The Philippines has earned a reputation as a travel destination for natural wonders, mouth-watering food, and hospitable people. The country has pivoted towards a more service-oriented market in the last few decades. Discover how StraightArrow pioneers creative process outsourcing in the Philippines.
Investors have turned to the archipelago as one of the top destinations for outsourcing their businesses. In addition to being a popular vacation spot, the Philippines has grown into a global competitor in business process outsourcing (BPO).
This industry is one of the top contributors to raising the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2018.
Outsourcing in the Philippines
In the early ’90s, companies started outsourcing work to cut costs and improve their processes' efficiency. It has since developed from the simple acquisition of simple tasks to the execution of more complex processes.
Even today, outsourcing is still changing, evolving, and innovating business processes worldwide.
The Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector benefits heavily from outsourcing and has grown to a multi-billion dollar market in 30 years, where one-sixth of the global IT-BPM industry is outsourced.
As a new player in an emerging market, it took a few years before the Philippines was recognized in the industry.
Thanks to proper training, willing investors, and government support, the Philippines became a front runner in the industry in the mid-’90s and has since climbed the global ladder.
In 2015, the country was considered the reigning leader in BPO, with India following closely behind.
Today, the Philippines supports a wide range of services, with Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), High-Tech and Telecoms, Manufacturing, and Healthcare as the top four industries outsourced.
Investors worldwide have flocked to the archipelago, prompting local business expansions and raising the number of employees in the BPO industry to skyrocket to over half a million as of 2016.
And it continues to grow to this day.
(original photo courtesy of Business World)
Let’s dive into the details as to why the Philippines is the go-to outsourcing destination for investors.
A preferred destination
You might ask, “how did the Philippines become a household name in the BPO industry?”
It all started when the government saw the opportunity that business process outsourcing presented as a potential source of steady income and employment for its people.
As a result, they established ecozones or special economic zones and passed a law to lower the taxes of businesses operating out of those areas.
This created an excellent environment for budding BPO businesses to compete and thrive. This naturally caught the attention of investors and future stakeholders looking for growth and a new foothold in Asia.
Since its arrival in the Philippines, outsourcing has opened doors for 851 registered establishments in the local BPO industry—extending services in healthcare, telecommunication, banking and finance, legal, and so much more—making the country the BPO capital of the world in 2010.
Today, among approximately 42.5 million Filipinos in the workforce, about 575,600 employees work in the BPO industry.
The Filipino’s inherent skill for quality service, respect for values, and sense of integrity, as well as an affinity for a friendly work environment, sum up the marketability of the Philippines in the global BPO scene.
Here are some of the top skill-based factors that influence investors to choose the Philippines as their preferred outsourcing destination:
- High English proficiency
- Neutral accent
- 95% literacy rate
- Close cultural affinity with the US and other western countries
In addition to the above, Filipinos have also shown great aptitude in IT, technical support, and customer service.
Thanks to the ingrained culture of hospitality, Filipinos are known to be compassionate and accommodating, making them a perfect fit for businesses looking for customer service representatives (CSR).
Thanks to years in the BPO industry, the Filipino workforce has learned to adjust to their clients’ time zones and geolocations, taking night shifts and even working during holidays.
This flexibility offers an edge above other service providers—and earns points in the eyes of potential investors.
The Philippines is also home to some of the most creative people in the world.
Filipinos put this to good use in delivering their services, giving way to the rise of creative process outsourcing (CPO).
By outsourcing their marketing and branding, businesses could focus more on their actual work while ushering in industry growth.
Overall, the Philippines has proven itself to be the world's outsourcing capital for various reasons. Since its arrival, there have been many changes, and it continues to grow in new frontiers and industries.
What remains is the unwavering heart of the Filipino people—committed to their work and the pride of being the top service providers in the world.
Are your day-to-day marketing tasks lacking a definite process, making work more tedious than it needs to be?
Are your in-house design and web development teams undermanned while their workload piles up? Are you looking for a more cost-efficient and time-efficient way to streamline and automate your workflows?
If your answer is yes to any of these questions, then letting a creative process outsourcing agency handle them may be the solution you need.
Get in touch, and we're here to help.
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