Online HR facility targets BPO manpower problems

An online human resource facility is introduced to help the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry put an end to its human resource requirement problem.

A website was launched recently in Cebu called www.agentsboulevard.com, an online social networking service for cyber service with job search, training search and entertainment search features combined.

Cyber service covers the call center agents, medical transcription agents, BPO agents, animation and digital creation agents.

According to Peter Abueva Binamira, the new facility will bridge between employers and would-be employees to provide solutions to problems from both ends-qualified manpower, and right employer for job seekers.

The website is essentially where the cyber agents and would be agents can register at no cost. It provides its members user access for a wide boulevard of social networking services and resources such as forums, chat rooms, blogs, as well as job search, training search and entertainment search services.

Binamira said one of the highlights of the web portal is providing opportunity for job providers, principal from the cyber service industry, to post job positions as well as information material about their company such as training and hiring programs.

Agents boulevard is envisioned to be an online site with hundreds of thousands and eventually millions of active members from the cyber service fields not only in the Philippines, but throughout the world.

"This would be a crowd of young professionals and would-be professionals," he said.

According to Binamira, the BPO industry alone, supposed to 80 percent in the Philippines, but the potential growth is largely hampered by the lack of qualified manpower resources especially in call centers, medical transcription, animation, among others.

Binamira, a former commercial banker, said the Philippines needs a facility that would truly support the manpower requirement of the BPO industry.

Thus, the industry today, especially the call centers, is pirating agents from one another.

"Unless the Philippines will address certain issues, this industry (BPO) will go nowhere," he said during the launching of the online service held at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

He said the hiring rate now in the BPO sector, is three out of 100, which means, that out of 100 applicants, only three are qualified for employment.

The company is registered with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with corporate name Agents BLVD, Inc., based in Cebu City, with P1 million authorized capital stock.