Industry leaders from aligned sectors to discuss the next phase of BPO growth

4th Annual Call Center and BPO Training Convention to highlight strategies for meeting the challenges of the new decade

(Manila, Philippines, February 16, 2010) – With the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry projected to grow 25% in 2010, training is becoming more crucial in sustaining the industry’s growth and momentum, according to Jon Kaplan, president of TeleDevelopment Services Inc. (TDS). “The industry is growing to the tune of 2,000 new hires every week,” Kaplan said. “It’s going to grow in ways we’ve seen over the last few years in terms of more sophisticated BPO and knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) services.”

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently announced that the country is already closing in on India’s US$9-billion outsourcing industry when the BPO sector earned US$7.3 billion last year. In 2001, Philippines’ outsourcing industry generated US$24 million with a workforce of 2,000. Today, the sector has 500,000 workers nationwide.

“The future for the next decade is bright,” said Kaplan, who is an industry pioneer. “The biggest challenge is the political and educational infrastructure.” He also noted that the lack of a strong development program for frontline leaders is one of the major areas for improvement.

“What happens is that these companies grow so fast. Once you get talent in the door, how do you keep them? If a company says that it wants to grow by 4,000 or 6,000 people, how do they build the infrastructure to do that?” Kaplan added that support for supervisor training is vital because frontline leaders can drive productivity and bottom-line profitability. “They can have a major impact on minimizing turnover and increasing performance,” he said.

Industry leaders from aligned sectors will discuss these issues during the 4th Annual Call Center and BPO Training Convention, which will be held on March 11 and 12, 2010, at the Makati Shangri-La. The event is supported by Versant and inContact, and is organized in partnership with the Commission on Information and Communications Technology, Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPA/P), Contact Center Association of the Philippines, People Management Association of the Philippines, and Philippine Society for Training and Development (PSTD).

BPA/P president and chief executive officer Oscar Sañez will give a keynote address on the opportunities, roadblocks, and bridges to a global BPO industry, while IBM Philippines president and general manager James Velasquez will share insights on gaining competitive advantage through knowledge creation and continuous innovation.

Members of the academe and human resource experts will discuss issues related to talent development and maximizing investment in training. The panel consists of BPA/P talent development director Jamea Garcia, PSTD chief marketing officer Lorena Valerio, Jose Rizal University president Dr. Vicente Fabella, and Animation Council of the Philippines, Inc. president Rowena Bagadion.

Top business leaders, including SPi Global Solutions president and chief executive officer Maulik Parekh and Megaworld Corporation first vice president Jericho Go, will take part in an executive forum on leveraging training to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.

The convention will also feature the 1st BPO Training Excellence (BTE) Awards, the only program that recognizes individuals and organizations for their exemplary achievements in the field of call center, BPO, and KPO training. “Trainers and HR practitioners in our industry are the unsung heroes,” Kaplan said. “The BTE Award is our way of honoring them for their valuable contribution.”

For more information on the 4th Annual Call Center and BPO Training Convention and the 1st BPO Training Excellence Awards, log on to www.tdstrainingconvention.com.

About TeleDevelopment
TeleDevelopment has been providing clients with global outsourcing and back-office solutions since 1991, and has supported over 450 captive and outsourced teleservices and BPO providers’ human capital and processed development needs.