Telus says PHL to stay as a vital global site
Telus International Philippines, a unit of Canadaâs leading telecommunications company Telus Communications, said Wednesday the southeast Asian nation would remain one of its most important locations in the groupâs global business process outsourcing operations. As such, it will continue to expand its Philippine operations by hiring more agents to service its expanding clientele of multinationals. Its call center operations now make up 80 percent of total revenue, and Telus International is saying that call center operations will grow at least another 20 percent this year. âWe will continue to focus on our contact center operations for the near term," Telus International vice-president for global operations Paul Egger told reporters Wednesday. Most of its 8,500 employees in the Philippines are call center agents, a situation that speaks well of the countryâs advantage in having a ready pool of English speakers that reflect how the language is a major in hiring Filipinos. The Philippines recently earned the reputation as the worldâs biggest call center in the world, surpassing India. Ambitions toward IT services Egger said Telus International also plans to strengthen its outsourced information technology (IT) services business segment, which is seen as the next growth area for the local BPO sector as the voice sector nears its maturity. However, Telus Communications has its own ambition to conquer the BPO information technology segment in which India remains the world leader. Most subcontracted IT services in India involve back-office work, according to the Telus executive. âThe Philippines IT-BPO segment is currently at the same stage as call centers were a decade ago⦠We can execute just as well. We have the resources and we have the people, but we âre just not that known for it yet," Egger said. The plan is to grow its IT services 50 to 100 percent this year, which is trying to duplicate its performance in 2010 when the company expanded to 300 its people working on outsourced IT services. Telus International last year said it was planning to build its fifth site in Metro Manila similar, something similar to its facility in Cubaoâs Araneta Center, which caters to over 2,500 employees. Its other sites are in Market Market mall in Taguigâs Global City, in JMT Building in Ortigas Center, and in Pasigâs Discovery Center. â VS, GMANews.TV