BPOs’ new requirement: Managerial talent
BusinessWorld | 03/11/2009 1:17 AM
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Aside from command of the English language, business process outsourcing (BPO) companies are requiring "soft skills" such as leadership, especially now that the country wants to be more competitive amid the economic downturn.
"We need management talent for us to continue to grow," Danilo L. Reyes, Sitel Philippines president, said yesterday in a forum at the Ateneo Professional Schools in Makati.
"There is a big need as far as management training is concerned ... Some of the next wave cities are not growing as fast as they should because of the lack of management training," Mr. Reyes said.
About 10,000 of the nearly 400,000 employed in the BPO industry are managers, Mr. Reyes said.
If the BPO sector meets growth targets amid the crisis, partnership between the industry and the academe will be more vital to ensure that top-level positions are filled, he said.
Barry E. Marshall, JPMorgan senior country operations officer, noted that aside from a country’s cost advantages, companies are also placing emphasis on talent.
"Companies are now looking for extremely talented people that can deliver to the bottom line in the long term," he said.
Alejandro P. Melchor III, governmental programs executive of IBM Philippines, likewise said that "access to talent is one of the biggest issue today for multinationals."
Rina Clamor, Accenture recruitment head, pointed out that while the Philippines has an edge over other countries in terms of English proficiency, the quality of the work pool still leaves much room for improvement.
"We are better in English compared with other countries like China. But our yield rates are poor. If you want to hire five people, sometimes you need a pool of about 50 to 100 applicants to fill it," Ms. Clamor said.
The low investment ratio of the government per student may be to blame, said Vincent K. Fabella, Jose Rizal University president. "The Philippines has the lowest investment per student, and that really has an effect on quality," he said.
The government allots only about 3% of its gross national product to education, below the international standard of 6%, he added.
Ateneo de Manila University President Bienvenido F. Nebres, SJ said universities may develop managerial talent by being "creative" in their education programs.
"In Ateneo, we found that the best way to address this [leadership gap] is to engage them in the performing arts, like drama and dance, as these activities tend to develop self-confidence in students," Mr. Nebres said.
Business Processing Association of the Philippines chief Oscar R. Sañez reiterated that despite the global economic downturn, the BPO industry will still grow by as much as 40%.
"We are still looking at positive numbers this year. The market potential is really coming to light," Mr. Sañez said.
At the Clark free port in Pampanga, Secretary Ray Anthony Roxas-Chua III of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology said the BPO sector is expected to generate 90,000 jobs this year and rake in $7.5 billion in revenues.
The industry, which now employs 372,000, sees a 20% to 25% increase in revenues from $6.1 billion in 2008, he said.
In a presentation at yesterday’s Cabinet meeting, the official pushed for the passage of an anti-cybercrime bill aimed at punishing attacks on digital infrastructure as well as a data privacy bill to protect sentitive data such as medical and legal records. — Jose Bimbo F. Santos and Bernardette S. Sto. Domingo
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