The Philippine IT-business process management (IT-BPM) industry, which is expected to grow flat this year because of the prolonged lockdowns, is seeing a silver lining as more companies have to resort to more outsourcing and offshoring of functions to cut cost during this crisis.
Teleperformance Philippines COO Mike Lytle noted that pre-COVID the industry expected about 7 percent year on year growth but the prolonged lockdowns have rendered real difficulty for BPO operations.
Teleperformance is the country’s second largest BPO with over 47,000 employees and 21 sites in the Philippines.
“We’re running at about 66 percent of our normal levels. The industry has been expecting about 7 percent year-over-year growth but as we move to GCQ in Metro Manila in June, we will expect to see flat to minimal growth year-over-year because of the lost time over the last couple of months,” said Lytle.
However, Lytle said they see a significant opportunity for an upside because as most organizations are seeing lower revenues due to lock-downs, they are also forced to look for other ways to save cost across their operations. Experience also showed that global financial crisis creates more room for offshoring and out-sourcing of non-core functions.
“Every time that happens, including post-global financial crisis, that creates room for offshoring and outsource services for which the Philippines has built a good and reliable reputation as a great destination for IT-BPM services,” said Lytle.
“Typically, what we see when there is a slowdown is a short-term reduction in business as a particular industry sees a decrease in their overall traffic. What quickly follows behind it is those who have not out-sourced or offshored before they look for additional ways to save cost.”