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(Manila, Philippines, November 5, 2009) – Technology, not only the search for talent, is emerging as one of three megatrends that will change the character of the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry according to StarTek CEO and President Larry Jones. Suggesting that “agents will be turbocharged on technology,” Jones envisions services delivery through multiple emerging technologies including social networking.
In recent years, BPO services providers have built service centers around the world, often in emerging nations, that provide a plentiful supply of educated but low-cost workers. While talent availability will remain an important concern for the industry, according to Jones, new communications technologies are likely to relieve some pressure on services providers to leverage far-flung, low-cost labor markets.
Jones made his forecast in remarks delivered at the International Outsourcing Summit: Global Market Leaders Addressing Global Issues (IOS) last month. Industry luminaries from the United States, China, Malaysia, Canada, India, Australia, Europe, Singapore, and South Africa attended the Summit, and many participated as speakers for the influential meeting held in the world’s second-largest offshore outsourcing center, after India.
Two other megatrends—the increasing popularity of “at home agents” and new vertical growth—are also likely to have significant impact on the nature of BPO services delivery, according to Jones. Virtual contact centers staffed by part-time agents working at home and connected by high-speed portals will lessen the need to recruit large numbers of agents in one locale. “They can be anywhere,” Jones said.
Jones said that the BPO industry has traditionally and primarily relied on demand from just three industries: telecom, finance, and retail. He predicted that pharmaceuticals, biotech, utilities, clean technology, organic food, and healthcare will emerge as new sources of revenue as the BPO industry expands, and demand for value-added services accelerates in the next five years. “These are global issues, and the BPO industry will find huge opportunity here,” he said.
Technology advances will find BPOs providing truly “friendly technology” for self-help, enabling clients to address their concerns quickly. When human interface is necessary, voice assistance is increasingly being supplemented by e-mail and chat. Social networking, Jones said, is a powerful, emerging tool for building customer care communities that incorporate client interface in addressing other client issues. Jones also believes that technology-driven analytics providing better insight to customers, markets, operations, and sales is becoming a sought-after service as companies seek to build strategic partnerships with their customers.
At home agents are already a “hot” strategy for services providers in developed markets, although connectivity issues in offshore locations such as India and the Philippines make reliance on at home agents less feasible. Still, Jones believes that recruiting and training at home agents can and will take place without applicants ever setting foot in their employers’ offices, aside from performing the work they are hired to do.
Vertical growth, Jones said, could dramatically increase the size of the addressable BPO market, estimated at between $150-250 billion by industry analysts.
Jones also said the Philippines can benefit from the technology-driven and vertical growth megatrends. “The Philippines is already considered the top offshore outsourcing location for customer care; however, for the country to catch up with other locations for higher value-added services, the Philippines must address challenges in the development of talent that have the technical skills to maximize the use of next-generation technology,” he said.
