The Contact Center Association of the Philippines expressed confidence the information technology-business process management sector would break investment, employment and output records in line with the 2028 industry roadmap despite the challenge posed by artificial intelligence on local jobs.
CCAP managing director Rosario Cajucom-Bradbury said the contact center industry was expected to account for additional 2.3 million of the 2.5 million employment target of the entire IT-BPM industry by 2028.
“We are confident that the target employment figure will be achieved even with the emergence of generative AI [artificial intelligence],” Cajucom-Bradbury said at the CCAP Contact Islands 2023 in Cebu City.
“Contrary to common assumptions, our group believes that the new technology will bolster the sector’s productivity instead of threaten jobs. Generative AI can enhance the strengths of our Filipino agents who can then focus on active listening and become more empathetic and engaging when rendering service to our customers,” she said.
She said Filipino agents were continuously being upskilled to equip them with the right knowledge and skills amid the evolving nature of jobs across the sector and the industry.
CCAP, however, underscored challenges in operating under the new normal. In 2022, the Department of Trade and Industry allowed the transfer of registration of industry firms from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority to the Board of Investments to allow 100-percent work-from-home arrangements.
“The hybrid business model is becoming popular within the IT-BPM industry. But it is a constantly changing setup. At the end of the day, the working setup will still depend on clientele preferences. Some clients are fine with the work-from-home setup of agents, while others require working at the office to ensure confidentiality and data privacy. There’s room for flexibility,” she said.
Another issue the sector is facing is the wage increase, which some analysts see as a pending threat to the industry’s cost-effective advantage. The group said labor cost is one of the many factors that clients look at when signing up for contact center or BPO services across the globe.
“The Philippines is no longer just a labor arbitrage. Clients look at the quality of experience and work that are rendered. Customer experience covers the quality of care and assistance delivered. Thus, Filipino agents always stand out. They are outstandingly customer-centric. Their empathy enables them to go the extra mile when serving customers. This is why the Philippines has always been the heart of CX [customer experience],” she said.
The IT-BPM industry, particularly the contact center sector, aims to help decongest Metro Manila and bring equally and promising opportunities to agents in key digital cities nationwide.
The DICT identified 31 digital cities across the country that contact center firms are eyeing for their next investments. Based on a survey among CCAP-member companies, Metro Cavite tops the list of areas for nationwide expansion.
Also in the list are Metro Rizal, Puerto Princesa, Batangas, Iloilo, Calamba, General Santos City, Tarlac, Zamboanga, Dagupan, Cagayan de Oro and others. Cebu and Davao are still among the favorites.
CCAP’s annual Contact Islands Conference runs from July 26 to 28, 2023 at Dusit Thani Mactan in Lapu-Lapu City.