By Dan Berthiaume

Everyone seems to have at least one story about a nightmare experience dealing with telephone customer service. The fact that many call center providers are located in countries where language and customs are significantly different from US norms only exacerbates the problem. Some experts recommend that companies outsourcing call center functions attack the problem of poor customer service by focusing more attention on serving the needs of customers. But is that always the best strategy?

Michael D. Brown, a corporate consultant and trainer who specializes in developing professional brands, has a slightly different recommendation. “Step back and take care of the employee first,” Brown says. “They will then take care of the customer. Make the employee number one and the customer number two.”

Brown realizes that his advice to place the frontline employee before the customer amounts to heresy in the eyes of many customer service gurus, but he hastens to explain that this is actually the best way to ensure a top-quality customer experience. “When you look at unfavorable dealings with the end user, there is a rush to judgment to put a band-aid on the situation,” says Brown.

Instead of approaching each individual customer complaint as a separate issue necessitating an on-the-spot fix, Brown says companies should make more effort to understand how the frontline call center employees actually spend their day. “Take a side-by-side walk with your frontline employees,” says Brown. “See what a typical day is like; see what types of calls they’re getting and where the roadblocks are. Then ask, ‘Do I have the right processes in place?’”

Brown says real-time communication technologies such as Skype and FaceTime allow US companies to virtually perform side-by-side walking with call center employees who may be working from distant offshore locations.

After performing side-by-side walking (either in-person or virtual), Brown says companies should then go about “smart tasking” outsourced call center employees. “What do the employees do besides just answering calls?” asks Brown. “To deliver a world-class call center customer experience, look at the sequence of tasks employees perform and see if you can make any changes to enable them to deliver a better customer experience.”

Let Frontline Employees Make it Right

Following smart tasking, Brown says companies should provide outsourced call center employees with what he calls “Make it Right” power, or the ability to solve certain problems on their own. “Often the person answering the call can do nothing other than pass on the call to someone else when there is a problem,” says Brown. The customer becomes even more infuriated when they are passed to person after person.”

Instead, Brown says the employee manual should provide frontline employees specific instructions on how to resolve common issues and that the second person they speak to should have the authority to handle all problems.

“Most customer problems are not rocket science,” comments Brown. “The frontline employees hear the same issues day in, day out. Ask them what they are doing day to day and look for organically developed solutions.” Brown says companies should then compile these solutions into a continually growing “What-If Arsenal” of resolutions to common problems that is built from the bottom-up, guaranteeing employee buy-in.

Brown says is it also important for companies engaged in call center BPO to encourage “bubble up innovation,” or innovative ideas that come from frontline employee brainstorming sessions. “Often we don’t have the answers, but need innovation bubbling up from the bottom,” Brown says. “It gives the frontline employees ownership in the workplace.”

Clued In

Brown says all the steps he recommends to achieve world-class customer service in an outsourced call center will not succeed if everyone involved is not relentlessly focused on the same goal. “Does everyone understand the vision, or are people in different silos?” he asks.

Of course, companies also need to simply follow through and make world-class customer service happen at their outsourced call centers. This includes remaining open to making changes in response to changing needs of customers. “Keep it fresh,” says Brown. “Things will change. Look at what happened to Borders. To take call center customer service to the next level, you need to say enough call centers are giving the industry a bad name, it’s time for us to rise to the top.”

An essential part of making it happen is ensuring frontline employees fully understand what customers expect from products and services. “Too often the call center employees haven’t a clue,” he states. “They must understand how things are made, not necessarily from a technical standpoint but in terms of the promised experience. Often the call center employees don’t know what has been promised to the customer.”

By Rosanne D’Ausilio PhD

There is what we call a moment of truth when a customer makes a decision about you, your company, maybe even all companies in your industry, based on their interaction with anyone from the front lines up to and including your CEO. In those first three sentences, a customer determines whether their interaction will be a good experience, a bad experience, or a waste of their time.

When talking about customer service, customer satisfaction, and customer retention, you often hear that the best way to determine how you’re doing is to ask your customer. And that’s absolutely true. However, if you really want to know how your company is doing, ask your internal customer.

Not many companies do this. Their focus seems to be on the external customer only. But knowing what’s going on with internal customers is key to improving the satisfaction of external ones.

Who is your internal customer? Your employees, your peers, your direct reports, any and every one who has an impact on the customer experience. And how do you assess them? What do we look for when we take the pulse of a company?

• What are the strengths of your people?

• What are their weaknesses?

• What are the commonalities among applications?

• What are the changes currently going on in your organization?

• Hardware
• Software
• Teams
• Rules/Regulations

• What is today’s stress level?

• What doesn’t get communicated powerfully?

• What feels like you’re working with one hand tied behind your back?

• What are the mixed messages that may be rampant at your company?

• Why are your customers calling – do they have a question, a request, a complaint or a problem?

• What is a Typical Call?

• What is a Call from Hell?

• What’s the biggest gripe on the side of the customer?

• What’s the biggest gripe on the side of the employee?

• What gets accelerated and why?

• What empowerment exists, if any?

• What works really well?

• In a perfect world what would you do differently?

When you can answer these questions, you’re really getting to know your company and its people.

How do you accomplish this? We do it by:

1) Interviewing people

2) Monitoring calls

3) Studying the flow

4) Navigation of screens

5) After-call process

However, we don’t want to talk only to the best people or the highest level, but to all of them, whenever possible, and at all productivity levels.

Armed with this information, you can then identify the gaps and with that knowledge in hand, you are best able to present options. These options can fall into one of three categories:

(1) People

(2) Process

(3) Technology

If it is determined that it’s a people issue (which often it is), design customized training sessions to address the gaps and kick it up a notch in the area of customer service. We suggest these classes be delivered over time so that retention is improved and delivery is in real time addressing whatever current challenges exist.

If it is a technology issue, usually it’s caused by silos, the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Many companies because of heavy investment in technology keep trying to make it work. Reminds me of the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.

If the results show a process issue, ‘be a customer’ and go through the process to see where the gaps are. Stand at the end, what is the result you want and how did you get there? What got in the way? What would make it smoother? Again, what are the gaps and how do you either eliminate them, fill them, or replace what isn’t working?

Rosanne D’Auslio, Ph.D., President of Human Technologies Global, Inc., and known as “the practical champion of the human,” is an industrial psychologist, consultant, master trainer, bestselling author, executive coach, and customer service expert. She also writes the complimentary tips newsletter How To Kick Your Customer Service Up A Notch!

Jamaica’s growing reputation as a top Caribbean destination for investment in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and other key growth sectors is set to take centre stage on March 1-2, 2012, as the island lays out the red carpet for investors seeking opportunities in the region’s largest English-speaking economy.

The Jamaica Investment Forum 2012, which will be staged at the new Montego Bay Convention Centre, will focus on the business opportunities that exist in ICT, as well as other priority areas such as Tourism, Manufacturing and major privatization and development projects.

The Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, will head a high profile slate of local and international speakers at the Forum, which is being organized by JAMPRO, the country’s investment promotion agency, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Compete Caribbean Programme. The opening of the event will feature presentations from Anthony Hylton, the Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, and a high-level representative from the IDB.

The sectoral session on ICT will focus on opportunities in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and IT Export Services (ITES) and will feature a mix of information and testimonials from expert panellists and existing investors. Among the confirmed speakers for this session are Connie Harvey, EVP, COO, Commercial Solutions, ACS, A Xerox Company; Dr. Harsh Muthal, CEO Tholons Inc.; Ambassador Patrick Casserly, Special Envoy for ICT; and Helena Lawson Brooks, SVP- Specialty Operations, Convergys Corporation. Phillip Vandervoort, Head of Business and Marketing Operations, Microsoft, is scheduled to deliver a presentation during the investment climate plenary.

Participants will have the opportunity to see first-hand some of the select investment projects on specially arranged JAMPRO site visits and private meetings. Prime Minister Simpson Miller will also host a welcome reception at which participants will be able to meet members of the Jamaican Government and senior leaders in the private and public sectors. A special “Jamaica Night” reception will cap off a comprehensive social programme that will offer participants, diverse opportunities for leisure, tours and sightseeing.

Jamaica is home to four of the world’s top 10 outsourcing companies, and currently has over 11,000 full-time agents in the offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. With nearshore access to the United States, a neutral English accent, low attrition rates and high labour force availability among secondary and university graduates, Jamaica continues to offer a very strong value proposition for BPO investors.

Most recently, Jamaica landed a major investment from Convergys Corporation, one of the largest agent-assisted customer service companies in the world. The company is projected to employ nearly 1,000 persons when its first call centre slated for Montego Bay becomes fully staffed in 2012.

The Jamaica Investment Forum will provide potential investors with insightful information pertaining to the Government of Jamaica’s investment policies and incentive regimes; and networking opportunities among existing investors and leaders in the local business community. The Forum has received strong backing from the local business community. Among the many local sponsors are: FLOW/Columbus Communications, LIME, Digicel, Jamaica Public Service Company, and the Bank of Nova Scotia.

By Patrick Haller

With 2012 in full-swing, a critical look at what lies ahead for Nearshoring  is in order. With a shaky global economy, and some forecasts calling for a sluggish year in IT and BPO sourcing, this is no time to be complacent.  Whether it’s building solid skill sets, creating sufficient scale, matching client’s expectations, managing expansion, or doing business amidst social change and myopic political theater, providers have a lot to confront. We tapped some of the leading experts in the Nearshoring space for their answer to the burning question: What is the single biggest challenge you think the Nearshore outsourcing industry faces in 2012?

David Rutchik

Partner, Pace Harmon, LLC

For outsourcing buyers, Nearshore vendors are often a better buy because of the typically touted travel, time zone, and language benefits, not necessarily the capabilities provided. As Nearshore economies become stronger and currency arbitrage becomes a challenge, Nearshore outsourcing vendors must build out their skill sets so they can stand on their own. For ITO they need to develop a greater breadth of capabilities, and for BPO they need to improve on both the depth and breadth of capabilities.

Anupam Govil

President/Partner, Avasense Inc./Avasant LLC

Globally, 2012 will be an interesting year for outsourcing as technological (cloud) and economic disruptions will shape the future of the industry. Gauging by recession-affected market sentiments, most companies are unlikely to tinker with their current outsourcing strategy (new contracts, change service locations, etc). This would in turn limit new expansion opportunities at a global level.

From a Nearshore point of view it will be a crucial year. While many providers have established significant presence in Latin America, the second stage of scaling-up looks challenging. The key reason for this is the lack of depth in service delivery maturity. Many companies in the region are finding it challenging to replicate quality, and lack maturity models as well as training programs that have been one of the successes in other offshore destinations.

It is imperative for the region to develop a strong mechanism to ensure constant flow of trained professionals and educate middle management on business aspects of remote service delivery (IT management, maturity models, IT security, client relationships, etc.). Some of the smarter providers have achieved this by cross-pollinating resources between their Nearshore and offshore locations.

Atul Vashistha

Chairman/CEO, Neo Group

I think the biggest challenge is the ability to show a value proposition beyond cost at scale. While one can show resources in many locations lower in cost than the USA, one needs to show capability at scale that can show better outcomes: quality and/or speed and/or greater ability to collaborate.

In the end, it’s about credibility.

Peter Ryan

Lead Analyst, Ovum

In my view, the single largest disruptor in the coming 12 months will be political/economic instability in the region. The year has not gotten off to a good start with Daniel Ortega hosting political pariahs Hugo Chavez and Iran’s Ahmadinejad in Managua for Ortega’s inauguration . The optics of this are beyond terrible in the US. Couple that with a Mexican election that no one knows how it will turn out in a country that is facing monumental problems around violence and uncertainty around Argentina’s economic direction, it is possible that American firms may look to other regions, or even domestically. for service delivery alternatives.

Dawn Tiura Evans

CEO, Sourcing Interests Group

The biggest challenge with Nearshore as a “destination,” in my opinion, is that it is truly “many destinations” with few overlapping commonalities, laws, and capabilities. My hope is that 2012 is the year of increased awareness of the issues facing Nearshore, resulting in the initiation of more government support for infrastructure, education, and legal reform. Until Nearshore can start converging as a single destination, it is going to struggle to gain the traction that India or China is capable of creating.

Eric Simonson

Managing Partner of Research, Everest Group

Nearshore outsourcing will face continued concerns about its security risk profile, which may be compounded by rhetoric from the US election cycle. The political spin will potentially heighten the criticism of Nearshore/offshore jobs. More fundamentally, we may see the US questioning its objectives and commitment to projecting itself beyond its own borders. Growth in Nearshoring is likely to face headwinds as uncertainty awaits around most corners.

Jeffrey Sheehan

Senior Vice President, Site Selection Group

To be fair when discussing Nearshoring, it should always be a two-part question:

1.Challenges/Concerns

2. Benefits/Opportunities

This may seem like a broken record regarding the challenges/concerns for Nearshoring, but this is what I believe:

To begin, many companies have gone beyond having concerns for Nearshoring and thus removing the challenge for the growth in Nearshoring. With that being said, we clearly are still seeing companies, when we discuss the opportunities of Nearshoring, having concerns in making a decision to be the pioneer as “they” see it, in making a jump to Nearshore. For many companies, countries such as the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Guatemala are seen as making progress in building their base with a skilled workforce and such but still are a ways away from being ideal to some groups. Countries such as Bolivia and Venezuela are very touchy due to the political environment. With that being said, we are currently looking at sites for various clients in several Central American countries. For manufacturing groups, the economic numbers are too compelling, especially in Mexico; supply chain relief, speed to market, NAFTA, cultural affinity. The challenge for Mexico is simply safety. This has been compounded for the worse with the ongoing perception/reality of the violence….this is a HUGE challenge. The business benefits are great but the perception/reality of doing business there is one that needs to be changed; many companies will not take that risk.

Juan Manuel Gonzalez

Research Manager, Argentina Office & Enterprise Communications Industry Manager,

Frost & Sullivan

I think during 2012 the big challenge that Nearshore providers will face is the pressure from clients for consistent achievement of key performance indicators while keeping costs down, along with the ability to measure customer satisfaction and first-call resolution.

By Rosanne D’Ausilio, Ph.D.

The interaction anyone has at any level with your employees, including you, gives a customer an opportunity to make a judgment about you, your company, and all companies like yours. I’m not just talking about call centers here. All technical support or help desk personnel are included as well. As a matter of fact, anyone who is in the customer service business – period.

The preamble to the United States Constitution begins, ‘We, the people…” I feel strongly that we, the people, are what make the difference in life, both personally and professionally. But how does that relate to customer service?

With continued focus on customer satisfaction, customer retention, and lifetime value of the customer, it is no surprise that contact center operations continue to increase in importance as the primary hub of a customer’s experience. For the customer, the person on the other end of the phone is the company. The contact center is still the most common way that customers get in touch with businesses. In fact, Gartner reports 92% of all contact is through the center. And it’s been reported that 70% to 90% of what happens with customers is driven by human nature, having nothing to do with technology. State-of-the-art technology is a necessity today, but it is meant to enable human endeavors, not to disable them.

I often talk about taking customer service and “kicking it up a notch.” In the food industry, the word “lagniappe” is often used. Its definition is “a small present given to a customer with a purchase.” For example, when you go to the bakery and buy a dozen donuts or bagels, you oftentimes get a free one or a baker’s dozen. That’s what customer service should be about: giving the customer more than they expected! Let’s bring lagniappe into the contact center industry.

Customer service is those activities provided by a company’s employees that enhance the ability of a customer to realize the full potential value of a product or service before and after the sale is made, thereby leading to satisfaction and repurchase.

The First W: Why? 

The state of customer service today is not good, be it over the phone or self-service. Because 92% of people feel their call experience is important in shaping the image of a company, this reinforces the importance of centers in branding the image of their companies.

According to a Mobius Management Systems Survey, here’s what happened because of poor customer service:

• 60% cancelled accounts with banks

• 36% changed insurance providers

• 40% changed telephone companies

• 35% changed credit card providers

• 37% changed Internet service providers

Are you one of these statistics? I certainly am.

In a study done by Purdue University and BenchmarkPortal.com, in answer to (1) how did agents satisfy your needs and handle the call?, and (2) based on any negative experience, would you stop using this company in the future?, the findings reveal a strong correlation between the participant’s age and the tendency to stop using the company after a bad experience.

What does this mean? Younger participants were less tolerant and more likely to move to the competition. People over 65 were found to be more demanding than those in middle age.

What can you do? Give younger callers a “wow” experience – maintain their loyalty. People over 36 probably have more of an “emotional bank account” with the company they are dealing with – maybe had some good experience and therefore are more willing to forgive.

70% of Americans are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service – up from 9% last year. But most feel businesses aren’t measuring up. In countries around the world, a majority of consumers are willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent service, with the average amount they are willing to spend ranging from 7% to 22% more.

Average Percentage More Than Consumers Are Willing to Spend

Source: 2011 American Express Global Customer Service Barometer Survey

In a recent study (CRM Magazine/PeopleSoft Webinar on How Usability Helps to Drive a Profitable Contact Center), the number of applications required for agents to access customer inquiries were:

3.7% just 1

81.5% 2 – 5

7.4% 5 – 10

7.4% more than 10

As you can see, the majority of applications are two to five. The goal, of course, is to link every point of contact to one central location for a customer-centric, synchronized approach satisfying customer experiences with every interaction.

Strategies for success for world class service should include:

• Respond promptly

• Handle requests through the customers’ choice of medium

• Be brief and clear

• Reduce back and forth communications (especially in writing, i.e., e-mail; kick it up to a phone call if it goes beyond two messages)

• Personalize the service

• Delight the customer

What does it mean to delight the customer? It means inform and educate them, offer options, and diffuse any anger, if necessary. It also means establishing your expertise and professionalism, and taking ownership of the call.

Remember we’re still on the first W – the Why. Today’s pressures on agents are different than in the past. They are asked to handle more customers, more volume, more complex and/or complicated calls. After all, if we could handle our issues with self-service, we probably would not call. But if we tried self-service and it didn’t work, now we’re upset and it’s an escalated call from the get-go.

Agents are expected to provide more information, do it faster, and be available and accessible. But they are also expected to lower costs, generate revenue, incorporate new technologies, ensure closure and commitment, and deliver great service – yesterday, of course.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has concluded that the causes of death for people under 65 are:

21% – environment – war, accidents, crimes

9% – health care system – doctors, hospitals, medications

17% – human biology – not because of lifestyle

53% – because of the way people choose to live their lives!!!

The good news here is that for more than half of us, it’s about choice. There’s something we can do about it.

Who?

Who needs to be involved in the effort to improve customer service? Front-line agents/representatives, supervisors, team leads, managers, assistant managers, internal customers, and other departments – anyone who is a touch point so that he or she can learn to speak the same language, and more importantly, not be in an adversarial position, but rather feels that together they are serving the external customer or end user.

Where?

Certainly it is most cost effective to have training on site. However, distractions are rampant and the participant remains available to other personnel and to solve problems.

Offsite is more costly. However, there are no distractions, and the participants are unavailable to other departments, their managers, or any issues. I believe there is psychic value in taking people away from their workstations and off-site to acknowledge the tough jobs they have.

What?

The following modules provide a robust, powerful, and succinct training curriculum:

I also suggest university certification to up the ante. The more professionally you treat your employees, the more professionally they will treat your customers.

When?

For new hires, training should occur monthly, continually, consistently, whenever change occurs, when stressors increase, and as needed. Each employee should get a minimum of 24 hours per year of ongoing training, spread out over time for the most absorption. We divide our trainings into two four-hour sessions per day and deliver six days per employee. Therefore, 30 people can participate in the training per day. If there has been no ongoing training, we do four days once a month for four months and then a session three months later, and then another three months later. In this manner, training is customized, in real time, and can address whatever challenges are presented when they occur.

Remember, as it reminds us in the preamble of` the US Constitution, “We, the people,” make the difference.

Rosanne D’Auslio, Ph.D., is President of Human Technologies Global, Inc. Known as “the practical champion of the human,” she is an industrial psychologist, consultant, master trainer, bestselling author, executive coach, and customer service expert.

By Patrick Haller

San Andres, Colombia is a top vacation spot for Colombians and foreigners from around the world. Long-known for its relaxed vibe, coral reefs, snorkeling and similarities to Jamaica (including a vibrant Rasta culture and worshipful love of Bob Marley), it is perhaps one of the last places one would think of to open a contact center. Yet, that is exactly what Barranquilla, Colombia-based Transcom did a year ago.

So, what happens when the high-demands of a 21st century call center are put on the shoulders of a culture that is more familiar with sandals and sunshine than service-levels and client “sat”?

Although English is the first language for the majority of the native population, the creole accent sounds like a sharper version of their Jamaican ancestors, which can make comprehension a bit  challenging.  Despite the fact that the national vocational training institute, SENA, has established call center training and English classes there, and a new $27 million dollar fiber-optic cable connects the island to mainland Colombia, the 22 square mile island of under 100,000 residents, San Andres is very much in a class by itself as it warms up as a niche destination in Latin America outsourcing.

Transcom started a pilot program wherein they hired people from San Andres to work in their Barranquilla office but they soon realized that there was an untapped opportunity on the island and decided to open a center there. The company took a risk and retrofitted existing office space into a 110-seat call center operation to service a transportation client in the US and Canada.

Since the population is dependent mainly on the tourism trade, which is affected many factors such as economics, island-wide illness and perceived security issues, the unemployment rate on San Andres is higher than in mainland Colombia. But this fact didn’t make the recruitment process, or establishment of a new work culture, any easier. Since the center operates 22 hours non-stop, one of the main challenges Transcom encountered was finding people to work the 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. shift. Or to start the day at 4:30 a.m.

Alone on the Island

“We have the only call center on the island, so we are implementing a new culture,” says Lelio Sotomonte, CEO of Transcom. Prospective agents are attracted to the regular employment, fair pay, a career track and a comfortable work environment. The agents also have the chance to interact with other cultures and to improve their English. “I wouldn’t say it was difficult, but we had to make them understand what a call center is,” Sotomonte recounts. San Andres boasts a population of about 60,000 residents and to the surprise of many, sits far closer to Nicaragua’s east coast than it does to Colombia. (Territorial disputes continue today in fact between the two countries regarding Caribbean possessions.)

Instead of just hiring anyone they could, Transcom was –and is– selective about the people they consider. Chief among the qualifications they look for are computer skills, a good work ethic and strong English capabilities. The company currently employs 90 people on San Andres, with the intention of filling all 110 seats. Instead of casting a wide net, Transcom now relies mostly on referrals from existing employees for qualified candidates. Initially, Transcom sent supervisors from their Barranquilla operation to San Andres for four months to help get the operation up and running, and to identify which agents had what it takes to be a good supervisor. Now, all supervisors are chosen from the existing agent’s pool and overall retention is good, according to Sotomonte.

Sotomonte reports that Transcom is considering testing out collections and sales service in order to gauge if the staff can manage multiple campaigns, and eventually add more customers.

Although Sotomonte is optimistic that San Andres can support other small-level call centers, Transcom is the only one currently operating there and investing time, energy and money in order to make their venture a success.

Nearshore Americas made repeated attempts to contact the correct person in charge of the call center training at SENA but there appeared to be some internal confusion as to who that was. Therefore, we are unable to report on the program specifics at this time.

By Luke Bujarski

Given its close proximity to the mainland and ample bilingual workforce, Puerto Rico should stand out as an ideal Nearshore platform for call centers and BPO operators – right? 

Not so fast: Cost arbitrage aside – a lack of coordinated planning around a knowledge economy may have also set Puerto Rico back a long way behind similar Caribbean and Central American (CCA) markets, particularly for knowledge-intensive services. Here, lessons can be drawn from the successes Costa Rica has had in attracting technology-enabled captive operations. And, given the right global market environment, Puerto Rico could see expansion beyond the current 5,000 or so contact center seats. However, with a premium on wages and a solid base of human capital, planning and promotional authorities might be better off looking higher up on the global services value chain.

BPO Market Overview

As a commonwealth of the US, Puerto Ricans are US citizens, which means that this island nation must abide by the same federal minimum wage laws that apply on the mainland. From a pure cost-play perspective, this immediately puts Puerto Rico at a disadvantage to other CCA (and much of the developing world) markets such as the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Belize. However, this has not stopped companies like Atento, American Airlines, AT&T and the US federal government (the IRS and the Social Security Administration) from servicing Puerto Rico’s relatively large domestic market, in addition to utilizing its bilingual and bicultural workforce as a platform to service the Americas.

Research and advisory firm Zagada Markets put the 2011 contact center market in Puerto Rico at approximately 5,500 seats and $110 million in revenues. Where Puerto Rico loses out on wage rates, it gains some ground on telecommunications costs. According to Philip Peters from Zagada, “Puerto Rico has one of the most efficient and lowest-cost communications systems in the Caribbean.”

The country has other strengths which have attracted interest in the contact center industry. Estimates from standardized test scores suggest that nearly a quarter of the total population (approximately four million) is completely fluent in both English and Spanish. Likewise, Puerto Rico has a solid education infrastructure relative to other CCA markets. Universities graduate 30,000 students per year, and literacy rates are comparable to US standards.

A focus on manufacturing and failure to position itself in line with knowledge-enabled services such as network management, applications development, IT consulting and software R&D has, for the most part, left Puerto Rico out of the global services equation

Quick Stats on Puerto Rico’s Economy

- Total Population: 3.99 million

- Major Population Center: San Juan – Population: 2.73 million

- GDP per capita: $19,600

- Currency: US Dollar

- GDP real growth: 2010: -5.8 %; 2009: -3.7 %; 2008: -2.8 %

- Literacy Rate: 94.6 %

- Unemployment: 16.5 %

Competitive as a US Location, but Not Ideally Suited for Global Services

The country transitioned from agriculture into manufacturing during the 1950s in an effort to create jobs for this densely populated island. Known as Operation Bootstrap, the US government invested millions to promote the sector, which eventually moved the manufacturing base to more capital-intensive production in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, machinery and electronics. However, growing global competition continues to strain Puerto Rico’s manufacturing base leaving the latest unemployment rate at 16.5 percent. Additional public sector layoffs are expected as Puerto Rico’s economy struggles to regain its footing from the global financial crisis (see GDP growth above). Construction, retail, and the financial sector have also seen significant job cuts over the last two years.

Likewise, a focus on manufacturing and failure to position itself in line with knowledge-enabled services such as network management, applications development, IT consulting and software R&D has, for the most part, left Puerto Rico out of the global services equation. Furthermore, emerging BPO players in the CCA region including Jamaica, Belize, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras offer cheaper alternatives for contact center operators like Convergys, which recently announced plans to open a 1,000-seat center in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Puerto Rico Could Learn A Lot From Costa Rica

A heavy focus on manufacturing and a lack of strategic planning around IT and knowledge-driven sectors may have permanently set Puerto Rico behind places like Costa Rica. Costa Rica has a similar-sized market in terms of population and education, but continues to attract technology services operations from companies like IBM and Dell, as well as niche design and digital marketing firms like Possible Worldwide, which currently staffs over two hundred programmers and application developers in their offices in San Juan. Costa Rica has remained competitive in this space despite a relatively small labor pool and rising wages. And when asked whether there is a shortage of IT talent, Possible Worldwide Country Director Yvette Pascua explained quite the contrary. “Many of our most talented designers had previously worked for the big technology companies and come to us trained with a solid knowledge base in IT.”

Costa Rica has managed to create this ecosystem and institutional base around IT services, despite high wages compared to other CCA countries. But developing a culture and infrastructure for IT services takes time, and with a historic commitment to education by the government and investment promotion agencies like CINDE, Costa Rica has steadily built a reputation as a center of excellence in IT-enabled services.

Dating back to 1948 and Operation Bootstrap, Puerto Rico continues to focus its efforts on attracting manufacturing firms, particularly in the pharmaceuticals space – although one would not know it from looking at the country’s premier economic development agency website. Furniture, textiles, and needlework are among the handful of sectors targeted for growth by the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO). Ultimately, a stronger long-term vision and coordination at the national level will be needed to pitch global service providers on Puerto Rico and this country’s relatively strong base of human capital. “While the numbers [graduation rates] may be strong, the outcomes have not produced many local firms or have attracted the kind of attention Costa Rica has,” explained Peters from Zagada.

External Factors Will Likely Decide Puerto Rico’s Fate

The future of Puerto Rico’s place in the global services sector will depend heavily on what happens outside its borders. The upcoming 2012 election in the United States has some worried about legislative action set to discourage offshore outsourcing outright, via tax reforms pitted against firms that choose to offshore. While unlikely, this scenario could be a boon for Puerto Rico in the outsourcing space, given its commonwealth status and marginal cost competitiveness over markets on the mainland.

And while Puerto Rico continues to be at a cost disadvantage to other CCA markets, the wage gap could close faster than expected. Unscrupulous contact center operators in countries like Guatemala and Jamaica have been notorious for artificially inflating wage rates in their attempts to maximize short-term profits. If wages continue to go up in these markets, it could make Puerto Rico’s generous tax breaks and duty-free access to the US market much more attractive to multinationals.

Source: Computer World UK

Call centre offshoring comes under bipartisan attack in Congress – Law would penalise companies that move call centres overseas

Four US lawmakers (three Democrats and one Republican) have teamed up to attack call centre outsourcing by introducing a bill that would penalise any company that moves a call centre overseas.

The bill would make any company that moves a call centre offshore ineligible for any federal grants or loans. It would require the US Labour Department to maintain a list of employers who relocate a call centre overseas and force companies to provide at least 120 days’ notice before doing so.

It would also require a call centre worker to disclose his or hers location at the beginning of the call, if the caller request it.

The US Call Centre and Consumer Protection Act (HR 3596), was introduced by US Representative Timothy Bishop and announced at news conference that included representatives of the Communication Workers of America. The measure’s co-sponsors include David McKinley, Gene Green, and Michael Michaud.

“Outsourcing, in my view, is one of the scourges of our economy, and one of the reasons we are struggling so to knock down the unemployment rate,” said Bishop. He said there are 4.7 million call center employees today, while in 2006 there were 5.3 million.

Broadband Helps Local Call Centres

In August, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said that broadband deployments are boosting call centre industry employment. He claimed that an average of 4,000 call centre jobs are being created each month.

Alpine Access, a Denver-based call centre provider with a work-from-home business model, has 5,000 agents working in 41 states and said it has added 1,000 since August. It also has agents in Canada, who serve that market.

Christopher Carrington, president and CEO of Alpine, said that 70 percent of his company’s growth over the past three years is the result of companies moving call center work back to the US. “There is definitely a trend of jobs returning [from] offshore back to onshore,” said Carrington. “In reality, without legislation the momentum of the market is already leaning that way.”

Carrington said the move of call center jobs back to the US is largely being driven by consumers.

“The American consumer has become increasingly frustrated with their confidential information being handled outside the United States, and with the difficulty of some phone calls that are handled internationally,” said Carrington, who believes consumers are taking their business to companies that are able to serve them domestically. “You can legislate things, but at end of the day the consumer is the real decision maker as to how companies I think will create their own policies.”

Could Cloud Centres in the Cloud Help?

Carrington expects his company to be near £70.4 million ($110 million) in revenue this year and anticipates 50 percent growth next year.

Bills to discourage call centre outsourcing have been tried before with little success. For instance, last year US Senator Chuck Schumer, pitched the idea of charging a 25-cent excise tax on any customer call that originates domestically but is transferred to an agent in a foreign location.

Frederik Cote, the president of Kunnect, a company that uses Amazon Web services to provide a cloud-based hosted call centre, supports Bishop’s legislation. Cote said that about 90 percent of his clients are in the US.

“A lot of people wrote off the call centre industry many years ago,” said Cote, adding, “I’m happy to see the call centre business is a thriving business, it is still truly an American business.

“I’m happy to see that we’re contemplating laws to protect that,” said Cote.

By K. Dominic McKenzie 

Jamaica’s BPO sector will receive an employment boost of up to 1,000 people when Convergys, one of the world’s contact center players fully staffs its new  Montego Bay operations in 2012. In a speech  this week, Dr. Christopher Tufton, Jamaican Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, said that Convergys will offer jobs for Jamaicans who are leaving secondary and tertiary education institutions. Jamaica currently has about 30 players in the local BPO industry – and the arrival of Convergys couldn’t have come at a better time, as Jamaica looks to accelerate ICT activity.

From left: Patrick Casserly, ICT ambassador/special envoy in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC); Sancia Bennett Templer, President of JAMPRO; Dr. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce; and Phillip Gore, Chairman of the JAMPRO Board, examine documentation on Convergys Corporation at a press briefing held at JAMPRO on December 7.

According to Minister Tufton, Convergys has cited Jamaica as an ideal location for BPO providers supporting clients in the US, Europe and neighboring Caribbean countries because of the similar time zones which varies from zero to three hours for North America, and from five to six hours for Europe.  Montego Bay is known worldwide as a top tourist destination and there is a strong customer service orientation in the second city and Western Jamaica. Convergys executives have also expressed confidence in the large educated English-speaking workforce, cultural and physical proximity to the US and Europe and the government’s commitment to ongoing investments in its educational, communications, transportation and facilities infrastructure.

The HEART Trust NTA, a local skills training agency and JAMPRO, the nation’s investment organization, collaborated to make the establishing process convenient to the newcomers in the Jamaican ICT sector. Minister Tufton also alluded to the allocation of funds by the HEART Trust, to support the provision of dedicated recruitment training programs for Convergys, as they seek to identify possible employees.

Research on Jamaica’s ICT sector has revealed that the country’s world-class and robust telecoms infrastructure ranks among the most developed in the world when compared to the US and UK. Jamaica has the highest teledensity rate in the entire Latin America and Caribbean region, while mobile penetration exceeds the rest of the Caribbean and rivals many developed nations in the world at over 109%. Multiple mobile service providers offer 3G, 4G, WiMax and international roaming capabilities.

The presence of three broadband carriers ensures triple redundancy and 99.99% up-time on broadband services. Jamaica has seamless connectivity to North America, Latin America and the Caribbean via three parallel fiber routes to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic. There is also a complete fiber ring around Jamaica.

Convergys brings to Jamaica over 30 years of experience in the BPO industry and promises to affect the lives of millions of Jamaicans, both at home and in the diaspora.

Also in attendance at the early morning press conference at JAMPRO headquarters was Mr. Phillip Gore, Chairman of JAMPRO, Mrs. Sancia Bennett Templer, President of JAMPRO and Dr. Carolyn Hayle, Executive Director of HEART/NTA.

– Company will provide employment for nearly 1,000 when fully staffed –

Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG), one of the largest agent-assisted customer service companies in the world, and the Jamaican Government announced today plans to open the first Convergys Jamaican contact center. The center will be located in Montego Bay, and will employ nearly 1,000 people when fully staffed in 2012.

The Jamaican government strongly supports its BPO industry as part of its economic growth plans, and Montego Bay is the country’s hub for BPO providers, where most of Jamaica’s 30-plus BPO companies currently operate.

“We are very pleased to welcome Convergys to Jamaica,” notes Dr. Christopher Tufton, Jamaica’s Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce. “Known worldwide for providing multinational companies with highly effective and reliable customer management services and solutions, Convergys offers Jamaicans new employment and career opportunities in an industry with a bright future in Jamaica. Moreover, more jobs for Jamaicans positively affect the local economy, which in turn produces spin-off benefits for even more Jamaicans and their families.”

“We are delighted to be opening our first contact center in Jamaica,” says Andrea Ayers, president and chief operating officer of Convergys’ Customer Management business. “We believe this center will benefit not only Jamaicans with attractive jobs, but also our clients with a new option for near-shore, agent-assisted English-speaking customer service, including traditional phone, email, and chat support.”

Jamaica is the third largest Caribbean island with the largest English speaking population in the region. It is considered an ideal location for BPO providers supporting clients in the United States, Europe, and other neighboring Caribbean countries because of the similar time zones. The time zone varies from zero to three hours for North America and from five to six hours for Europe.

In addition, Montego Bay is a top tourist destination and its residents have a strong customer service orientation from supporting the tourism industry there. About 650,000 people reside in the greater Montego Bay area.

“We are confident that Jamaica will be an excellent addition to our world-class global operating network of contact centers,” explains Helena Lawson Brooks, senior vice president in charge of new site selections for Convergys’ Customer Management business. “Jamaica brings a large educated English-speaking workforce of high school and college graduates, cultural and physical proximity to the United States and Europe, and a government that is committed to ongoing investments in its educational, communications, transportation, and facilities infrastructure. These factors, among others, help ensure the ongoing success of a new site and future expansion.”

Convergys has been helping companies optimize the value of their customer relationships for over 30 years. Its industry-leading agent-assisted services and customer interaction technologies take advantage of this experience to provide solutions that balance customer satisfaction with cost effectiveness