The Outsourcing Week in Review: Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Welcome to Inside Outsourcing: The Outsourcing Week in Review

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

Despite the Department of Trade and Industry predicting that service industries such as outsourcing are likely to experience a slowdown in growth this year, the news from industry players last week was far more optimistic. The BPO industry is “alive and kicking” according to TELUS International Philippines director Carlos Giammattei, who also announced that the company is planning to hire another 5,000 workers by 2020. According to John Hay Management Corporation CEO Allan Garcia, the BPO sector was a significant contributor to the 5,300 jobs that it placed last year, primarily in the northern Philippines. US-headquartered multinational Dexcom said it plans to outsource hundreds of US jobs overseas, particularly to the Philippines.

Confidence in the commercial property market also remains bullish. Nearly P240bn (US$4.6bn) worth of major development projects, including office space for information technology-business process companies, were represented in a groundbreaking ceremony in Cagayan. Despite the government’s tightening of regulations for the offshore gaming industry, office space demand from offshore gaming operators in the Philippines will remain robust, says Colliers International Philippines.

Outsourcing firms in the Philippines also continue to raise their game to be the best globally, particularly in human resources. Sitel, the BPO subsidiary of Sitel Group, received four awards at the recent Anvil Awards for its various quality-of-workplace initiatives. Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr., also said that some companies in the country have already expanded their maternity leave programs in line with the new statutory period of 105 days, which takes effect on 7 March. Teleperformance Philippines has signified its commitment to workforce diversity with the signing up to the United Nations LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex) Standards for Business. And in a program to give back to their communities, hundreds of Cebu BPO workers joined the river clean-up drive recently organized by the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office.

The transformation of industries worldwide by new technology will continue, according Philip Hazen, senior managing director for intelligent platform services at Accenture. Importantly, it is not just the big companies that will benefit from IT. Accenture said it is working closely with Mastercard, Amazon Web Services, Everledger and Mercy Corps, to wcreate a supply chain capability to reard sustainable practices of small-scale growers and suppliers in emerging economies such as the Philippines.

In government affairs, the Department of Information and Communications Technology announced that undersecretary Monchito Ibrahim, who has been a significant force in the development of the Philippine cyberservices industry, is technically due for compulsory retirement on his upcoming 65^th birthday. The department has recommended his reappointment. The new TRAIN 2 tax bill received a thumbs-up from Michael McCullough, managing director at KMC Savills, who believes that it will create a more level playing field for the property market across the whole country. Meanwhile, the growing problem of illegal Chinese workers became more complex. President Duterte has recommended caution. A ban on Chinese workers may generate a tit-for-tat action from the Chinese government, putting at risk the 300,000 Filipino workers currently working in China.

Wednesday, March 5, 2019

NEWS THIS WEEK

4 March 2019

• Sitel lauded for “excellent” BPO programs – read more…
• BPO in the Philippines “alive and kicking,” says TELUS exec – read more…
• Services exports to see slower growth this year – read more…

1 March 2019

• JHMC hires nearly 6,000 people in 2018 – read more…
• More firms riding on digital wave – read more…
• Second round of tax reform to benefit property market – read more…

28 February 2019

• Teleperformance Philippines remains committed to equality – read more…
• BPO firms join Cebu river cleanup drive – read more…
• Dexcom to outsource jobs to the Philippines – read more…

27 February 2019

• DICT undersecretary Monchito Ibrahim retires – read more…
• Offshore gaming to remain a driver of office space demand – read more…
• Accenture teams up with Mastercard, Amazon – read more…

26 February 2019

• PHP240bn worth of projects break ground in Cagayan – read more…
• Duterte not keen on deporting illegal Chinese workers – read more…
• Expanded maternity leave won’t affect employment of women, says official – read more…

Read more Inside Outsourcing Newsletters here:

1. The Outsourcing Week in Review: February 27, 2019
2. The Outsourcing Week in Review: March 13, 2019