Call Center Outsourcing: Do you Have What It Takes?

Call center outsourcing has become so popular in the Philippines right now. So many call centers have sprouted up everywhere. One can find call centers in almost every city and not just one call center but a whole lot of them. This is especially incredible and has truly rivaled India as the number one call center location for the global competition. There are call centers everywhere in Manila, concentrated but not limited to both Ortigas and Makati. There are also call centers in Alabang, Baguio, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Zamboanga, Davao, and virtually everywhere that’s a city.

So, as a Filipino employee, do you think you have just what it takes to join the elite team of call center agents in all these call center outsourcing location in the country that is not just known for quantity (like India) but is renown for quality. Well you may think that you have just what it takes, but first browse through this list to see if you really have it.


call center outsourcing

A call center agent has to be English proficient. But this does not mean just plain being able to speak straight English, it also entails the ability to have a neutral or an American accent. It also means that one needs to have perfect grammar and the innate knowledge of the many idioms that are usually used in speech by American clients. This may be hard at first but really, if you, like almost all Filipinos, love to watch American movies, television shows, and music, then this should not be much of a problems.

The second most important thing is that one needs to be able to handle customer management. This includes both the ability to absorb the customer’s query at once and also the ability to remain calm, collected, and sharp in trouble shooting or processing the demands and queries. That is what you need to even consider joining a call center outsourcing company.

My Life as an Agent in a Major Call Center in the Philippines

I have been in the so-called “sunshine industry” for a little over a year now and I must say that life as an agent in a major call center in the Philippines is not all about flowers and sunshine.



Working in this industry means work. Being proficient in English is not enough for you to climb the corporate ladder or be retained in the company. Since the Human Resource Department head always assesses and evaluates our performance, it is a must for us agents to push our efforts every time. We have to give our best every day at work and satisfy our clients. Work is not all fun and games, but to tell you frankly, all the people I have spoken with in my company are happy with the work and service we do. Maybe it’s because of the fact that we feel accountable for the growth of the company. After all, we represent the Philippines in this competitive industry so it is just right for us to represent our country well enough through our skills.

call center Philippines

Despite the tedious work and the crazy shift we have, we do not feel that much stressed with the work that we do because our company offers a lot of activities for us to not be bogged down by stress. We have free dance lessons, voice lessons, outings every month, and lots of bonding activities to nurture our relationship and love for the job. Instead of forcing us to love our jobs, they are finding ways for us to enjoy our team because according to our HR head, the strongest factor that would drive you to do your job well and stay in a company is when you are in good working relations with the people in the company. It is working so far because we are all enjoying our work here in a call center in the Philippines. This enjoyment translates into good output we give our clients. In the end, everybody benefits.

Philippine Call Center: Stereotypes about Agents in this Major Asian Call Center Hub

The call center industry in the Philippines is considered one of the major employment generators for Filipinos. According to a recent survey, almost 900,000 Filipinos are relying on the industry for their bread and butter. It is actually safe to say that almost every citizen in the country knows someone working in the industry of call center Philippines.

This call center fad has been part of the popular culture of the new millennium so it is inevitable for people working in this Asian call center to form a sub-culture of some sort. In fact, society has already stereotyped those who are working as call center agents in both positive and negative light.



call center in the Philippines

Call center agents have health problems.
Working in this Asian call center does not only require proficient communication skills, but also the physical health to endure the demands of work. Unlike the usual reporting schedule implemented in other offices, most companies in the call center industry would require agents to do night shifts since most of their clients are from the opposite part of the world. The time difference would not allow their agents to work at the usual 9-5 pace. This is one of the reasons why there are many call center agents suffering from various health problems like insomnia, sedentary diseases, and such. On the other hand, this might not apply to all call center agents. There are some BPO companies that make sure that their employees are given the proper treatment to prevent stress that could eventually lead to such diseases.

They have been rejected by other industries so they decided to work as a call center agent.
This is just one of the negative connotations about call center agents and this is not without any reason. It is said that some companies in the call center industry do not look into an applicant’s academic achievement or attainment that much. As long as you can communicate yourself well using the English language and seem trainable to adopt an American accent, you have a sure trump card to this industry. In fact, even if you have not obtained a college diploma, you can qualify as an agent in call center Philippines. Because of the minimum requirement in terms of skills and work experience, many think that agents are those people who have either been fired from their previous profession for incompetence or those who do not have stellar skills to go head-to-head with others in their competitive industry. But then, these assumption are not entirely true. There are those who are working in Philippine call centers by choice and not because they have nowhere else to go. In fact, many agents have earned their degrees and obtained brilliant University grades. They are also very hard-working and flexible as seen in the feedbacks of many offshore clients. Good qualities that this premier Asian call center workforce have contribute to the sudden rise in interest of foreign clients opting to offshore outbound and inbound call center services from the Philippines.

Philippines Call Center: Filipino Culture

The Philippines call center industry right now is growing at such a high rate. This industry can truly be called the sunshine industry because right now it provides jobs to thousands and thousands of Philippine professionals. The culture of the Filipino people is closely connected to why the country is highly successful in the contact global center industry game.

The Philippines was once a United States colony. As such, the influence of the U.S. weighs heavily upon the native culture. For one thing, American English is a major subject in all schools. And that’s not the half of it. Spoken English, English reading as well as writing is actually taught in Preparatory School, Kindergarten, all Grade School levels, all High School levels, and the first college years. And what’s more, the country is full of people who have had schooling since according to surveys a large part of the population has gone to school. Then, there is also the influx of American media from music, movies, literature, magazines, and television shows that is greedily consumed by the masses.


call center Philippines

Another great fact that makes Philippines call center businesses successful is that the country shares a lot more than language and culture with the United States. The country also shares the same systems with the United States. The legal system of the country, the educational system of the country, the business systems of the country and the government of the country are all patterned after the systems of the United States. With so much cultural affinity, there is no doubt that Filipino culture is a boon to Philippines call center businesses. Since contact center agents have to communicate quickly with United States based consumers, the need to be on the level is just so great. Without cultural affinity, the Philippines call center industry will not have succeeded to such great heights.

Philippine Call Center Health Hazards to Avoid

I am a professional that work in a company that has a Philippine call center. As such, I can see the culture of the agents and I can deduce the culture and the entire details that form this culture. I can honestly say that the Philippine call center is a place that promotes vices.

I once had a friend who worked in one of these Philippine call centers and he was a wreck. The industry always provides a lot of medical benefits in the form of Medicaid cards or similar medical cards. This is because of the stress level and the lifestyle that the industry creates. Although there are ways in order to avoid these factors in order to remain working in the call center while keeping healthy, a lot of call center agents just do not form this kind of discipline. As a result, a lot of them suffer from chronic illnesses such as respiratory diseases or digestive system problems. I would say that most of these are really products of stress and bad habits/vices.


call center Philippines

So what exactly are these vices that a Philippine call center agent should avoid?

1. Lack of sleep – This is something that can obviously be avoided. Now Philippine call centers work on night shift and therefore it can be hard for some to get sleep. The key is to train and readjust the body clock correctly.

2. Smoking – Obviously one of the biggest vices out there. But it is particularly prevalent because of the stress involved. Smoking for some takes out stress. But this is obviously something that drains health and eats up vitamin C in the body to boot.

3. Drinking Coffee – Because of problem number one, there are a lot of agents who love drinking coffee. Then they become a bunch of nerves as this habit goes on. Caffeine is said to be good is small amounts. Do not consume more than a couple of cups a day.

4. Drinking Beer – To celebrate a weekday, most employees love to drink. But the acidity of Call center agents, because of their awkward sleep schedules and stress, is very high. Drinking beer will serve to damage one’s digestive system and increase acidity.

Can Obama Stop Contact Center Offshore Outsourcing?

Call center Asia industries have been shocked when Obama first said that he is against outsourcing. But are call center jobs Asia really have a cause for worry?

BPO including contact center offshore outsourcing jobs everywhere is reported to suffer because of the looming global economic struggle. The new U.S. administrations plan is one that a lot of people are nervous about. President Barack Obama’s strong position on this crisis is well known. Obama wants all the outsourced jobs back into the country to counter the growing joblessness that was created by the recession.

philippine call center



There is nothing wrong with such a sentiment. It does sound like a good plan in fact to bring these outsourced jobs back into a country that desperately needs all the jobs that it needs. But really, this isn’t realistic in the schematic of Globalization.

Corporations, by law, are required to take care of its stockholders’ interest even before its stakeholder, employees, and externalities (externalities are everyone affected by the corporation indirectly). And another thing, corporations are by law, recognized as persons. Thus as a person, a corporation have the right to own, to sue people, etc. Basically a corporation has almost all the rights of a free person. How does this help contact center offshore outsourcing companies?

This means that they have to right to do as they please and they can purchase the services of contact center offshore outsourcing companies as is part of their rights. The government cannot force them to do anything. And their primary goal is top make profit. As long as contact center offshore outsourcing companies in the third world exist to provide cheaper services to corporations, corporations will keep taking advantage of such cheap services.

The president will not have enough power, even if it is just bargaining power, to coerce all American corporations to not outsource. This will stop profit, and corporations will not let that happen.