BPOs launch program to help attract, develop managers

MANILA, Philippines - A group of business process outsourcing (BPO) companies will launch a middle management program, assisting the industry in getting enough supervisors for its entry-level workers. The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P) said that the program will involve two options—a short-term intensive training course for supervisors or a one-semester or trimester certificate program that is equivalent to six units leading to a Master’s in Business Administration degree. The industry group’s partners for this initiative are the Ateneo de Manila University and the De La Salle University, BPA/P chief executive Oscar Sañez told reporters in a Friday briefing. The courses will teach industry-standard competencies in BPO management, such as performance review and operational excellence, Sañez said. In some cases, BPOs are forced to hire expatriates to ensure that the service quality they offer to customers comply or even go beyond global standards. One of the remedies offered is a company-sponsored exchange program similar to a student exchange program undertaken among educational institutions. Officials of one of the pioneering call centers in the country, eTelecare Global Solutions, said such a program can help since the industry is growing at a fast rate. Benedict C. Hernandez, eTelecare Senior Vice-President and Country Manager of the Philippine operations, told reporters that the industry will need 75,000 entry-level workers per year to meet its goals for 2010. He also said that there is also a need for 7,000 leaders per year to supervise these entry-level workers, the bulk of which are call center agents. The call center industry alone will need 40,000 support specialists and leadership posts by 2010 or 460 leaders per month. In the case of eTelecare, which is mainly involved in the voice business, a site manager manages from 1,000 to 1,200 call center agents. In its eight years of existence, Hernandez said it grooms managers from within since there are unique competencies in the BPO industry which some workers from other industries cannot acquire unless they are part of the industry. If they cannot groom a site manager from within, Hernandez said eTelecare has resorted to hiring an expatriate from the United States where they are headquartered in Scotsdale, Arizona. Currently, four out of its 10 site managers are expatriates. But Hernandez sees this remedy as only temporary because the industry is growing so fast. He said the middle manager program of BPA/P could help but it is just that the industry is growing too fast that there is a dearth in supply of middle managers. - Veronica C. Silva, GMANews.TV