By Luke Bujarski

Martinez: More than just a job.

The contact center industry in the Dominican Republic is poised to double in size from 10,000 to 20,000 bilingual agents by 2017. This is the message passed on by Eddy Martinez, president of the export and foreign investment agency CEI-RD, as well as key industry insiders during detailed discussions with Nearshore Americas. However, concerns about the availability of high-tech talent suggests that the DR still has some way to go before moving into higher-end software and application development services.

The country’s upcoming presidential election could also stall industry growth in 2012, as politically appointed administrative officials are hampered and rotated during the campaign season. Wages and total costs have remained stable over the last five years with Internet costs falling and a devalued peso against the dollar, but operators continue to express frustration over high energy costs and stringent labor laws unbefitting contact center operations.

NSAM: What is your five-year plan and vision for BPO and IT services in the DR?

Martinez: The contact center industry has been a major part of the country’s strategy for economic growth and now employs over 25,000 people. Looking outward, we have an opportunity to grow the industry both in scale and service-level maturity. One main reason is because we have good physical infrastructure, submarine cables, access points; we have among the best telecoms infrastructure in Latin America. The objective is to grow as fast as possible but with a managed growth strategy.

Insiders: There’s still a lot of potential for growth in the DR. The 25,000 agent figure includes the local market and government employees. For commercial bilingual accounts the total number is more like 10,000 agents. The market can grow to 20,000, but that’s where we hit capacity given the current landscape. Being able to ramp up on campaigns is an advantage in the DR compared to other Central American and Caribbean markets. In fact, much of the work coming into the Dominican Republic is from the Philippines and Manila, where the industry has hit a saturation point. Santo Domingo is the hub for CRM services but Santiago is also an option with around 500,000 people and an affluent, bilingual workforce.

NSAM: What has the government done to strengthen the local workforce, particularly in the area of language training and IT skills?

Martinez: The number one constraint has been the availability of talent, particularly bilingual training. In response, we’ve initiated a national program of English immersion incorporating public and private universities with IT and English language training. In the last three years we’ve graduated and certified 31,000 students. We also recently held a job fair specifically for the BPO industry with a turnout of over 9,500 attendees – and in the case of bilingual students – 30 percent of participants submitted their applications in English. Contact center jobs are good paying jobs here, compared to other employment opportunities. In our programs we also stress the BPO industry as more than just a job, but as a career option.

Insiders: The government-run training program that started three to four years ago is extensive but you can only learn so much in the classroom. The real pool of English-speaking talent comes from middle class families that send their children to bilingual schools. There are also a lot of expatriates returning from the US, particularly from New York. In the industry we’ve also seen chat support growing a lot, which doesn’t require as refined spoken English, only reading and writing. Finding experienced IT people in the DR is definitely a challenge. Higher education is affordable, but the quality is poor producing mediocre students. Programming talent is even harder to come by; skilled programmers with any .NET experience often take jobs in other sectors. The Cyber Park of Santo Domingo has been an ambitious project but it has proved difficult to pull in the right talent, primarily because of its location far away from the city center. They do have the CISCO Institute which graduates 30-45 certified engineers per year. France Telecom and RIM are also hosting some IT technology innovation at the Cyber Park developing new applications for the mobile industry. Big opportunities are in CRM, BPO, and tech support. Our clients are happy with tech support. In the DR most are proficient at basic computing.

NSAM: How friendly is the overall business environment for contact centers and IT services firms?

Martinez: Tax zones were traditionally available only to manufacturing and assembly. Now contact centers and IT companies qualify under the Zona Franca Especial, which offers tax advantages and works as a floating trade zone that can be applied irrespective of location. The maturity of our political leadership has also helped. When we started this whole drive for BPO there was a lot of skepticism. Now the two main political parties have pledged support. Larger companies and IT-related services are now on the radar. We’ve been successful in attracting the big contact centers and believe that companies like HP, IBM, and Microsoft could also benefit from our workforce and business environment.

Insiders: The biggest obstacles to the contact center industry here are antiquated labor laws and electricity costs. The Zona Franca regime helps with an exemption from the national profit sharing tax that obligates companies to share 10 percent of company profits across the organization. However, there is still a lot of gray area in the labor laws that are incompatible with call center operators. We’re a 24/7 business and Sundays are double pay, for example. There is also a lack of night time pay differential and reasons for termination are narrowly defined, making things like inappropriate behavior and low performance scores very difficult to prove under the current system. Electricity costs are also quite high. There is a 20 percent discount incentive available, but contact center operators do not meet the five-megawatt usage requirement. At the same time, internet costs have gone down considerably over the last five years – by almost 50 percent. Also, the DR Peso has declined in value relative to the dollar by about 10 percent over the past five years.

NSAM: How will the upcoming presidential election affect efforts to promote and support the BPO industry?

Martinez: We understand that attracting the big players requires a high level of coordination with us [CEI-RD], local governments, the university system and other players. We do believe that the DR offers political stability compared to other countries in the region. Our judicial system has become more institutionalized and our democracy works. The support from our political leadership has helped. On August 1-3 we will be hosting our annual conference (TecDo) intended to let investors know what the DR has to offer, but also to inform the local government and communities of the progress we’ve been making in this industry.

Insiders: The political process is stable and legitimate with Presidential elections held every four years. The major problem is that the campaign season brings most of the local and national administrative functions to a complete stop. Most government jobs in the DR are politically appointed positions so there’s high turnover within administrative roles. This makes it very difficult to process required documentation and applications during election season. We’re opening another call center in Santo Domingo and are rushing to get all of the required paperwork in before elections get underway. Regarding the BPO industry specifically, each contact center must acquire a license from the state-regulated telephone company. This could prove to be a powerful tool in developing a sustained growth strategy for the industry if things heat up, but there is about a 1 percent chance that the government would actual implement such a measure.

Teleperformance - one of the most acquisitive Contact Center and BPO providers in the Nearshore region during the last few years – has some big plans in store for the Dominican Republic. The plans are so big, in fact, that the company doesn’t want to talk about them quite yet. In the meantime, Nearshore Americas can start to paint the picture for you. Read on to hear the details.

The France-based global outsourcing giant, and largest of its kind in the world, is targeting the opening of a new contact center operation later this year in the Dominican Republic where as many as 1,000 agents will be placed, according to sources. Apparently the company has already held several job fairs in the country in part to establish full confidence that enough new recruits can meet the provider’s human capital requirements.

At least for now, Teleperformance is not saying much about the plans. “We’re not commenting at this point,” Elizabeth Gordon, spokesperson for Teleperformance said in an email message to Nearshore Americas.

Teleperformance already has a modest operation in the Dominican Republic and also is active in Jamaica, through its Alliance One relationship. The provider as a total of 22 Nearshore operations and – like its competitors Sitel and Convergys – continues to seek out new locations and acquisition targets.

If the expansion goes ahead as planned, this would be another significant shot in the arm for the Dominican Republic’s contact center industry which continues to emerge as a top tier choice among Caribbean call center destinations.

Although Teleperformance’s expansion in the DR is not through acquisition, there are repeated rumors in the Nearshore industry of further consolidation.

As always we welcome your comments and feedback.

By Karina Cuevas

Despite claims that the tourism industry has the hottest career prospects for smart young college grads in the DR, the call center/BPO industry has risen to become the top career choice for many of these individuals.

Like so many countries in the Caribbean/ Latin America region (CALA), the Dominican Republic has a robust and growing tourism sector. Just like global services, tourism requires skilled talent and a steady stream of new recruits. Many skeptics have claimed that the Caribbean islands will never be able to rise to become real BPO powerhouses because there will always be alternative career paths in tourism. Is this true?

Jamaica, Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada all have active call center/ BPO operations. (Of course, we hope someday to include Cuba on this list.) The natural question is: How much does the country’s call center industry have to fight over talent with the tourism industry? Read on to find the answer.

Tourism in the Dominican Republic has been one of the top industries for several decades but it only caters to a specific personnel type. While the call center industry boasts a variety of career backgrounds. “In tourism, they are looking for people that have studied hotel management,” said Jean Luis Caamaño, president of the Contact Center Association of the Dominican Republic. “For the call center industry that caters to the United States, we focus on current students in universities with any types of careers that are bilingual.”

“The DR has the largest concentration of US certified personnel in the entire region, way above Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua” – Jean Luis Caamaño, president of the Contact Center Association of the DR

Employees in tourism usually have set skills that are valuable when dealing with foreigners and one-on-one interactions and they must also live close to their workplace and know the surrounding areas well. In the call center industry, they search for personnel equipped with computer skills and comfortable within an office environment, since most of their work is done behind a desk.

“They [potential employees] see it as a lot of prestige in the call center,” said Caamaño. “They earn more than regular administrative assistants in a corporation, earning a lot more that in the tourism industry. The jobs pay so well that we don’t have a problem looking for people.”

Call Center employees are paid in dollar amounts and get several incentives throughout the year. This results in a comparatively low level of attrition. From perfect attendance incentives to reimbursing some percentage of university credits aside from their base salary, call centers have several techniques to attract quality talent.

Gaining Ground

By presenting itself as an attractive employment option, the call center/BPO market is gaining ground on tourism. The hotel management sector is also tapping local call centers to help with some functions. According to Caamaño, some hotel chains have even built their own call center departments within their facilities for better management and efficiency. But that hasn’t minimized the workload in other call centers, since many resorts have decided to compliment their business in order for a clearer and better definition of roles.

Call Centers in the DR have a unique advantage that they are situated in a small country, therefore facilitating opportunities for growth to their employees through trainings, workshops and accreditations.

“The DR the largest concentration of US certified personnel in the entire region, way above Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua,” said Caamaño.  The fact that we have been able to give them access to US certifications and workshops, they have the possibility of becoming supervisors.”

Depending on where you are in the country, competition for talent with the tourism industry is almost non-existent.

“In Santiago, the closest tourist destination is an hour and a half away from us,” said Alkany Peña, Client Services Manager for UNO Nearshore Operations. We tend to attract more employees from universities with either medicine or IT background.”

Career development and education seem to be the key for UNO to entice prospective employees.

According to Peña, because of the global economic crisis, the hotel industry has lost clients which means downsizing their personnel. “The attrition [rate] has been stable and that is an added value to our clients,” said Peña. “I myself started as an industrial engineer and have been in the call center industry for ten years. That is why we try to present to the people the benefits and in turn make the DR a good location for clients to outsource.”

By Karina Cuevas

A large part of the Dominican Republic call center industry has stepped up in a wide variety of ways to help alleviate the terrible suffering in Haiti.

Many of the institutions began collecting monetary donations internally through their employees, while others have obtained in-kind goods to deliver in Haiti. “Right after the earthquake, a high sense of corporate responsibility kicked in,” said Kemil Carbuccia, Sales and Marketing Manager for Nearshore Call Center Services. We always try to contribute because there is a willingness to help the people in need.”

Nearshore Call Center Services has already made three trips to the devastated nation and is planning on a fourth one within the next two weeks. Employees have delivered medicine, food and clothing to various sectors in Haiti and despite their well intentioned efforts; it does not seem like enough.

“At the beginning it was traffic and logistics [that made it difficult to get to Haiti],” said Carbuccia. Everyone wants to help, but it’s hard to organize and try to get everyone what they need.”

A client company of Nearshore is providing space for storage and thanks to contacts in Haiti; the goods are being delivered from one community to another in a somewhat efficient manner despite the lack of security engulfing the country.

Nightime More Desperate

“We have a structured plan, but it’s hard especially after 5 pm,” said Carbuccia. Most of the city does not have electricity and you’re driving blind. It’s a desperate situation and you want to continue to help, but you also want to be safe.”

In their recent trips to Haiti, Nearshore has taken a truck and two SUV’s full of non-perishable goods and medicine. With a team of ten employees and a Haitian guide, they have somewhat successfully delivered the donations, but find that the lack of visible help from the international community is hurting relief efforts.

“We saw UN and US trucks and they were only driving around the city, no interaction at all, nothing like stopping and soldiers coming out of trucks. There’s no organized effort from these organizations,” said Carbuccia. When you got to the hospital, doctors from Brazil, Canada, and Japan had some sense of organization. The American Red Cross did help people, but when you see the news and see the amount of people providing help you don’t see them driving around, I can guarantee that 100 percent.”

On the other hand, Stream, one of the main call centers in DR has been providing help in a more indirect manner through the DR Civil Defense. Corporate headquarters have opened a US$5,000 account for employees to make donations. With it they have bought over 10,000 bottles of water, thousands cans of food and medication to be taken to Haiti. Current amount in the account is undisclosed.

“This is a non stop job and we are working with five organizations to make sure all the people are receiving our aid,” said Emma Castro, Site Administrator for Stream. This is globally and our director in HR had a meeting with managers and decided how things were going to get done.”

Ongoing Commitment

Stream is designing more ways to provide help to the neighboring Haiti and in the meantime does not neglect its domestic efforts in the DR with Extreme Balance, a community based initiative that helps out in different capacities various sectors of the country.

“We have different ways to help out community, children and seniors through Extreme Balance,” said Castro. This isn’t the first time we provide humanitarian help.”

Another provider, STI Customer Care, decided to collect food, water and clothing plus US$7,000 for the family of one Haitian employee who lost some relatives in the earthquake.

“One of two of our employees traveled to Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake, one of them went as a volunteer [we gave him a 30-day leave of absence since he’s will stay there until further notice],” said Mary Padilla, Call Center Manager for STI Customer Care. A Haitian national traveled with him to find out about her family in Port-au-Prince. She found her family alive on the Jimani border, but some distant relatives had died under the rubble.”

They have also participated in a blood donation drive organized by the American Red Cross for victims in Haiti.

By Karina E. Cuevas

The Dominican Republic continues to hold the title of the Caribbean’s call center champion, edging out rival Jamaica and earning continuing praise from major in-country providers. With over 65 call centers, it is the second industry in growth after tourism, generating 40 percent of revenue for the overall DR economy. The call center industry has created around 22,000 direct jobs and there are hopes that as many as 100,000 new jobs will be added in the next five years.

Rodolfo Salazar, America’s Marketing Director for Stream, says the DR is a key part of Stream's Nearshore services strategy

In 2008, $7.2 million was driven from services exports and the country attracted $2.8 million in investments.

An Affinity Play
“Our affinity with the United States of America as well as location and telecommunication infrastructure are benefits aside from the low costs for the industry,” says Veronica Ogando, Investment Promotions Specialist for CEI-RD.
CEI-RD helps facilitate tax exempt status for providers, whether or not they are in an industrial park. The National Free Zone Council backs that proposal providing call center businesses access to the benefits of free trade zones, although this does not apply to the textile or manufacturing industries within the zones.

One of the main features that the DR call center industry counts on is the variety of languages available within the country. Its inhabitants have knowledge of Portuguese, French, English and Italian aside from Spanish. Companies like Stream, which happens to be the top provider in the country, credits cultural affinity as a key feature of the DR’s services industry.

“In the Dominican Republic, we credit not only the exceptional quality of the country’s English-speaking talent base, but also its cultural affinity for the U.S., and highly skilled, educated workforce,” says Rodolfo Salazar, America’s Marketing Director for Stream Global Services.

A Streaming Success
Although countries like the Philippines, Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala, Venezuela and Colombia are the current competition for the DR, geographical positioning continue to be a primary asset. Stream credits it success with its 80 global clients to the proximity of DR to North America, thus enabling clients to travel to DR sites in a minimum amount of time, addressing any business ventures in one day, if needed.

Another company that is benefiting from the advantages of the free trade zones in the DR is Provitel, a growing and relatively new call center company located in DR’s capital Santo Domingo. With a client base of various Fortune 1000 companies, Provitel sites the neutrality of the government and its low investment costs as key factors for doing business in the DR.

“Because of the saturation of the markets in Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico it has afforded us an increase in cost and efficiency within DR,” says Ramon Rojas, COO for Provitel. But because there are not enough call centers in the country for the market, there is truly no client competition, but yes a competition of resources and we have ideal human resources.”

“Washington Mutual cited safety as their number one concern in their decision not to relocate to the DR…We have found that when US companies see cities like Bogota, Panama City, Managua or even San Jose, they have a greater comfort level” – Doug Meyer, DRCCA

Necessary Feedback
Despite all the positive feedback some of the main outsourcing companies are receiving, it doesn’t seem to satisfy the Dominican Republic Call Center Association (DRCCA) expectations of what the government needs to apply to make it a better business venture.

According to Doug Meyer from DRCCA, the DR is riddled with difficult labor laws that have pushed mid –to-large call center companies to leave the country. After 90 days, some companies have placed high worker severances to let go of low performing employees, thus creating a lax work environment and poor performance.

Stream Global Services: Global company in 19 different countries in the world

• 34 Global Centers
• 20 percent of clients are global companies
• 17,000 employees worldwide.
• 33 Languages Worldwide
• Largest Multinational Company in the outsourcing business
• 35 percent of clients are in the telecommunications, technology and consumer electronics business

Stream Santo Domingo

• 3 Contact Centers in the city
• 2,000 Employees Total
• Services (English/Spanish
• Largest Call Center provider in the country

Another negative factor that many companies see when looking at the DR as a potential business platform is their placement in hurricane path which in turn becomes a liability when phone lines and streets are flooded, making it difficult for workers to get to their jobs.

The issue of scale, which is an issue that pops out around the globe in the context of developing offshore service centers, certainly has to be considered when working in the DR. According to the Caribbean Contact Center Report (2008-2010) published by Zagada Research, few centers have scaled their operations beyond 1,500 full-time agents.

Wages Remain Stable

Another factor working in the DR’s favor is the fact that wages have not spiked. “When compared with Continental Nearshore Latin American markets, India and the Philippines, wage inflation has been rising at a relatively slower rate. This is particularly true in the Dominican Republic,” the report states.

But the number one concern for many investors is safety. Although the local government has made many strides in reducing crime, it still is a major issue for companies and presents a huge loss in the investment sector.

According to the CIA World Factbook, the DR is an illicit drug transition point for South American narcotic traffickers. As well as being a key spot for human trafficking –children, men and women- over to Europe.

There are no current stable statistics on petty theft, pick pocketing, burglary or homicide in the DR since many don’t get filed within the judicial system, but crime rate is an often worry due to its steady increase yearly.

“Washington Mutual cited this as their number one concern in their decision not to relocate to the DR.” says Meyer. We have found that when US companies see cities like Bogota, Panama City, Managua or even San Jose, they have a greater comfort level.”

Despite the safety issues, the DR is current in an “ideal stage of growth for venture capital” according to Zagada. “Consolidation of leading small firms with several hundred agents into one or two leading indigenous brands could portend well for the market, given the limitation in scale and availability in excess seating capacity.”

The DR is the seventh largest trading partner with the U.S. in the Western Hemisphere and the fifth for Florida. There is little question that if country gets tougher on crime, the upside is very bright.

Karina E. Cuevas is a contributing writer to Caribbean CRM Central. She is based in the Dominican Republic and can be reached at: kecuevas@gmail.com