BPO), Philippine IT Offshore Network discusses the abilities of the telemarketing Philippines to compete in many areas of IT outsourcing.

Streamline costs by using call center companies in the Philippines

A study revealed that Filipinos are low-cost employees. Their early education in English decreases the time needed for their training sessions, which decreases investment. In addition, many employees are highly skilled information technology specialists, who require less pay than Americans do. When looking at Filipinos in general, researchers found that Filipinos maintain their health (reduction in sick days), are loyal employees (less hiring and training) and possess strong language skills (ease of working with Americans).

I recommend: For more details about the study on cost saving through Filipino employees, see Philippines Call Center Information. Reuters provides a report from a research group that discusses reduced costs and more with the Philippine call centers.

Call center, Philippines style, offers a variety of electronic services

Philippine call centers provide outsourcing services with phone, fax, email, chat and web collaboration capabilities. They field incoming requests for management solutions and customer care issues, and they reach out and initiate contact with clients depending on a company's request. Essentially, they operate on any electronic level to fulfill business processes to the client's specifications.

I recommend: For companies that offer outsourcing options in the Philippines, see TelePlaza. Global Sky provides information on the cost of outsourcing while answering some basic questions.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Before you research and explore a Filipino call center, know what you want - the more details you have, the more accurate feedback you'll receive on service.

Dial for a reservation on United or tech support at Dell and chances are good you are dialing through to a call center in the Philippines.  The Asian country has come on strong in recent years as a location for customer service call centers for American companies, even taking some significant market share from call center outsourcing king, India.  Many Filipinos speak American-style English well, a legacy of the country’s nearly 50 years as an American colony, so there’s plenty of room to grow for the call center,  Philippines version.  

The two big attractions of a call center in the Philippines:  

Filipinos seem to have a relaxed phone personality that is easy on American ears. 

A call center Philippines operation costs half of U.S. customer service call centers.   

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Set service requirements for your call center in the Philippines

Do you want operators who will take inbound calls only or make outbound calls from your call center Philippines operation? Take sales orders? Provide tech support? What volume of calls are you expecting?

I recommend: BuyerZone has a checklist of call center outsourcing requirements that will help you refine your needs - fill it out and BuyerZone will send a bid back from a call center in the Philippines.

Find a call center, Philippines-based

You can get bids and negotiate directly with a local call center in the Philippines.

I recommend: eTelecare Global Solutions is a major call center, Philippines based but founded by two American management consultants. Check the member list of the Call Center Association of the Philippines for more local companies.  Or use a consultant to find you a call center in the Philippines; check Business.com's call center outsourcing consultant directory.

Find a call center in the Philippines owned by an American multinational

If working with an American company fits your comfort level, they have moved into the call center Philippines business in a big way, too.

I recommend: APAC Customer Services, a giant in customer service call centers, operates in the Philippines, as do big players Convergys and Sitel.

Negotiate your call center Philippines outsourcing deal

Pricing may be by the hour after a setup charge and rates may vary depending on whether you have shared or dedicated phone agents at your call center in the Philippines.

I recommend: Philippine call center company GlobalSky goes into detail on service level promises on its web site.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Remember you are still responsible for compliance with U.S. telemarketing laws even though you locate a call center in the Philippines.
• •  Ask about training at your call center Philippines location. Better companies keep employees up to date on American culture and slang to make phone calls with Americans go smoothly.

When U.S. companies look to outsource their business processes overseas, the call center industry in the Philippines is a first choice. They have the best telecommunications infrastructure in Asia. Regarding service at each call center, Philippines officials credit their employees' fluency and understanding of Western culture to their Americanized education system and mandatory requirements to speak English in education, business, medicine and government systems.

A Filipino call center accommodates the Western culture better than other Asian call centers, and their background, education and fluent English with a neutral accent ensure quality service for Americans. For an overview of Philippines call center basics, review the following information:

1. A call center in the Philippines provides centralized customer service.

2. A Philippine call center focuses on customer service.

3. Outsourcing to a Philippines call center reduces expenses.

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Philippine call centers serve various fields of business

Call center companies in the Philippines provide a centralized customer service center for your processing needs. Their customer care specialists/customer service representatives respond to and initiate customer contact for businesses. Industries employing Philippine call centers range from mail order, telemarketing, help desks, financial services, insurance companies, transportation and freight to hotels and information technology companies.

I recommend: For a definition and explanation of call centers, refer to the Philippine Call Centers site. The Philippines Call Center Information website discusses the relevancy of centralized service.

Customer service is the goal of a Filipino call center

Every night in the Philippines call centers, thousands of young men and women log onto their computers, ready their headsets and start accepting telephone calls from the Western world. Equipped with good listening skills and a neutral accent, they are ready to interact with customers in English, whether it is in reference to business or current events. These employees set a high bar for service they deliver.

I recommend: Phil-Am Outsourcing Solutions supplies an overview of the industry with more detail about the Filipinos ability to deliver outstanding customer service. Articlesbase outlines more reasons Filipino's succeed with customer service for Americans.

Outsourcing to a call center in the Philippines is a cost saver

If you are seeking less expensive labor for backroom business processes, outsourcing to the Philippines may be the answer. Businesses report anywhere from a 14-50% cost savings by using call centers in the Philippines. This cost saving results in more profit for your business.

I recommend: For information about advantages of seeking services in the Philippines, see the International Herald Tribune. CallCenterFocus provides a short history of call centers with an outline of the Philippine call center industry.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Continue to watch for reports and news about call centers; Philippines call centers continue to grow, develop and yield results. Since 2001, the Philippines Board of Investments (BOI) estimated the growth rate of the Philippines call center industry at 100 percent. BOI forecasts global demand to reach 170 billion dollars by 2010.

For businesses looking to outsource telemarketing, Philippines call centers may provide the right connection. While there won't be many foreign terms you'll need to know to work with a Filipino company, you will want a basic understanding of key terms to help you understand the types of services you'll get from the call center. Philippines call center key terms can define things like neutral accent, help you understand business policies or direct you to information that can help you make your decision.

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Philippines telecommunications infrastructure

Because call centers make up such a profitable business sector for the Philippines, the government has taken steps to help ensure the success of the industry. The infrastructure in place includes phone companies, satellites, cable and domestic fiber optic network (DFON), among other things.

I recommend: To read more about the telecommunications infrastructure in the Philippines, visit Paul Budde Communications. Click on the links provided at the bottom of the page to view more information relating to the infrastructure.

Americanized education system

The Philippines school system uses a similar structure to the school system in America. Many of the classes are taught in English or are bilingual with English and Filipino as the languages used. This educational structure prepares students for jobs where English is a requirement.

I recommend: Learn more about the Philippine school system by visiting the website for the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO).

Filipino call centre

A Filipino call centre can be a location where several workers come to offer telecommunications services to businesses on shore and off. It can also encompass an organization with multiple locations. Usually the location has all the necessary equipment to perform the same services as any US call center.

I recommend: To learn more about the facilities and the services offered by a Filipino call centre, visit Asian Call Centres, a leading provider in the area.

Periphonics Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)

Some call centres in the Philippines utilize the Periphonics Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS), or a similar system. An IVRS system automates a portion of its services to increase customer service without having to hire additional employees. The system is able to interact with voices, or in some cases the callers telephone keypad, to direct the caller to the appropriate department.

I recommend: To learn more, visit FUJITSU to view a case study of a Philippine company implementing Periphonics IVRS.

Neutral accent

In the Philippines, 70% of the population speaks English, making it the third in size of countries with English speakers. Because of this and the Americanized education system, many Filipinos speak English in a neutral accent. This means that the person speaking is understood by any listener, regardless of region or nationality, and that you may not be able to identify the speaker's nationality by an accent.

I recommend: To learn more, watch the video at Metacafe. It offers an example of a speaker using a neutral accent. Global Sky offers voice samples on its website. Click the link to hear the sample.

Convergys

Convergys is a US-based telecommunications company with several call centers in the Philippines. The company is one of the leading providers for telecommunications services in the Philippines.

I recommend: Visit Convergys to learn more about the company and the services it provides from its Philippines call centers.