Outsourcing firm Convergys strengthens PHL presence

Outsourcing firm Convergys Corporation is looking at "new wave" cities for the possible set-up of contact centers while strengthening its presence in the Philippines with the start of its operations in Mindanao in September, ranking officials said Thursday.  

Andrea Ayers, Convergys president and chief executive officer, said that the company will open a facility with an initial 500 seats of the planned 800 in Abreeza Technohub in Davao City.

“Convergys continues to expand in the Philippines given its very strong talent pool. Our growth in the Philippines leads our company growth,” Ayers, who is in Manila to take part of company's 10th anniversary in the Philippines, told the local press in a briefing.

The company is currently looking at talents in the Davao area to fill up the seats and has opened a temporary hiring facility there, added Marife Zamora, Convergys senior vice president and managing director for Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

The Davao site is Convergys' 22nd facility, including eight new operating sites unveiled to the media on Thursday: Alabang 2, Alabang 3, Bacolod 3, Baguio, Cebu-TGU, Megamall, MDC-100 in Libis, and Cebu 5.

Ivic Mueco, Convergys vice president and country manager for the Philippines, said in an interview at the sidelines of the briefing that the outsourcing firm is also looking at so-called “new wave cities” for its facilities.

“Of course, we're looking at next wave cities as tagged by the IBPAP [Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines],” she said, referring to up-and-coming mixed-used sites in Dumaguete, Baguio and Cagayan de Oro cities as well as Pampanga and Laguna provinces.

“We're studying it and, in some cases, are in the process of due diligence,” said Mueco.

The firm has 35,400 employees in the Philippines, accounting for 44 percent of its total global workforce.

Convergys added 4,000 to its Filipino workforce in 2012 and a little over 3,000 more as of end-July.

Industry hurdles

Despite being one of the industry leaders, Convergys officials admit they still face headwinds here and abroad.  

“The industry attrition rate is high at around 70 percent and we've been having initiatives to address that,” said Mueco, noting that Convergys has a staff turnover rate of 50 percent.

Zamora noted that the outsourcing industry's image to Filipinos still belie its career growth opportunities for individuals.

“There's a notion that its a transitory job, something you do when in the meantime. But frankly, it's false; a lot of people have built careers here. There are officials in the top 1000 companies that came from this industry,” she said.

Ayers shared that she started out in her two-decade long career in the industry as a call center trainer.

Things, moreover, are fast changing. Ayers said one of the key challenges is keeping up with client demand over “increasingly difficult” processes and products.

“We've put a premium on training now due to demand for more complex transactions. More people are  use the web and there concerns are more technical now,” she said.

Convergys Philippines provides technical support for financial services, tech, telecommunications, automotive, retail and healthcare for clients in North America, UK and Australia.

Convergys is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and has offices in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, United States, Canada, Costa Rica, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. — BM, GMA News