Contact center sector recovery seen to outpace global growth

CEBU, Philippines —  Contact center industry players in the Philippines believe the sector is taking the frontline in terms of recovery that might even outpace the global growth rate in 2021.

This is the industry’s outlook expressed by Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) chairman of the board Benedict Hernandez during the formal opening of the 17th “Contact Islands ‘21” slated from September 27 to October 1, 2021, carrying the theme “Re-Igniting Growth in the New Business Environment.”

According to Hernadez, the volume of full-time employees (FTEs) of contact centers in the Philippines is forecasted to grow by about eight percent to 9 percent compared to about 6 percent to 7 percent growth globally.

In terms of revenue, the country’s contact centers are projected to rise by 9 percent versus about 6 percent to 7 percent worldwide.

Meanwhile, the IT-BPM growth locally and globally are expected at 7 percent to 8 percent in terms of the volume of FTEs and 8 percent in terms of revenue.

 To sustain this robust growth amid uncertainties in the global market, and the ongoing threat of COVID-19, this year’s weeklong webinar will focus on the customer experience in time of pandemic.

“The story of our industry was a really tough 2020 for many of us, still tough in 2021. But the market is rebounding. The Philippines is rebounding together with the market but because we are highly differentiated, no other country could do contact center better than the Philippines. We are enjoying faster growth than the global market and fueling our business growth is the creation of jobs,” said Hernandez during the opening of the 5-day conference, Monday night September 27, 2021.

CCAP has also cited support mechanisms provided by local contact firms to their workforce amid the ongoing pandemic. While 99.5 percent of all employees continue to work, either on site (40 percent on average) or at home (59 percent on average), half a percent of all employees is unable to work due to various reasons.  One out of three companies are providing financial support to these employees.

About 73 percent of on-site employees in CCAP-member companies have received extra pay and allowances. The figure is contrast with 35 percent in BPO centers and 38 percent in shared service centers (SSCs).

Meanwhile, up to 97 percent of work-from-home employees of CCAP-member contact centers have received extra pay and allowances against 47 percent and 50 percent from BPO centers and SSCs, respectively.

Logically, additional support and incentives have been provided to on-site contact center professionals amid the pandemic. Among those are provisions for temporary housing, transportation arrangements, and Covid tests. 

“The current situation is a combination of uncertainties and hope,” said CCAP President Jojo Uligan adding that while the number of total Covid-19 cases continue to rise nationwide and is so far at about 2.4 million, the national vaccination program has administered over 43 million total doses so far.

CCAP has entered into partnerships with various local government units to ensure vaccinations for employees.

Uligan also expressed optimism that the local contact center sector along with the global IT-BPM industry could see a strong market rebound in 2021. Multiple forces are expected to help drive growth in the global services industry for the year—including continuous vaccine rollout, positive enterprise sentiment, digital acceleration, pent-up demand, rising cost optimization requirements, and potential fiscal stimulus across demand geographies.