Guagua National Colleges

Graduate School
Master’s in Business Administration

A Research Study on the Performance of the

Philippine Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
Industry amidst Covid – 19 Global Pandemic

Lesley Allen Dayrit – Kabigting, MBA(c)

Zaldy Miranda – Samson, CPA
 Pres. Geraldine Gozo – Lim, MBA
Professor

CONTENTS

I. ABSTRACT

II. INTRODUCTION

III. Terminology/Definition of Terms

IV. RELATED LITERATURE

V. RELATED STUDIES

VI. METHODOLOGY

VII. RESULTS and DISCUSSIONS

VIII. CONCLUSIONS

IX. RECOMMENDATIONS

X. REFERENCES
 I. ABSTRACT

This research provides a profile of the Philippine business process outsourcing (BPO)
sector, summarizes the potential impact of Covid-19 on compensation and
employment as well as BPO’s revenue. It also presents how the industry is coping up
with the global challenges we are experiencing at the moment. The Philippine BPO
sector’s growth is largely driven by the contact center subsector due to its large
share in total BPO employment and revenues, as well as by government support.
However, growth in the sector’s revenues can have a significant impact on
compensation and employment. An increase in the sector’s revenues will generate a
considerable increase in the sector’s total wage bill and in that of the other sectors.
This study will also enable us to know the relevance of BPOs amidst Covid-19 crisis,
the threats and its future status in the workforce market.

II. INTRODUCTION

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry is one of the Philippine economy’s
two primary ‘legs’, contributing $26 billion to the Philippine economy in 2019. BPO
employs 1.3 million people in over 1000 firms. Workers provide services for overseas
corporations including facilitating travel and insurance cover, customer support for
technology, and telehealth services. BPO activities have been exempt from closure
during quarantine periods. However, the closure of public transport leaves many
employees unable to travel to work. Insufficient home internet connectivity leaves
others unable to work from home. COVID-19 has disrupted the BPO industry and the
overseas corporations it serves.

III. Terminology/Definition of Terms

Covid-19 - CO' stands for corona, 'VI' for virus, and 'D' for disease. Formerly, this
disease was referred to as '2019 novel coronavirus' or '2019-nCoV.' The COVID-19
virus is a new virus linked to the same family of viruses as Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) and some types of common cold.

BPO - is short for Business Process Outsourcing. This is a third-party service

provider that handles any operations or responsibilities that a company is unable
or unwilling to do in-house.
Call center - services are often outsourced to BPOs where agents represent
multiple companies in different businesses.

Contact center - an integrated and usually automated communications system that

coordinates all telephone and electronic contacts between an organization and the
public.

Back office - an office or center in which the administrative work of a business is

carried out, as opposed to its dealings with customers.

Telehealth - is the use of telecommunications technologies to deliver health-

related services and information that support patient care, administrative
activities, and health education.

Animation - is important because it makes us be able to tell stories and

communicate emotions and ideas in a unique, easy-to-perceive way that both
small children and adults can understand. Animation has helped connect people
throughout the world in a way that sometimes writing and live-action films cannot.

The IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) - is the enabling
association for the information technology and business process management (IT-
BPM) industry in the Philippines. Founded in 2004, IBPAP serves as the one-stop
information and advocacy gateway for the industry.

Headcount - a total number of people, especially the number of people employed

in a particular organization.

E-commerce - Electronic commerce or e-commerce (sometimes written as

eCommerce) is a business model that lets firms and individuals buy and sell things
over the internet. E-commerce operates in all four of the following major market
segments: Business to business. Business to consumer. Consumer to consumer.

Investment Pledges - A pledged investment is a valuable possession that is

transferred to a lender to secure a debt or loan. A pledged asset is collateral held
by a lender in return for lending funds. ... Pledged assets can include cash, stocks,
bonds, and other equity or securities.

Global In-house Centers - are service delivery operations typically in in low-cost

geographies, which are owned and operated by the same company receiving the
services (i.e., not third-party outsourcing)

Healthcare Information Management - is the practice of acquiring, analyzing, and

protecting digital and traditional medical information vital to providing quality
patient care.

Virtual assistant - A virtual assistant is an independent contractor who provides

administrative services to clients while working outside of the client's office.

Work from Home (WFH) - describes work being done remotely, instead of at an
office. The acronym “WFH” is used as a nickname for the concept. Many
 organizations transitioned their employees from the office to a work from home
model during the Coronavirus global pandemic.

IV. RELATED LITERATURE

“Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) – What is it?”, 2015

Business Process Outsourcing Lighttangent.com defined Business Process Outsourcing
or BPO as the outsourcing of business operations which any company has to perform
in order to keep their business running Meanwhile, Reynolds and Magno (2006) simply
put Business Process Outsourcing as hiring someone else to do all of the chores while
the company concentrates on core business, like manufacturing.

“The Pros and Cons of working in a Call Center in Manila” (2013)

According to an article entitled, as with all occupation or professions, call center
workers have their share of popular stereotypes. According to kmcsolutions.us, call
center jobs are often stereotyped as an easy job that can be done by anyone, but the
truth is out of 6 applicants, only 1 person is hired.

V. RELATED STUDIES

THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON THE BPO INDUSTRY

The COVID19 crisis has adversely impacted almost all sectors globally, with disrupted
supply chains, country-wide lockdowns and organizations exploring the possibility of
long-term and even permanent remote working. The Business Process Outsourcing
(BPO) sector features contact center agents working from different locations and
answering millions of calls every day. With the outbreak of COVID-19, China became
the first country to ask these employees to work remotely, while others followed suit
to contain the spread of the virus. The sustainability of these employees depends on
multiple parameters, such as the ability to adapt to new working arrangements and
the willingness to work across functions.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-covid-19-alter-bpo-bpm-industry-madhusudan-maddee-
hegde/?trackingId=a6qsKJuHX7EOrSLVVczl9A%3D%3D

How COVID-19 is Affecting the Outsourcing Industry?

The disastrous impact of COVID-19 is evident in several countries across the world. As
cases are on the rise, each country’s government has no other option than to
implement lockdowns. With the goal of preventing the spread of the virus and
flattening the curve, everyone must stay home.

https://www.asiapremierbpo.com/insights/how-covid-19-is-affecting-the-outsourcing-
industry/?fbclid=IwAR0rdk0kaleAi3GpwYQuQ0iITIV_RENC_wbBckKyx0nNqfLPjh8mUHmrntY

An Analysis of the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing Industry

This paper provides an analysis of the business process outsourcing industry in the
Philippines and discusses constraints on the industry's growth.

https://www.adb.org/publications/analysis-philippine-business-process-outsourcing-
industry?fbclid=IwAR3pmYxg-DEjvV_Ft4PXiCkH6dWuqjpVlMS8dImPcyPyGjpzJDqcIZYuHHM

VI. METHODOLOGY

Research Design

Research design is the framework of research methods and techniques chosen by a

researcher. The design allows researchers to hone in on research methods that are
suitable for the subject matter and set up their studies up for success. The design of a
research topic explains the type of research (survey, correlational, semi-
experimental, review) and also its sub-type (research problem, descriptive case-
study). 

Participants

The IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) - is the enabling

association for the information technology and business process management (IT-
BPM) industry in the Philippines. Founded in 2004, IBPAP serves as the one-stop
information and advocacy gateway for the industry.

Sampling Design

Non-Probability Sampling - is a sampling technique where the probability of any

member being selected for a sample cannot be calculated.
Convenience Sampling - is where you include people who are easy to reach. For
example, you could survey people at your workplace or peers in related industry.

Instrument

Reference - means someone or something which is a source of information about a

subject such as company researches, studies, current statistics et.al.

Procedure

The researchers gathered data from IBPAP and other related studies and articles.
Further, the researchers had the opportunity to ask relevant and timely information
from colleagues and current company.

Data Analysis

As a process of cleaning, transforming, and modeling data to discover useful

information for business decision-making thus, eliminating irrelevant data to the
study.

VII. RESULTS and DISCUSSIONS

BPO in the Philippines

The Philippines’ BPO industry began in earnest in the 1990s, its growth was
facilitated by “overly optimistic” government support (Soriano and Cabañes, 2020).
Its contribution to the Philippine economy is now second only to remittances
brought in via migration. The industry is oriented to the country’s former colonial
power, the USA, and also serves Europe and nearer neighbors, Japan, New Zealand,
and Australia. More recently, the rise of digital platforms has facilitated freelancing.
Here, rating systems and global competition creates a highly competitive and
uncertain industry (Wood et al., 2019). There are an estimated 1.5 million Filipino
freelance workers on these platforms.
The Philippines has the world’s largest concentration of call centre workers, but India
has the bigger BPO market. India successfully markets key cities as hubs of
innovation, whereas the Philippines takes on back-end work that is ripe for
automation. Though the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines has
tried to attract more highly skilled work, just 15% of the BPO workforce were
employed in such roles before the pandemic. Indeed, Manila’s overall ranking,
second on the Tholons list of Top Super Cities for Digital Innovation (see Table 1),

reflects the fact that there is a well-established BPO industry, rather than a culture of
digital innovation.

Table 1: Top Super Cities for Digital Innovation according to Tholons (2019).

BPO expansion is linked to and facilitated by the mass emigration of Overseas

Filipino Workers (OFWs) and Philippines’ legacy of colonialism (Thompson, 2019).
OFWs and BPO workers succeed in the global labour market for the same reasons
(Soriano and Cabañes, 2020). STEM subjects are largely taught in English with
western content and skills (Ortiga, 2017) while keeping in touch with migrant family
members means Filipinos are used to digital and distanced communication (McKay,
2016).
For example, the Healthcare Information Management (HIM) sector takes advantage
of the estimated 200,000 under- and unemployed nurses in the Philippines
(Thompson, 2019). Global North governments and businesses have long encouraged
the Philippines to train nurses beyond demand (Masselink and Lee, 2010; Ortiga and
Macabasag, 2020). Now, faced with increasing pressures on healthcare systems,
rising anti-migration sentiment, and technological advances, outsourcing healthcare
via digital platforms is increasingly attractive (Thompson, 2019). Through
incorporating this ready-made, low-cost, highly skilled workforce into the digital
economy, profit margins in the global North increase. Outsourcing, however,
restricts the material benefits migration can bring for individuals and their families.
BPO workers in the Philippines have variable employment experiences. For
permanent employees, BPO roles offer relatively high pay, working benefits (i.e.,
health insurance), and safe, air-conditioned working environments (Thompson,
2019). As the industry has grown, however, pay and conditions have declined, with
an estimated two-fifths of the workforce now employed on ‘floating’ / ‘no-work-no-
pay’ status. Often, workers are forced onto such contracts and protests have ensued
(Figure 2). Floating workers are not eligible for working benefits. This is particularly
problematic for the 53.2% of women BPO workers who are more likely to have
caring duties. Additionally, Wood et al. (2019) found that Filipino online freelancers
have few legal labour rights. Nonetheless, comparatively high pay means BPO and
freelance work is viewed as “good” by Filipinos (Soriano and Cabañes, 2020).

Government Support to the BPO Industry

The Philippines Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) defines BPO as the
“delegation of service-type business processed to a third-party service provider.”
The industry is generally divided into the following sectors:  Contact centers, back-
office services, data transcription, animation, software development, engineering
development and game development.
BPO in the Philippines is becoming a key developing industry, primarily due to the
relatively low cost of living, and a workforce which composed mainly of young and
educated Filipinos with good spoken English language skills.  The majority of
international research and data companies have placed the Philippines as the no 1
trending country as the top outsourcing destination.  In 2015, the Philippines
replaced Mumbai as the 2nd ranking BPO destination and will in all likelihood
continue to maintain a high position in the Top 10 worldwide outsourcing
destinations (dominated mostly by Indian cities) in 2017.
In 2016, BPO in the Philippines continued to experience a positive growth rate.
Activity in the industry appears to be robust enough such that the industry’s
projected total income range would reach US$ 40 to 55 billion by 2020.  The
Industry, currently employing about 1 million Filipinos, is also projected to increase
employment by providing a total of about 1.3 to 1.5 million new jobs in the next
three years, both in terms of employees directly and indirectly employed.  The BPO
industry is regarded as a priority by the Philippines Development Plan as essential to
the country’s ten high priority development areas.  To further entice investors,
existing government programs include incentives such as tax holidays, tax
exemptions, and simplified export and import procedures.  Additionally, there are
University training programs available for would-be BPO employees.
For local industry sectors, the leading subsector is Call Centers.  The Philippines BPO
industry has overtaken India as the leading call center country, and due to this, the
subsector is projected to continue to maintain the largest contribution to the
industry’s growth in future years.   According to a UA&P (University of Asia and the
Pacific) industrial economist, the call center sector is projected to continue a robust
growth rate until 2020.  However, the increasing advances of IT and computer-
generated voice services may cause (according to speculation provided by the
Philippine Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas) a slow-down and reduction by this time.  In
other words, a move in reliance from human voice sources of information will
develop, in favor of computer-generated responses.

Responding to Covid-19
The Philippines imposed a nation-wide lockdown, Enhanced Community Quarantine,
from 16th March 2020 (Ocampo and Yamagishi, 2020). While this has been relaxed
in some regions, urban areas, home to BPO offices, have been most affected and
experience stricter lockdowns. During periods of Enhanced Community Quarantine,
BPO is one of few industries allowed to remain open, demonstrating its importance
to the country’s economy and geopolitical interests. However, quarantine
restrictions meant BPO businesses were unable to maintain normal staffing levels,
particularly at the onset. Concurrently, global travel restrictions and national
lockdowns elsewhere increased short-term demand for travel and insurance
services. Businesses in other sectors pulled out.
Responses from the foreign businesses impacted vary. Some sought to facilitate
homeworking, shipping IT equipment to workers’ homes. As the average Manila
household has 4-5 people with “poor yet expensive internet connection” (Ocampo
and Yamagishi, 2020: 8), homeworking is unsuitable for many. Other’s businesses
provided on-site accommodation to allow workers with quarantining family
members or those without caring duties to continue to work and be paid. Workers
report this ‘accommodation’ includes sleeping at work-stations or sharing hotel
rooms without Covid-19 positive workers being separated out.
Though permanent employees are entitled to sick pay, many have had
their contracts changed to floating status. Overseas companies are unwilling to
extend the same benefits to their Philippine workers as they have to domestic
workforces. Workers who have been absent to self-isolate, care for family members,
or been physically unable to work, have gone unpaid. Although freelancers already
working from home are less likely to be infected, the work available to them
has been reduced. As BPO workers are often primary breadwinners in their
household, COVID-19 has the potential to plunge families into financial difficulties.
Exploitation of BPO workers has been intensified and made more visible by the
pandemic (see also Lawreniuk, 2020). Those unable to work are made disposable
and left without financial security. Those who can work are placed in dangerous
settings without proper precautions. The make-up of BPO workers in the Philippines
places vulnerable groups at heightened risk of exposure to exploitative
practices. Women have long dominated call centre activities, while BPO is one of the
few workplaces where Filipino LGBTQ+ workers can find safe employment.
Transgender women in particular have entered the industry in their thousands,
mainly in call centre roles (David, 2015). Already vulnerable groups are thus at a
higher risk of infection.
Blaming the Philippine government and omitting concern for the workers shows how
companies like Telstra absolve themselves of responsibility (see also Brydges and
Hanlon, 2020). Overseas firms are unlikely to initiate longer-term efforts to support
their BPO workers.
In the Philippines, these connections are also evident. Many BPO workers have
become infected and BPO offices have been identified as hubs of community
transmission nationwide. In smaller urban areas such as Bacolod, this has led
to public harassment and discrimination towards BPO workers. The same is true for
returning OFWs who are associated with local outbreaks. BPO workers and migrants
are being transformed from national heroes to vectors of disease. Through serving
the world, the Philippines vulnerability to the effects of Covid-19 is heightened.

Assistance Offered by the BPO Industries during Pandemic

With the implementation of the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) covering
the entire island of Luzon in the Philippines, the majority of organizations in the
country have also implemented policies to ensure employee welfare and business
continuity to minimize impact during the ECQ period, according to a recent survey by
Willis Towers Watson (NASDAQ: WLTW), a leading advisory, broking and solutions
company. These included work-from-home arrangements, mostly for their corporate
office-based employees across industries, while those in operations adopted a
skeletal workforce or split operations arrangement. Thirty-five percent of these
companies are largely from the Shared Services Outsourcing and Financial Services
industries.

Work arrangements for office-based employees and those in operations:

Source: Willis Towers Watson Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) Survey

Philippines, March 2020
Of the participating companies that have adopted the work-from-home
arrangements, 56% are considering implementing either an Internet or a mobile plan
assistance to ensure their employees are connected and able to work seamlessly.
These are additional provisions from existing plans and delivered either through
reimbursement or in-kind (e.g. pocket wi-fi device or mobile plan subscription) with
the latter as a typical practice.
“COVID-19 has hugely impacted our communities and the Philippine economy. As
more people are forced to work remotely, the operational effectiveness of many
organizations is being tested in unprecedented ways. A strategic approach to the use
of technology has become an enabler of resilience and competitive advantage,” said
Patrick Marquina, Talent and Rewards Leader, Philippines, Willis Towers Watson.
For organizations with employees working in operations, most are still operating
under ‘business-as-usual’. They typically provide support to employees with some
form of shuttle or transportation services (86%), lodging (70%) and meals (77%)
(transportation and accommodation as required by the government especially for
BPO companies).
The pandemic has disrupted the way organizations conduct their business. However,
based on the collected responses, a majority of the participating companies are
progressively providing additional benefits and support to employees to
minimize the impact of the pandemic to their business and workforce in the
Philippines.
Eighty percent of the companies surveyed have implemented or are
considering the provision of additional support to employees through the
advance payment of 13th month pay (prorated), granting of additional
bonuses, hazard pay for skeletal workforces and unchanged leave benefits.
Additional provisions:

Action Taken Advance Advance Grant of Hazard Pay

Payment of Payment of Additional and Other
13th Month Other Bonuses Allowances
Pay Bonuses

Implemented 28% 19% - 21%

Approved but 5% - 1% -
not yet
Implemented

In Discussion 15% 5% 3% 18%

Source: Willis Towers Watson Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ)
Survey Philippines, March 2020

BPO Industry in The Philippines Statistics 2019 (Pre-Pandemic)

Key points:

 The IT-BPM industry continues to be a leading contributor to the Philippines’

economy, providing thousands of jobs to Filipinos and contributing billions to
the country’s gross domestic product.
 The shift from low-level-skill tasks into mid- and high-level skills continues
because of the changing demands of the global IT-BPM industry.
 Along with the projected increase in mid- and high-level skills, the healthcare
sector and the animation and game development industry are expected to
grow at a faster rate.
 Key industry players will continue to move to high-value complex and digital
services.
 The contact center industry will still experience constant headcount and
revenue growth amidst the threat of automation.

The largest employer in the Philippines

 The IT business process management (IT-BPM industry) created 71,000 new

full-time jobs for Filipinos in 2019. From 1.23 million jobs, the total industry
headcount grew to 1.3 million or 5.8% higher compared to 2018.
 29% of low-skill jobs are predicted to decline by 2022 according to the
research and consulting firm Frost and Sullivan.
 Meanwhile, mid-skill jobs are projected to increase by 12%.
 High-level jobs are seen to rise by 19%.
 By 2022, 73% of the jobs in the global IT-BPM industry will require mid- and
high-level skilled jobs.
The IT & Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the enabling
association for the country’s IT-BPM sector, collaborates with various government
and private organizations to facilitate upskilling programs that would keep Filipino
workers relevant and thriving to the global market.

BPO Philippines Statistics 2020 (Pandemic)

The ill-effects of COVID-19 have left most SMEs cash-strapped. Some struggled to

survive, while some have taken the challenge to ride the tide of change brought by
this pandemic. Larger businesses with bigger cash buffers, on the other hand, also
experienced a sharp drop in revenues. This is especially true for businesses under the
travel, hospitality, and tourism industries.

The decline in demand directly affects the BPO industry in the Philippines. Some
clients pulled out their accounts, leaving employees on floating status.

While these challenges delay the growth of the outsourcing market, many Philippine
BPO companies still stand strong.

Key points:

 Investment pledges for January to July 2020 are 37-percent higher compared to
the same period in 2019.
 IBPAP CEO Rey Untal said the pandemic will significantly affect the 2020
headcount and revenue projections. He added that it will also cause changes in
the existing work and service models within the industry.
 The IT-BPM industry continued its business operations and increased its
capacity amidst the community quarantines with the support of different
government agencies — Department of Trade and Industry, the Philippine
Economic Zone Authority, and the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging
Infectious Diseases.
 According to UNESCO, the Philippines has an average of 98.2 % literacy rate
98.2% for females and 98.1% for males.

 There are 788 BPO companies composed of large and SMEs, according to PEZA.

The economic growth of PH IT-BPM industry

 Philippine businesses first felt the impact of the pandemic on the 2 nd week of
March. Even so, PEZA reported a 37-percent increase in ITBPO investment
pledges from January to July. From Php8.32 billion ($172 million) in the same
period in 2019, the investment pledges grow to Php11.4 billion ($235 million)
this year.
 As the focus on mid- and high-value skills intensifies, 65% of BPO
employees can deliver more complex and varied services for international and
local clients.
 According to experts, the Philippine outsourcing services will cover 15% of
the total global outsourcing market by 2022. Moreover, the industry is also
projected to grow 9% every year for the next 5 years.

BPO Revenues
The local BPO sector recorded revenues of $26.3 billion in 2019 or a 7.1% jump from
the previous year, according to the IT and Business Process Association of the
Philippines (IBPAP).
The sector also increased the number of its full-time employees (FTEs) in the country
by 71,000 in 2019, bringing the total industry headcount to 1.3 million and
registering a growth of 5.8% compared to 2018.

“These numbers show that industry growth is closer to the high range of the
recalibrated figures of Roadmap 2022,” said IBPAP president and CEO Rey Untal. “It’s
also a testament to the IT-BPM sector’s resilience and tenacity — that despite global
and domestic headwinds, the Philippines remains competitive, relevant, and
thriving.”

IBPAP noted that growth in 2019 was driven by large incumbents that continued to
expand not only in Metro Manila but also in strategic delivery locations in the
countryside like Bacolod, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Laguna, and Pampanga. These
companies accounted for 51,000 of the additional FTEs tallied last year.

There were also a considerable number of new investors and locators that set up
their operations in the country. Half of the entrants were global in-house centers
(GICs) providing services in healthcare, finance and accounting, human resources,
information technology (IT) and software, and content moderation.

A strong pivot to mid and high-value skills also contributed, with 65% of the
workforce able to render more complex and varied services for international and
local clients.

According to Untal, the Philippines has long-proven its value proposition as a

premier investment destination for IT-BPM services around the world and that the
industry’s sustained 2019 growth in the country further reinforces this reality.

Currently, the sector is dealing with the global economic fallout caused by the Covid-
19 pandemic. Domestically speaking, this will have an impact on 2020 headcount
and revenue projections and will also modify prevailing work and service models
within the industry.

As a provider of essential services, the sector was able to continue operations and
increase capacity throughout the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ). Using
remote technology, the industry has been able to improve its productivity rate, with
58% of employees working from home and another 15% delivering work as part of
the skeleton staff housed on-site or in nearby hotels. A couple of weeks ago, these
figures were only at 40% and 10% respectively.

Recent findings also show that while travel and tourism continued to face challenges,
sectors like healthcare, telecommunications, financial services, and e-commerce saw
an uptick in demand.
Top Performing BPO Companies during Covid-19.

2020 is a unique and challenging year for the Philippine BPO market.

The ongoing global health crisis does not only test the resiliency of Philippine
outsourcing companies but also altered the plans and projections set to strengthen
the presence of the BPO industry in the country.

Despite the challenges brought by this pandemic, the business process management
industry remains a pillar of the Philippine economy.

In this list, we rounded up all essential statistics and information about the Philippine
BPO industry which you can use in your outsourcing decisions.

Here are the Top BPO Companies for 2020-2021 (as per philpad.com)

1. Accenture

Accenture is the Number One BPO company in the Philippines. It is an

international company founded in Dublin, Ireland. It’s listed on Forbes’s Global
2000 and ranked on Fortune World’s Most Admired Companies and 100 Best
Companies to Work for.
2. JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a leading global financial services company with client
assets under management of $2.6 trillion and one of the largest banking
institutions in the United States, with operations worldwide and a presence in
over 100 markets.

3. IBM

International Business Machines (IBM) dates back to 1911 and is headquartered

in New York. It is one of the largest tech companies in the world and also one of
the world’s largest employers.

4. Teleperformance

Teleperformance is another international BPO company. It is headquartered in

France, a global leader in customer experience management for over 40 years,
and serving many successful companies in the world. Teleperformance serves
more than 170 countries, including the Philippines.
5. Concentrix

Concentrix is an American company headquartered in Fremont, California. They

work with over 95 Fortune 500 clients worldwide and have over 250K staff
members.

6. Sutherland Global Services

Sutherland Global Services is a multinational IT and BPO company headquartered

in New York and one of America’s fastest-growing companies. It has more than
120 clients from the Fortune 1000 companies and completes over 43 million
transactions a month on a digital backbone that bridges 19 countries worldwide.

7. Alorica

Alorica is a leading provider of Business Process and Customer Satisfaction

Outsourcing solutions that span the entire customer lifecycle. With over 655
million customer interactions, Alorica’s goal is to continue providing insanely
great customer interactions with the world’s largest and most respected brands.

8. Genpact

Founded in 1997, Genpact is a global professional services company with head

office in New York. With their digital-led innovation and AI-based platform,
Genpact Cora, they deliver services for the Global Fortune 500 companies.
Genpact has more than 90,000 brilliant employees. They operate in more than
30 countries worldwide.

9. SYKES

SYKES is an American BPO company founded by John Sykes in 1977. It is a global

leader in providing comprehensive inbound customer engagement services to
Global 2000 companies. The company has offices in more than 23 countries.
SYKES offer support in more than 40 languages.

10. (24)7.ai

(24)7.ai was founded in 2000 with head office in the United States. From the
name itself, this exceptional company blends AI (artificial intelligence) and HI
(human intelligence) to improve customer experience dramatically. With over
1.3 billion self-service interactions per year, they continue to deliver rapid
customer service satisfaction.

11. Sitel Group

Sitel Group is a contact center company headquartered in Miami, Florida. It has

more than 30 years of experience delivering and transforming business solutions
in travel, technology, utilities, manufacturing, healthcare, insurance,
communications, media, entertainment, banking, and financial industries.
 12. Telus International

Telus International is a subsidiary of TELUS, a national telecommunications

company in Canada. Telus International is a customer service outsourcing
company backed by next-gen technology. It serves 20 countries across the globe
and supports more than 50 languages.

13. Ttec

Ttec, formerly known as Teletech, is an American Business Process Outsourcing

company specializing in outcome-based customer engagement solutions
through TTEC Digital and TTEC Engage. This company operates on 6 continents
across the globe, with over 50K employees worldwide.

14. Transcom

Transcom is a Swedish outsourcing company founded in 1995. Their core

services include CX advisory, customer service, technical support, customer
retention, customer acquisition, cross-selling, upselling, and collections.
Transcom operates across 22 countries, with over 26,000 employees. They
deliver services in 33 languages to well-known international brands.

15. TaskUs

TaskUs is a global outsourcing company headquartered in Los Angeles. They

provide business solutions, including customer experience, back-office support,
and CX consulting. The company is expanding in the Philippine and now has
offices in Batangas, Clark Pampanga, Quezon City, BGC Taguig, Imus Cavite, San
Fernando La Union, and Meycauayan Bulacan.

Data Summary of BPO Industry 2019 and 2020

Particulars 2019 2020

BPO Revenues $26.3 Billion $26.2 Billion (.5% down)

Full time employees 1.3 Million No available data yet

(headcount)

Investment Pledges P8.32 Billion P11.4 Billion

No. Of BPO companies 851 788

source: IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP).

Effects of COVID-19 in Outsourcing Industry

 3 out of 5 BPO employees are still employed as outsourcing companies utilized
the work-from-home strategy.
 22% of employees continue to work from the office. The government ordered
BPO companies to provide accommodation, shuttle, and meals to employees
who work on-site.
 Before the lockdown, 40% of workers are already working from home.
 18% of IBPAP member companies are looking at the option to retrench some of
their employees.
 36% of IBPAP member companies do not expect any growth while 3% to 7% are
still expecting some growth.
 Globally, the travel, hospitality, and tourism industries got the heaviest hit of
the pandemic due to travel restrictions and community quarantines.
 Enforced community quarantines, which restrict people from going outside their
homes, boost the growth of e-commerce-industries, financial services, and
logistics
 To adapt to the new normal, companies invest millions of dollars to facilitate the
work-from-home setup.

The forecasted growth rate of PH IT-BPM services (2019-2022)

The Philippine IT-BPM industry experienced sluggish growth due to the following
reasons:

 Local factors (e.g., business environment risk perception)

 Global factors (i.e., macroeconomic factors)
 Protectionist business environment (e.g., trade conflicts)
 Regulatory and geopolitical changes (e.g., GDPR, Brexit)
 The predicted increase in delivery cost due to changing regulations
 Impact of automation

Based on the Growth Forecast Executive Summary released by IBPAP, the headcount
rate of the industry has the potential to grow by 4% from 2019 to 2022. The revenue
growth, meanwhile, is also expected to increase by 4%.

The animation and game development subsector has the highest projected growth
among the subsectors in the IT-BPM industry. It is expected to grow its revenue from
7.3% to 12.3% and its headcount by 6.8% to 11.7
The healthcare industry is also seen to have a faster growth rate from 2019 to
2022.

For the complete information, see the table below.

Subsector Headcount growth rate Revenue growth rate

Contact Center and Business

2.8% – 6.7% 3.3% – 7.4%
Processing

Information Technology (IT)

2.7% – 6.2% 3.2% – 6.7%
and Software

Global In-House Centers (GIC) 2.7% – 4.7% 3.2% – 5.2%

Healthcare Information
6.8% – 10.2% 7.3% – 10.8%
Management

Animation and Game

6.8% – 11.7% 7.3% – 12.3%
Development

Overall IT-BPM 3.0% – 7.0% 3.5% – 7.5%

(Source: IBPAP)

The study conducted by the Everest Group revealed that the growth of the Philippine
IT-BPM sector depends on several factors and programs such as:

 Upskilling programs for Filipino talents

 Promotion of lifelong learning
 Country branding
 Government support
 Strengthening partnerships with public and private organizations
 Focusing on the growth of SMEs and start-ups
 Mentorship from key-tech experts
 Augmenting infrastructure and countryside development

According to the latest data provided by IBPAP CEO Rey Untal, the IT-BPM industry
generated $26.3 billion in revenues. This is 7.1% higher than the previous year.

Meanwhile, the contact center subsector alone contributed $13 billion in revenues.

It also employs the highest number of professionals in the BPO industry.
Contribution to the PH Economy

 Aside from generating 1.3 million direct jobs, the industry also generated
4.08 million indirect jobs.
 It also promotes countryside development, creating 280,000 jobs in 23
provinces.
 The IT-BPM sector enables various support industries:
 Food – Php 138.1 billion ($2.7 billion)
 Banking – Php 87.3 billion ($1.8 billion)
 Real estate – Php 73.9 billion ($1.5 billion)
 Hospitality – Php 63.6 billion ($1.3 billion)
 Transportation – Php 53.8 billion ($1.1 billion)
 Other industries – Php 550.5 billion ($11.38 billion)
(Source: IBPAP Brochure)

VIII. CONCLUSIONS

2020 is a challenging year for the BPO industry however, even a global health crisis
can’t stop its growth. In the coming years, it will continue to provide jobs to millions
of Filipinos and contribute billions of dollars to the country’s economy.

Published guides for the Virtual assistance, real estate back office, Animation and
Game Development, Contact Center and BPO, IT & Software Development, and
Global In-House Centers operations subsector were mentioned in the new Roadmap.

With COVID-19 spreading rapidly across the globe, BPO companies and third-party
service providers are grappling to cope up with changing work conditions. With
remote working being an alternative that has not been tested or implemented much
by BPOs in the past, it remains to be seen how the future of the industry shapes up
in the coming years.

With that, BPO employees need not worry because the Philippines will not fall
behind the list of countries that rule the BPO world. More and more companies will
invest and that means there will be more jobs available.

Almost every business has had to learn how to adapt, overcome, and be flexible
during the pandemic. This is especially true in the BPO industry. As an industry based
on maximizing efficiency, flexibility has not been a priority for most BPO companies.
However, BPO companies everywhere have needed to learn to be flexible to survive.
Covid-19 has shown how businesses in every sector must be prepared for the
unexpected. When BPO companies are flexible and prepared for anything, they can
act fast and make good choices, should a crisis strike.

Covid-19’s impact on business is unlike anything else we’ve seen in history. It has
required leaders to make transformative decisions and organizational shifts on a
broad scale. BPO companies that can quickly adapt to the impact of Covid-19 on the
BPO industry can continue to grow, even in this trying time.

IX. RECOMMENDATIONS

There are significant differences between business disruptions that are caused by
natural, human-made, technology or operational failures and those caused by
pandemic events. These differences persist due to the potential increased scale,
severity and duration of pandemic events, necessitating the need for organizations
to expand beyond traditional resilience planning strategies. BPO companies must
incorporate pandemic planning considerations into existing resilience management
activities to provide a comprehensive response and to provide continuity for their
most critical services.

Additionally, they should consider establishing pandemic-specific policies and

procedures, capabilities for employee communications, telecommuting and
personal/family leave to minimize disruptions. Due to their duration, impacts on
personnel in the regions that absorb additional work cannot be overstated, from the
start of the pandemic to several weeks in, when contractor resources can start to
meaningfully contribute. Scale can also vary, and to date it has been regionally
concentrated with some global impacts; we have not seen a fully global crippling
pandemic yet, although this remains a possibility.
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