Letting the Non-Voice Sector Speak for Itself
Voice-based outsourcing services have been the seed of the growing BPO industry of the Philippines. This type of outsourcing service has dominated the development and success of the industry for the past ten years.
The non-voice sector, however, seems to be fading a bit in the big picture of the BPO industry and what it holds for the future of outsourcing services.
This is not to say that voice services are being obliterated, it’s just that another type of service is starting to outshine the voice-based sector. What is being referred to here is the non-voice sector, which handles back office services or knowledge-based business functions.
The non-voice sector covers job functions such as finance analytics, human resource, healthcare management, IT services, software development, research and development, among others. Needless to say, these functions require more skilled and proficient professionals and entail more complex processes.
Voice-based services call for people who have above-average fluency in speaking English, good interpersonal skills, and tact for customer support service. Anyone can apply for these positions because almost any Filipino can meet the mentioned requirements. Other required skills like phone etiquette and good sales performance can be perceived upon hiring, and can be further developed with trainings that will be provided by companies.
The non-voice services, on the other hand, require skills that are specific to the position in demand. Take for example a position for medical transcriptionist needs someone who has undergone a medical course or training. Not anyone can apply for the position. Furthermore, companies find it impractical to provide trainings for the position; familiarity of medical terms from a medical course will suffice.
High-value skills are needed for back office services, and these are not common among the general workforce. Not everyone graduates with an IT or engineering course; thus, the supply of talent for the specific jobs is not sufficient enough to meet the demand.
But despite the talent gap the country is facing right now, it still manages to position itself as the second most preferred location for outsourcing non-voice or back office services, next to India.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) partners with the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) in providing BPO training courses and other courses with related non-voice processes functions to the less fortunate sector of the Philippine society, giving them a chance to be qualified to join the BPO industry.
Also, BPAP and TESDA have been urging schools, universities, colleges, and technical vocation institutions to provide trainings and courses in relation to the BPO industry, especially on non-voice processes, to equip the would-be graduates with basic to complex skills needed for them to qualify in non-voice BPO jobs.
The voice-based call center service industry is vast, but the non-voice BPO market is even larger, and any country eager to make outsourcing its driver industry must master these non-voice services.
Research firm Everest Group has forecast the global business process outsourcing (BPO) industry could be worth $220 to $280 billion for 2012, with 90 percent of that in non-voice work.
Last year, non-voice work in the country accounted for just five percent of the total BPO revenues of $10.9 billion, but it is responsible for three percent of professionals in the BPO workforce, or around 220,000 people.
BPAP forecasted a 20 to 25 percent growth for the non-voice sector this year, and is dubbed as the future driver of the BPO industry growth.
The non-voice sector is making a substantial effect on the outsourcing industry and is bound to hold a promising future for the Philippine BPO industry. This sector may not require voice-based business functions but it can speak volumes for itself.
The non-voice sector, however, seems to be fading a bit in the big picture of the BPO industry and what it holds for the future of outsourcing services.
This is not to say that voice services are being obliterated, it’s just that another type of service is starting to outshine the voice-based sector. What is being referred to here is the non-voice sector, which handles back office services or knowledge-based business functions.
The non-voice sector covers job functions such as finance analytics, human resource, healthcare management, IT services, software development, research and development, among others. Needless to say, these functions require more skilled and proficient professionals and entail more complex processes.
Voice-based services call for people who have above-average fluency in speaking English, good interpersonal skills, and tact for customer support service. Anyone can apply for these positions because almost any Filipino can meet the mentioned requirements. Other required skills like phone etiquette and good sales performance can be perceived upon hiring, and can be further developed with trainings that will be provided by companies.
The non-voice services, on the other hand, require skills that are specific to the position in demand. Take for example a position for medical transcriptionist needs someone who has undergone a medical course or training. Not anyone can apply for the position. Furthermore, companies find it impractical to provide trainings for the position; familiarity of medical terms from a medical course will suffice.
High-value skills are needed for back office services, and these are not common among the general workforce. Not everyone graduates with an IT or engineering course; thus, the supply of talent for the specific jobs is not sufficient enough to meet the demand.
But despite the talent gap the country is facing right now, it still manages to position itself as the second most preferred location for outsourcing non-voice or back office services, next to India.
The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) partners with the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) in providing BPO training courses and other courses with related non-voice processes functions to the less fortunate sector of the Philippine society, giving them a chance to be qualified to join the BPO industry.
Also, BPAP and TESDA have been urging schools, universities, colleges, and technical vocation institutions to provide trainings and courses in relation to the BPO industry, especially on non-voice processes, to equip the would-be graduates with basic to complex skills needed for them to qualify in non-voice BPO jobs.
The voice-based call center service industry is vast, but the non-voice BPO market is even larger, and any country eager to make outsourcing its driver industry must master these non-voice services.
Research firm Everest Group has forecast the global business process outsourcing (BPO) industry could be worth $220 to $280 billion for 2012, with 90 percent of that in non-voice work.
Last year, non-voice work in the country accounted for just five percent of the total BPO revenues of $10.9 billion, but it is responsible for three percent of professionals in the BPO workforce, or around 220,000 people.
BPAP forecasted a 20 to 25 percent growth for the non-voice sector this year, and is dubbed as the future driver of the BPO industry growth.
The non-voice sector is making a substantial effect on the outsourcing industry and is bound to hold a promising future for the Philippine BPO industry. This sector may not require voice-based business functions but it can speak volumes for itself.