Philippines remains an attractive site for HRO

Even if neighboring Asian countries have become alternative sites of investment for BPO and KPO firms worldwide, the Philippines remains as an attractive venture for global companies due to its highly skilled workers and unique affinity to other cultures, executives from an HR solutions provider revealed to the press Wednesday.

NorthgateArinso, a UK-based HR solutions firm which has a global delivery center in Manila, said they are continuing to invest in the Philippines for three primary reasons: the competent language skills of Filipino workers, the cultural affinity of the Philippines to major clients serviced abroad, and the good work ethic and natural customer service mentality of Filipino workers.

“During the recent typhoon, for example, we didn’t miss a single SLA even if some of our employees were affected by the calamity,” commented Darcy Lalonde, president of NorthgateArinso Asia Pacific. “The commitment [of Filipino workers] is unbelievable, their passion is really high.”

This is the reason why, company executives said, clients are now more confident to let their operations be handled by Filipino agents.

“Clients are now more focused on the quality of work and the price, and are becoming less prescriptive on where their solutions are delivered from,” said Michael Ettling, global CEO, NorthgateArinso. Ettling likewise commended the relatively good level of education in the Philippines, especially because their recruits are mostly college graduates.

The company, which does full human resource servicing from its Manila center to its clients in more than 68 countries worldwide, said they are also convinced by the growth of IT infrastructure in the country over the last few years. “The government needs to continue investing in infrastructure and the BPO industry, because it is an economic opportunity for the country,” Lalonde said.

Meanwhile, Lalonde said, the ongoing exodus of Filipino workers to other countries remains a problem for most global companies based in the Philippines. “Recruiting and hiring fresh graduates is not a problem, but the so-called ‘brain drain’ is affecting our operations, because it is difficult to maintain the talent pool,” he explained.

Compared to India, however, the Philippines fares well in the area of attrition, which remains at “a low 5%,” compared to India’s 45%, Mike Ellis, country director, NorthgateArinso, added.

Currently hosting a modest but skilled 235 employees in its current center—its biggest site to date—executives from the HR solutions vendor said they are looking to double their capacity by the end of next year, starting with a 1 million-pound investment in its new Ortigas center.

“But in five years’ time, we are expecting to reach around 1,200 seats in our Manila center,” Ellis added.