Convergys exec cites need to invest in infra, people for BPO growth

At a recent business roundtable with the government hosted by the Economist Conferences in Makati City, Convergys Corp., a global leader in relationship management, shared its insights on the importance of developing and sustaining an educated workforce and investing in telecommunications infrastructure to capture the growth potential of the country’s business process outsourcing (BPO) services sector.

Participating in a panel discussion about doing business in the Philippines, Convergys’ Marife Zamora said investments in people and facilities are needed to encourage and support strong business and job growth in the years ahead.

As Convergys’ country manager for the Philippines, Zamora is responsible for overseeing the operation of Convergys’ nine contact centers with 14,100 employees in the country.

She is also responsible for growing the company’s business in the Philippines and helping Convergys clients worldwide drive greater value from their customer and employee relationships.

According to Zamora, with industry projections showing the BPO sector on track to generate one million jobs by 2010, ongoing investments in education and infrastructure are especially essential.

She noted Convergys’ active engagement with the Department of Education to develop and support the Oral Communications in English program.

This program, started in 2005, is designed to provide public school teachers with training they need to teach children proficiency in the English language.

Besides providing funding to the program, Convergys provides the curriculum module and the company’s volunteer culture and communication trainers lead the training sessions.

Over the past three years, more than 500 teachers in the different regions have participated in the program, free of charge. 

Zamora also discussed the need for continued investment in infrastructure to improve the country’s business environment and competitiveness, including the upgrading of telecommunications facilities to increase reliability and help cities become ready to support the BPO sector.

Convergys recently opened its ninth facility in Bacolod. With this new site, it now has nine of the largest, multi-client, US-company-owned contact centers in the Philippines. 

The company has two other centers in Cebu and six in Metro Manila.