INDUSTRY NEWS: Revenue of BPOs In The Philippines Slowly Decreasing, Cebu To Build Call Center City, and High-Level BPO Jobs To Increase In The Next 5 Years
September 21, 2017
Industry News: Housing Program for BPO Workers, Retention of BPO Tax Incentives, Iloilo as BPO Expansion Hub, and the Non-Threatening Effect of AI to PH BPO Sector
October 19, 2017
AI poses threat to jobs in the Philippine BPO industry — DTI
The Department of Trade and Industry said in a statement on Wednesday that artificial intelligence (AI) poses threat to jobs in the country’s BPO industry.
The ability of AI to replace certain human tasks through the power of computers or robots, the department warned that it can “potentially diminish 45 to 50 percent of the approximately 1.2 million Filipino employees of the BPO industry.”
Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said that DTI and Silicon Valley-based Filipino technology entrepreneur Dado Banatao is working with several other department in developing a multi-sector initiative to strengthen the curriculum needed to retain the higher value-added skills of BPO employees.
Lopez added that these efforts is also “deemed to be inclusive as disqualified BPO applicants and retrenched agents will be retrained for AI application development that will eventually enable them to get jobs.” -via CNN Philippines
Philippine senator calls for retention of tax incentive for BPOs
Philippine Senator Joel Villanueva seeks to retain tax incentives being given to business outsourcing (BPO) companies such as Regional Operating Headquarters (ROHQs).
The 15 percent preferential tax rate for employees of ROHQ and offshore banking units and petroleum service contractors are nullified under Senate Bill No. 1592 or the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN).
During the Senate interpellations on TRAIN, Villanueva cited the data submitted by the Department of Finance (DOF) that shows that there were 1,495 RHQ/ROHQ employees who have enjoyed the 15 percent preferential rate.
The senator emphasized that while taking away the incentives can add more incentive to the government, it may affect the country’s competitiveness as major BPO destination.
The Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) showed their support to the senator’s efforts stating that “the retention of the 15% preferential rate for ROHQ employees is an integral part of our efforts to continue attracting foreign investors to consider the Philippines as an investment destination.” -via Senate of the Philippines
Global contact centers shifts focus on CX
The global contact center industry has started to shift its focus from the provision of customer service to the actual delivery of customer experiences as part of supporting the significant changes to Philippine contact centers, according to consulting firm Everest Group.
In a research released by the consulting firm, it was revealed that Philippine contact centers are already prepared for the customer experience shift.
In line with this, Contact Center of the Philippines (CCAP) president Jojo Uligan stated that “the Philippines has always been a leader when it comes to customer satisfaction,” adding that they will make sure to keep that edge globally as the country transforms experience using all digital tools.
Contact centers must continually upgrade their workforce’s skill set and adopt new recruitment and training strategies in order to meet new requirements of customer-experience focused businesses, Everest Group suggested. -via Gadgets Magazine
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