OUTSOURCING IN THE PHILIPPINES
The rise of Philippine outsourcing companies is undeniably overwhelming. With the economy among other countries not doing so good, they are left with no choice but to implement cost-cutting. When business owners from Australia and those from the Western countries learned about outsourcing, they immediately tried this approach. They were surprised when they realized that this method can help them save more money and time.
Outsourcing is delegating, transferring or shifting portions of a company’s business processes to an external business provider. It means a business or a company is acquiring a product or service instead of producing it for themselves. It can also mean contracting services from another part of the world, taking advantage of various geo-economic benefits.
The Philippines is one of the top choices when it comes to outsourcing. In fact, the country claims a significant share of the $150 billion BPO industry.
Filipinos are known to have an excellent level of English proficiency. With around 100 million inhabitants, approximately 94% have great literacy skills. This amazing discovery made Philippines the third largest English-speaking country globally. Another discovery regarding this country is that about 400,000 graduates are produced every year; hence, this large number of English-speaking professionals is also a great contribution to the foreigners.
By outsourcing to the Philippines, BPO companies benefit by taking advantage of the difference in currencies or “buying power�. Let us take American dollar and the Philippine peso as an example. Salaries in the Philippines are a fraction of those in the Western world. The difference in the cost of living justifies this kind of arbitrage; cost of living dictates the standard salaries received by workers. You can get a highly trained, skilled, college educated employee in the Philippines for as low as $5 per hour which is actually below the minimum wage in America.
The Filipinos themselves with their friendly and hospitable personality have been admired by many foreigners. Moreover, the country is always open for foreign trades and outsourcing is an inclusion.