How BPO to the Philippines can be a game changer for your business
What do you get when you combine one of the world's lowest costs per service rates with exemplary cross-cultural competence and highly motivated, educated young professionals? A bustling industry that contributes more than $30 billion dollars to the global economy annually - also known as the BPO in the Philippines. BPO, or business process outsourcing, is the strategy of moving key business tasks, such as accounting and payroll management, customer support, IT technical help, and more, to offshore companies. Though the idea has been around for decades, it's only recently that even smaller and mid-sized businesses can start to participate in the action. Though outsourcing used to require lengthy contract negotiations and connections to politicians in foreign countries can now be acquired easily through partnering with a BPO company in the Philippines.
By using an outsourcing company in the Philippines, a company that may have needed to employ 100 employees, each with a $20 hourly wage and a hefty benefits package, can hire the same 100 employees in the Philippines with only a $8 hourly wage. In other words, outsourcing to the Philippines can save companies more than ten times the cost of hiring, onboarding, and paying in-house employees in the west. What's more, with a culture that prides hospitality and respect over all else and a smart, educated young workforce eager to join the industry, a contact centre in the Philippines offers exceptional services for a marginal cost.
There are a few reasons why the Philippines is able to create such a unique outsourcing market. For one thing, the government of the Philippines has focused heavily on the industry, pouring in millions of dollars in funding to public universities to create specialised BPO degree programs. Students who earn these degrees are well-versed in business management, special technical skills, software use, and, most importantly, the nuances of Western culture and interaction with Western clients and consumers. Students are fluent in English from early childhood and can speak easily without an accent. Because of this, even with low costs, services in the Philippines can often be just as good and even better than services in western nations, such as the US and UK.
Many business owners already know the benefits of outsourcing to cut costs related to hiring and onboarding in-house employees. But if cutting costs isn't a priority, there are still important reasons to consider outsourcing to the Philippines as an effective business strategy. For companies looking to expand their reach to keep up with our ever-growing global marketplace, it can be helpful to have a few extra hands on deck without breaking the bank. Many BPO employees in the Philippines are multilingual, and able to speak English, Tagalog, Mandarin Chinese, and more. The opportunities for a culturally aware workforce can be massive for businesses hoping to open their doors to countries in Asia. This, coupled with the ability to increase employee numbers for a lower price, are both excellent reasons to consider outsourcing as a growth strategy.
It's clear that outsourcing is here to stay. For companies that hope to cut costs, especially in times of economic hardship, outsourcing to the Philippines is a foolproof way to save money while not sacrificing quality service. For the business looking to grow, outsourcing services are a great way to supplement an already robust workforce for a budget-friendly price. For all these reasons and more, offshore outsourcing to the Philippines is a proven game-changer for foreign businesses.