PHL
MANILA, MARCH 11, 2012 (INQUIRER) By Daxim L. Lucas -
The decision of US-based Wells Fargo & Co. to set up their business
process outsourcing operations in the Philippines is a vote of confidence in the
quality of the local workforce, according to the firm's officials in the
country.
More importantly, the banking giant plans to further expand its newly opened
BPO facility in McKinley Hill Cyberpark in Taguig City to accommodate triple the
number of employees it currently has.
"At present, we employ 180 team members in our current facility, but this can
house as many as 450 to 500 seats," said Wells Fargo Philippines Solutions
communications manager Theresa Lariosa in an interview with the Philippine Daily
Inquirer. "We have two floors in McKinley Hill for this, and we expect them to
be fully occupied by yearend."
She explained that the Philippine BPO unit of the US' second-largest bank is
also constructing a purpose-built building within the same Megaworld site, with
completion of the first phase expected by early 2013.
"The first phase of that new building will be occupied by the first quarter
of 2013, and it can accommodate up to 1,500 seats," she said. "All in all, the
facility will have three phases."
Lariosa pointed out that the building plans indicated a "fast-growing" local
operation for Wells-Fargo that has been seen to contribute significantly to the
expected 120,000 new BPO employees in 2012.
At present, the Philippine BPO industry employs about 450,000 workers, mostly
in call center facilities, making it the world's leader in the sector, ahead of
rival India. In recent years, however, industry leaders have begun to emphasize
a shift in the local industry from call center work to higher value-added work
like outsourced engineering, animation and IT services.
Lariosa said that Wells Fargo's Philippine operations would serve only the
needs of the US bank in terms of customer support, specifically the credit card
concerns of its customers, as well as credit collection services.
"Magaling ang Pilipino (The Filipino is excellent)," she said. "We're here
because we believe in the skills of our BPO workers."
The industry has the backing of the administration of President Benigno
Aquino III, which hopes to see some 1.3 million Filipinos employed in BPO
centers by 2016. It also hopes to double the total of the industry's revenues to
around $25 billion during the same time frame.
These plans come amid a backlash in the US against the outsourcing by large
corporations of back office work to cheaper locations like the Philippines and
India, amid the high unemployment rate on the US mainland.
Outsourcing, in fact, has become a hot button issue in the ongoing political
debate ahead of the November 2012 US presidential elections, with both main
parties announcing plans to curb incentives for corporations to send back office
work overseas.
Aquino administration officials believe, however, that the local BPO industry
will continue to grow given the large supply of English-speaking college
graduates in the Philippines who work in call centers for a fraction of what
US-based employees would have to be paid for the same output.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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