When people write and ask me about that magical, mythical job they want to find in the Philippines … the one that is going to enable them to live in “paradise” with their sweetheart … working in a call center often comes up.
I mean, of course, why not? Most people reading this can speak English, and most of them know how to talk on a phone. So how hard can it be?
Well sometimes it is harder than you think, but certainly it’s possible for an American (or other English speaker) to get a job here in the Philippines in the call center industry.
Right now there is also a lot of demand for good quality Spanish speakers as well. Demand ebbs and flows.
But one thing a lot of guys (and a few gals) may not have considered is, a larger number of the jobs available in the call center industry might not be as “Filipino” as they may think.
Here are the current top 10 call center/BPO operators in the Philippines. Take note of their home office addresses and websites:
Convergys:
Convergys (NYSE: CVG) is a multi-national corporation that provides management consulting services, outsourced billing, customer care and employee care, and transaction management software. Most of its clients are companies in the communications, financial services, technology, and employee-care market.
The company grew from Cincinnati Bell Information Systems and MATRIXX, both subsidiaries of Cincinnati Bell, and AT&T Solutions Customer Care (formerly AT&T American Transtech), which was sold to Cincinnati Bell in 1998; an IPO in 1998 made it a fully independent company. Since then, Convergys has acquired numerous companies and expanded its business to employ over 74,000 people in 40 countries around the world. Its headquarters is in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Cincinnati? How “Filipino” is that?
E-Telecare
Originating in the Philippines, this company is now partnered with Stream Global Services, Bloomington, MN, who’s business plan is partnering North America’s highly skilled labor force, multicultural population, and established infrastructure to drive outsourcing in the region. Stream Global Services anchors its global presence with our corporate headquarters in Bloomington, MN and will soon open a new service center in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. We maintain centers throughout the U.S. and Canada to provide onshore support for our regional and global clients
Bloomington, Minnesota? That’s not in the Philippines either.
SVI (Software Ventures International)
A Philippine information technology company with branches in the U.S. and Japan providing software solutions and systems integration services.
Their corporate headquarters is in Ortigas, Pasig, Metro Manila. So here at number three we finally get to a “real” Philippine company. But they, too, have an extensive presence in the USA.
Aegis People Support
Aegis People Support is one of the fastest growing BPO companies, with P5.7 billion in revenue in 2008. The company offers interactive and back-office services to a number of Fortune 500 companies worldwide in the areas of telecommunications, healthcare and insurance, travel, banking and finance. The company has a total of over 5,000 workstations in their 8 Philippine facilities. People Support merged with Aegis on 30 October 2008. Aegis has a global footprint that spans 56 locations across 13 countries: India, United States, Costa Rica, Peru, Argentina, United Kingdom, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and more.
Yep, the original Philippine part of this company did start here in the Philippines, but now under the Aegis brand they have at least as many locations in the USA as in the Philippines. About 8 in each country last time I looked.
ICT Group
ICT Group, Inc. was a multinational call center and outsourcing company based in the Philadelphia suburb of Newtown.
During the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, it began closing call centers in the United States and Canada, and reducing staff numbers in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia, as part of a plan to move its operations to lower-wage countries. In 2010, ICT was officially acquired by Sykes Enterprises, Inc., a Tampa based company
Tampa? I guess so many of these companies like Florida because the climate is so Manila-like.
West Services
We respond with solutions that define success. The stakes are higher than ever. Then again, so are the rewards. West Communication Services leaves nothing to chance – ensuring your success in ways that simply aren’t possible with anyone else. So when you say you need to grow revenues, maximize the profitability of existing customer relationships, break into new markets and areas of business and even recover more debt – we hear you, loud and clear.
And when it comes to the safety and security efforts of government entities around the nation, our services help decrease costs, time and complexity which ultimately protects lives and property.
No one has the depth and breadth of experience that we bring to the table. Our services, our solutions, our technologies and the sheer talent of our people come together in ways that make the most of every cent, every second and every opportunity .. Corporate headquarters, 11808 Miracle Hills Dr. Omaha, NE 68154
Omaha? That’s not very Filipino either, is it?
Expitar
Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Expitar is an information technology enabled service provider focused on marketing services. Expitar delivers comprehensive, turnkey solutions primarily to the communications, financial, medical, and direct response markets using aggregated contact center capacity and robust infrastructure. From campaign design through ongoing management, EPIXTAR provides value-driven, creative solutions serving its’ clients’ teleservices requirements. Expitar delivers highly successful marketing campaigns with on-demand global capacity, innovative performance compensation, and proven methodology
Florida? Wow another Philippine call center/BPO company that is actually headquartered in the USA.
Teletech
Teletech is a major provider of integrated customer relations management solutions. It formed an alliance with the Philippine Long Distance Company (PLDT) in December 2000 for the expansion of its Philippine operation. Teletech focuses on servicing the US market through its facilities in Manila. It ranked number one in 2008, with reported revenue of P8.1 billion.
Corporate headquarters? Englewood (Denver), Colorado. Again, a US, not a Philippine corporation. Want to bet where the last one on the list is located? (Hint, it’s not the USA)
TELUS International
Telus International Philippines is part of a Canadian company, Telus International. Its Philippine operation provides cost-effective, high-quality contact center and IT solutions for sales, technical support, customer care, back office support, market research and IT development for such industries as travel, telecommunications, financial and hospitality industries.
Corporate headquarters? Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 8N9 I told you they weren’t headquartered in the USA. Of course, they aren’t headquartered in the Philippines either, are they?
What’s My Point?
Simple. If you think you want to work in the call center, customer service, BPO outsourcing world … and there is no doubt that is a big segment of the employment spectrum here in the Philippines, the best place to apply might be right down the street there in the good old USA.
If you know people who work here in a call center in the Philippines, you’ll know that folks who work for the same parent company seem to ALWAYS be working here .. training, special projects, corporate oversight and so on.
The best jobs here in the Philippines with multi-national corporations just don’t get filled off the street in the Philippines. You can almost certainly bank on that.
Get a job with the company you want to work with BEFORE you make the move to the Philippines. That’s a valid strategy you might do well to explore.
I previously worked at a call center for a major cell phone carrier for about two years. It was a truly terrible experience. Most of my co-workers had to be on medication for depression/anxiety because of what customers put them through on a daily basis. I’m not exaggerating. The problem with call center work where you handle customer service issues, is that every third or fourth person who calls in is raging mad over something. And they think that yelling at you and calling you names is going to make you work harder to fix their problem. It doesn’t. It only makes you hate your job and want to throw yourself off a ledge. Call centers have a high turnover rate for a good reason…it’s a stinky job…period.
I think Filipinos are wired differently and most if not all of the ones I know who work in centers and it is a fair number, seem to be well adjusted and handle the stress in a more constructive way than do US. Also, it depends on the customer service issues they are handling. Most I talk to have more problems and issues dealing with the nighttime hours more than anything else. Hey maybe making 15,000 to 40,000P a month can have a positive effect on longevity as well. Great point you made though. I could not imagine in a million years having to deal with me on a customer service issue. Hmmmm, I wonder how many suicides I have played a role in.
@ Corey
:
Of course “Filipinos are wired differently” compared to us Americans who hail from the richest and most “coddled” society in the world. Everyone is ‘;wired differently” if you really check their circuit diagram for that matter.
Americans are oriented from birth to “protect our honor”, take offence at all slights, real or imagined, and especially us males to fight at the drop of a hat .. verbally or even physically.
Philippine couture is based on the principle of “SIR” (Smooth Interpersonal relationships).
Bob wrote an excellent series on this a while back. I recommend it to all, it will teach a lot of things Americans should know about living in the Philippines .. it’s a lot more important than the “how much does it cost” questions.. Series: SIR? Yes Sir!
Filipinos get hurt, annoyed, even angered just as we Americans do .. but cultural training here makes them normally “act out” their frustrations in a totally different manner.
We’re not in Kansas anymore, that’s for sure.
Thanks for contributing.
I most certainly agree that it’s a crappy job. In fact I frequently preach against jobs in general and Philippine jobs for foreigners in particular (did you read either of the articles I linked to?). But if a guy is determined he wants to work in the Philippines, I’m trying to point out that the ‘way in” might well be easier through the US, rather than showing up here in the Philippines and starting from scratch. Thanks for sharingg.
I’ve worked for some of those companies in the past.
Jason
Yes, and would you like to share? Give us some good things and bad things from your experience? Thanks.
What did you think of the jobs, Jason Silverman? How about the pay?
Call center work is pretty easy. My trainer at Convergys ended up going to Manila to teach a class when he was done with ours. So the opportunities to work there are possible.
Thanks for sharing that, Jason. I’m happy to have some ‘real life” confirmation of my point … it’s better to look for that call center type job there in the USA than waiting until you come to the Philippines. I have 4 nieces who work in several of those companies mentioned. They regularly get trainers from the USA running classes here in Manila. One girl, who is a senior trainer here (she’s been with her company about 7 years now) has done the reverse as well, made several trips to the US to train/coordinate with clients there. It’s way more international than many think it is.
I was getting paid $10 an hour and up ten years ago or so.
I don’t think you’ll get 10 USD and hour in PI
Very true, that is probably the daily wage, if that. 🙂 But I am guessing if you are transferring into a position in the Philippines, it is going to be more on the management side. Probably still not as good as USA wages, but not filipino wages either.
As a point of reference, I know the actual take home wage figures from 4 people currently employed at call centers here in Manila (all have 4 year college degrees, BTW. Their years of experience vary from about 1 year to about 7 years. Their take home, after tax (you do realize that as an American you’ll have to pay Philippine tax as well as US tax), range from about $2.25 per hour to about $5.30 per hour. Night differential may add 10%, depending upon shift hours). One thing to also consider is that these jobs have decent benefits .. paid vacation, health care, maternity leaves, transportation allowance, etc. which may add more to the ‘true value” of the wages.
So $10 and hour seems to be a stretch, but even “beginners” pay seems better than $10 a day.
It’s also important to point out that a great many of these jobs are NOT sitting in a cubicle taking calls … thousands of jobs in the BPO (Business Processing Outsourcing) area involve things like book keeping, bank auditing, data entry and checking, etc.
Just one BPO company I know of here processes all the “back office” work for over 1,000 individual US banks. When you make a deposit in California or Kansas, the local bank teller types on a keyboard that is really connected to a secure computer here in Manila. Employees in these type positions (and there are a lot of them) may never speak to a client, in English or Tagalog for their whole working time.
Yup. Lots of BPO back office here from really big banks.. Sample are BofA, Wells Fargo.and JPMC. Deutsche..etc. Many don’ speak to clients but they process stuff.
Yes, thanks for that, Sugar. I’ve got a lot of data/samples to share if anyone wants them. Most people “on the outside” have very little concept of what a “Call Center/BPO” actually is. Even in the short time I have lived here I am amazed at how the business has known both in size and scope.
I was sent to Cebu during my early career on secondament with IBM. One thing to mention with almost any company, if you get transferred offshore, don’t think that it’s a holiday in the sun. Usually you will be expected to work twice as hard and double the hours compared to if you were back home.
First of all think about the time differences, you will need to be in the office during Manila working hours as well as the hours back home. For me, it’s Australia. Which meant getting into the office by 6am (9am Sydney Time). However, my project had clients in NYC. Therefore, I was also talking to the NYC based client at 9pm/10pm Manila time.
Finally, if you work 18 hour days in Manila, by the time the weekend comes around, there is not much energy left in the tank for sun, surf and your lady partner.
Just my two cents worth.
Not to mention the fact that commuting times of two hours each way are not unusual.
There are some cash jobs around Manila and Cebu if you are prepared to teach english to Korean/Japanese tourists/students. Usually it’s $5 to $10 an hour if your lucky. I know someone who is married to a filipina, got hired by a call center to be a team leader at around $1,000 per month. If your not married then the investment in a working permit here, is going to be a huge deterrent to a lot of smaller call centers.
I know quite a few Expats earning about 150P per 25 minute English teaching segment to Koreans. 10 minute break and then another 25 minute session. They do about 4 to five hours mostly at night so about $40/day.. $800+ monthly. There are many guys here with limited SS income and that extra $800 makes a World of difference. It is getting very competitive. I know many other guys here who are suite young and are writing Apps or doing programming and enjoying a great life here.
Exactly. large call centers frequently pay bonuses to employees who can find them qualified English speaking applicants. One of my nieces was getting P25,000 finders fees for signing up people at one time. I said, wow, I’ll send you a bunch of qualified candidates, all these semi-desperate job seekers are always emailing me.
She looked a little embarrassed and said. “Sorry, tito. They don’t want the hassle of foreigners, work visas and such. Filipino citizens only.”
So it sounds like if you are married, the road is a little more smooth to working there?
If you are married to a Philippine citizen you can then get a permanent visa, which also allows you to work here. A work visa for a foreigners is expensive and difficult.
I heard in convergys they are going to pay you the same rate in the US.
And you heard this where? Inquiring minds would love to know.
I know someone employed in a call center in Cebu for one of the major call center companies mentioned in this article. Says he earns 15,000 PHP per month. These jobs are well sought after by many Filipinos although I kind of get the idea there could be a significant burn out factor and turn over. Take a look at some of the many online consumer complaint websites and some of the items on those sites will give you a better idea why customers can be so cranky when they call.
Whenever I call a toll free or other service number for a big company and I get answered by a call center ( I always ask ) more times than not, especially when calling after business hours my time, the call is being answered in Manila or Cebu. I must compliment those Filipinos and Filipinas that answer my calls. Very polite, good American English skills and pleasant to converse with. At the conclusion of my call when they ask ” Will there be anything else I can help you with Sir ? ” I always comment, Yes, next time you are out and about or in a mall, say Hello to my friend Jollibee for me.
I am under the impression that call center jobs are not as ” easy ” as some of us might think they are.
Jordan…Interesting reading….
Jordan…Interesting reading….
Enjoyed this article, nice research! This is big business there, and changing the face of Cebu, where I live.
@ John
Indeed. It’s changing the face of business world-wide. The Call Center/BPO industry, which many Americans like to think is “stealing American jobs” is actually even providing American jobs as well. I see this trend continuing to grow.
I moved to the Philippines several years ago with a BPO. I didn’t even know I wanted to live in the Philippines at the time and actually sort of dreaded the relocation. Then I realized to appreciate the country and the people and consider it my home now. Fortunately it’s an expat assignment with US pay and all the benefits, so it’s a really great gig for me. Only downside are the hours. It’s nighttime and long hours. It can be stressful like any job, but it just is about how you handle it.
Dave:
Last company I worked for in the States, I contracted (about 12 years ago) with a call center in Lubbock, Texas to handle incoming calls.
Quite an operation… They were literally across the street from Texas Tech university (built in labor force), and paid staff about 20% over minimum wage. Over 500 students employed, and they offered part time work that would be scheduled around the students’ class schedules. Really impressive operation, and was quite an eye-opener. They were very busy, mostly due to blowback from offshore call centers, since they were domestic. Ironically, they also offered language training since most of the students had fairly thick Texas accents, much the same as they do here or in India.
A neighbor’s kid is working at a BPO in Makati… He told me that after six months, other BPOs started recruiting him heavily. This drove up the wage he receive4d drastically to P25K per month. Seems that the call centers are trying to eliminate the training costs, especially regarding accents. This is, believe it or not, with the initial training, their biggest expense. The big companies found it cheaper to pay higher wages and poach from other companies than absorb the initial expense.
That said, it is hard work as far as stress goes… easy to answer phones, but getting yelled vat constantly every day takes a toll (I would not want to do it). Long shifts, and extremely rigid workplace rules. Pay is good, by local standards, but add in 1-2 hour commute each day from here, each way, and it is a hard day, any way you look at it. The kid has a college degree, BTW, from a “name” school… an absolute must for the decent call center jobs.
@ John,
All true, especially on the degree issue. You basically need a degree to flip burgers here. It’s not Kansas.
I’ve interviewed a number of candidates from Deutchse Knowledge Solutuins, the BPO for Deutsche Bank and a few from JPMorgan, both in BGC, Taguig. The ones I interviewed were very sharp and they were paid pretty well by local standards. If you can specialize in accounting/finance, will have a pretty good chance of landing a local job in Taguig and then potentially transferring to Singapore or HK.
One of my friends does fitouts for the call centers. When he first started a number of years ago, they had like 7 personnel per area and now have increased it to 9 personnel to the same area. Its a high pressure job with bad hours since your dealing with the US or Europe. If you can get a company in Australia, pretty good as far as working hours go.
Yep, fully agree. A lot of people who know me will tell you that I am a ‘broken record” about this … you do NOT want a job in the Philippines. But still they come, so I try to please them.