The Contact Center Association of the Philippines sees the big potential of impact sourcing to further support countryside development.
In a press conference at Royal Mandaya Hotel at the first Philippine Impact Sourcing Conference (PISCON) 2017 yesterday, CCAP Chairman of the Board Benedict Hernandez pointed out that espousing the impact sourcing scheme, which brings contact center, back office work and other offshoring works to qualified talents in provincial and rural areas so they may have access to gainful employment, will provide traditional Information Technology-Business Process Management (IT-BPM) firms the ability to explore and to tap quality talent in the provinces.
“At the same time, it also gives businessmen in the countryside the unique opportunity to exercise their entrepreneurial prowess by establishing home-grown IT-BPM firms right in their own backyard. It also gives potential workers the ability to be employed without having to leave their families and their hometown,” said the CCAP chair.
In a press statement, CCAP said that as early as 15 years ago, the IT-BPM industry is already practicing impact sourcing. He said the industry was already and continues to be one of the biggest creator of high value jobs in previously untapped communities.
Based on the IT-BPM industry’s New Roadmap 2022, the industry was able to create more than 300,000 jobs outside Metro Manila for the last 15 years. The industry already experienced a high growth rate of 11 percent in the provinces and 7 percent in Metro Manila. Just for the last year alone, 80 percent of its members already established operations in new provinces such as Puerto Princesa in Palawan, Balanga in Bataan and in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte.
“We know there is a tremendous potential for impact sourcing. For our businesses, it means access to talent pools in vast, untapped communities where there is high quality work which are cost effective coupled with incredible drive and commitment by the employees. It is a unique way to grow our businesses and at the same time create palpable positive impact to the community,” explained Hernandez.
Aside from gaining higher pay work and advanced workplace skills, Hernandez added impact sourcing improves the well-being not just of the employees but also their families and communities. Also, going the impact sourcing way provides traditional BPO firms the ability to foster a truly inclusive workplace.
“The industry has long been a champion of gender equality and equal opportunity employment. Now, with impact sourcing, it gives the IT-BPM industry the chance to promote further inclusivity,” he adds.
Another major value proposition of impact sourcing, according to CCAP President Jojo Uligan, is that it helps create a stable and truly motivated workforce. Various research has shown that workers in the impact sourcing sphere have lower attrition levels compared to traditional IT-BPM workers, and are very highly motivated and loyal to the company that provided them the necessary skills training, which leads to higher productivity and better performance.
“We all know that working in the IT-BPM industry remains to be a preferred career option, but this perception still largely remains among employees in highly urbanized cities. With impact sourcing, workers in the provinces now have the same option where they can opt for a job that pays better and provides a decent work environment compared to the usual alternative, and helps them improve their self-confidence,” Uligan explained.
Impact sourcing is still a relatively young practice for IT-BPM firms in the Philippines but Hernandez and Uligan are optimistic of its growth. “This is why CCAP fully supports the impact sourcing initiative of the Department of Information and Communications Technology starting with PISCON 2017. We all see its potential as a truly sustainable and scalable business model for many IT-BPM firms in the Philippines,” the two CCAP executives said.
Uligan also thanked Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Rodolfo Salalima, DICT Undersecretary Monchito Ibrahim, Atty. Samuel Matun, President of ICT Davao, and Stephanie Caragos, President of the National ICT Confederation of the Philippines or NICP for their unwavering support to CCAP and its member-companies in its drive to further expand operations in the countryside.
The two-day PISCON 2017, initiated by the DICT and the NICP, gathered around 300 important stakeholders that include major IT-BPM firms, Local Government Units (LGUs), various information and communications technology (ICT) councils, and other concerned national government agencies.
The Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) is the umbrella organization of contact center companies in the country.
