The Jamaica Investment Forum – held last week in Montego Bay – was easily one of the most polished and well-executed investor’s conferences we’ve seen in a while in the Nearshore industry. Built to highlight a range of investment opportunities, including energy, tourism, manufacturing and BPO – Jamaica put its best foot forward by highlighting the positive. “We have to work with the hand we’ve been dealt,” said Prime Minster Portia Simpson-Miller, emphasizing her desire to boost the country’s competitiveness. Over 600 investors participated in the three-day program. Click “more” to see our slideshow.

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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.

[caption id=”attachment_16600″ align=”alignright” width=”300″ caption=”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 …

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– 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 …

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NSAM Staff Report

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was joined by Dr. Diego Molano, Minister of Information Technologies and Communications, Convergys Senior Vice President of Operations Christine Timmins Barry and other dignitaries to officially welcome Convergys to the Colombian capital, Bogota, at a special dedication conference yesterday.

The Bogota center began operating in January 2011 and employs 850 bilingual agents who service incoming calls for an international telecommunications client by phone, web-chat, SMS and email. Convergys plans to increase the number of staff to 1,000 by the end of the year, and eventually reach 5,000 positions, and expand the offering to include customer service, technical support, help desk, back office, and IVR support to a diverse portfolio of Convergys clients and their customers.

“The opening of this facility in Bogota demonstrates Convergys’ commitment to Colombia and to our employees here for the outstanding work they perform every day,” said Timmins Barry. …

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By Eric Simonson, Everest Group

I often hear organizations wanting to attain benefits but with a desire to “minimize” risk. Understandable, but what they don’t realize at the outset is that this is a limiting mindset, particularly when most also agree they prefer sustained benefits. My preferred definition of global sourcing is “attaining a different profile of benefits from successfully managing a different profile of risk.”

Instead of trying to follow what has already been proven “safe,” the innovators in global sourcing are intentional about what risks their organizations can take and successfully manage in order to achieve the desired benefits. These risks may be in overcoming infrastructure disadvantages, creating delivery models that can withstand more variability, or choosing to cultivate an underutilized talent pool.

The single largest and most enduring challenge in global services is getting the right talent. …

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Contact centers can embrace social media to get closer to customers, spot trends, and create customer advocates

By Patrick Haller

Social media is finding its way into the contact center ecosystem at a rapid rate. Operators are integrating social media methodologies into daily processes, and tech-savvy customers are indicating that they prefer alternate methods of contact to phone-based customer service.

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By Patrick Haller

The devaluation of the U.S. dollar, staff poaching and negative perceptions converge to create a strained environment for contact center operations in Nova Scotia, Canada. Despite these and other challenges, there are many positive things that keep this sector alive and make the province an attractive place to do business.

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On the Ground at the IAOP LatAm Summit: Our Top Seven Take Aways

Beautiful Cartagena has been the setting this week for a very lively IAOP Summit, hosted by the Colombia chamber of IT and BPO companies, ANDI. Over 400 delegates from about 15 countries have shown up – there is a well orchestrated mix of academic/thought leadership along with spirited, Colombian-style networking. There is little question that this summit is another significant breakthrough for an industry that continues to attract a wider audience, generate more credibility and provide opportunities for more introspection on how to maintain industry sustainability.

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Source: Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) – As technology giants and private equity firms look for potential acquisition targets, customer relationship company Convergys Corp (CVG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) may spark renewed interest, several sources familiar with the situation said.

Shares of Convergys rose as high as 3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, before ending up 1.75 percent at $14.53 per share.

Convergys, which provides outsourced customer care and billing in places like India and the Philippines, reviewed strategic alternatives last summer, including the possible sale of the company or of certain assets, one of the sources said.

No deal happened because prospective bidders offered prices that fell short of the board’s expectations amid concern about the dynamics of the industry, which has been in flux over the last few years due to declining demand for …

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Convergys Corporation (NYSE: CVG), a global leader in relationship management, announces its expansion into Colombia with a state-of-the-art contact center that will provide top quality customer care services for leading corporations in the Americas. The new facility in Bogotá will bolster Convergys’ presence in Latin America, where the company already has offices and contact center facilities in Brazil, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

Known as the “Athens of South America” because of the number of top-notch colleges and universities located in the city, Bogotá impressed Convergys with its large bilingual talent pool and advanced telecommunications and transportation infrastructure. Choosing the location for its latest foray into Latin America, Convergys has outfitted a facility located in one of Bogotá’s top commercial areas with the latest tools in contact center technology. Convergys is hiring for all levels of talent, including management, support staff and skilled contact center agents to …

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