The Number 1 BPO Company in the Philippines Revealed

The business process outsourcing (BPO) industry is the fastest growing industry in the Philippines, with as many as three new BPO companies being registered every week.  With hundreds of BPO companies competing to provide the best outsourcing services to dozens of countries, it can be hard to imagine which BPO company can best help your business.

Fortunately, we’ve compiled two lists of the best BPO companies: by revenue and by the best employee packages.  We have two names vying for the title of the number 1 BPO company in the Philippines.  Read on to find out who they are!

How the Philippines became the best in outsourcing

The country wasn’t always the haven for outsourcing that it is now.  Foreign investment and government support had a hand in helping develop the country’s BPO industry to become what it is today.

That being said, the Philippines still established itself as a force to be reckoned with when it comes to business process outsourcing.  Flatworld Solutions credits this success to five key factors:

1. Filipino work ethic.  Not only are Filipino BPO workers’ English accent better than their Indian counterparts, they’re also more patient, better at problem-solving, and are much more in tune with Western culture.
2. Government support.  The Special Economic Zone Act allowed buildings or building floors to register as an “ecozone”, allowing BPO startup industries to be exempted from national and local taxes.  This also means BPO companies need only to contribute 5% of their gross income as tax.
3. Incentives.  Businesses are given incentives such as tax holidays; tax exemptions on imported equipment; exemption from wharfage dues and export taxes, imposts, and fees; simplified import procedures; and freedom to employ foreign nationals.
4. Bill Gates.  The Microsoft founder’s donation of free Microsoft Apps licenses to the PCPS program saved large expenditures for the government while allowing businesses to launch their operations using fast and efficient computer systems.
5. Focus on growing industries.  The country trained their sights on industries that proved to be lucrative, such as the healthcare information management, animation, and gaming industries.

These factors allowed the Philippines not just to hit the ground running but also to stay ahead of the race.  The number 1 BPO company in the Philippines became number 1 because of these.

Here’s a brief rundown of how the BPO industry’s success in the Philippines came to be:

• 1992 — The first contact center in the Philippines, Accenture, is set up by Frank Holz.
• 1995 — The Special Economic Zone Act is passed by Philippine Congress.  The act lowers are requirements for developers and offer tax incentives to attract foreign investors.
• 1997 — Sykes Asia arrives in the country, becoming the first multinational BPO company in the Philippines.
• 1999 — eTelecare, the first call center in the Philippines, is founded by Jim Franke and Derek Holley.
• 2000 — The BPO industry makes up for 0.075% of the Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP).
• 2001 — US-based outsourcing center PeopleSupport moves their operations to the Philippines, generating 8,400 jobs for Filipinos.
• 2003 — The Convergys Corp. chooses the Philippines and India to be part of the company’s global expansion plan.  They set up two call centers in the country.
• 2005 — The Philippines accounts for 3% of the global BPO market while the BPO industry makes up 2.4% of the country’s GDP.
• 2006 — ePLDT Ventus, a subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) company, leads the BPO industry.  It improves the domestic economy by 5.4% and generates 11,000 jobs across North America, Europe, and Asia.
• 2010 — The Philippines is declared the world’s BPO capital with 525,000 call center employees and $8.9 billion in revenue generated.
• 2011 — The BPO industry continues to become a leading job-provider in the Philippines, employing 638,000 Filipinos.  BPOs also generate $11 billion in revenue and make up 5.4% of the country’s GDP.
• 2013 — More than 900,000 Filipinos are now in the BPO industry, and revenue has climbed to $15.5 billion.
• 2016 — The BPO industry has an annual growth rate of 17% and is projected to generate 1.3 million new jobs.
• 2017 — A change in administration and political turmoil in the south slow down the growth of the BPO industry.  Despite this, $23 billion in revenue was generated.
• 2018 — The information technology-business processing management (IT-BPM) industry is projected to have as much as $40 billion in revenue by 2022.

The top BPO companies according to revenue

Time to find out what the number 1 BPO company in the Philippines is!

Growth means growth for most businesses, but some definitely thrived more than others.  Leading the list are the following top 5 BPO companies in the Philippines.

1. Accenture Technology Solutions, Inc. is a recurring name on Fortune’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” list.  They serve clients in more than 120 countries and across 40 industries, providing solutions in strategy, consulting, digital, technology, and operations.
2. Convergys has more than 140 locations across 33 countries.  They offer customer care, network solutions, technical support, and a dozen other services to the following industries: automotive, communication and media, finance, health, insurance, retail, technology, travel and hospitality, and utilities.
3. [24]7.ai, formerly known as 24/7 Customer Inc., offers artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted sales and service-oriented software to companies looking for big data, predictive analytics, virtual agents, and real-time decision solutions.
4. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is a multinational investment bank, a leading global financial services firm, as well as the largest bank in the US.  They started offering consumer banking, community banking, corporate banking, and investment support in the Philippines in 2005.
5. Telephilippines, Inc. provides social media, analytics, and mobility solutions, as well as back-office, automation, and credit and collection services—among others.  The company employs more than 220,000 employees across 76 countries.  17.9% of their workforce is in the Philippines, with over 18 business sites strategically placed in the country.

Check out the complete list of top 20 BPO companies in the Philippines according to local representative Roman Romulo with revenues adding up to P250 billion ($5.9 billion using the 2013 peso-dollar conversion rate).

Note: The conversion rate in December 2013 was 1 USD = 44.035 PHP. Current conversion rate is at 1 USD = 53.38 PHP.

Rank	Company Name	2013 Revenue (in PHP)	2013 Revenue (in USD)
1	Accenture Technology Solutions, Inc.	P32.49 billion	$766.76 million
2	Convergy’s Philippines Services Corp.	P19.83 billion	$467.99 million
3	[24]7.ai	P13.06 billion	$308.24 million
4	JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.-Philippine Global Service Center	P11.79 billion	$278.22 million
5	Telephilippines, Inc.	P8.72 billion	$205.84 million
6	Sutherland Global Services Philippines Inc.	P8.08 billion	$190.69 million
7	Hewlett-Packard AP (Hong Kong) Ltd.	P7.08 billion	$167.11 million
8	Stream International Global Services Philippines Inc.	P6.92 billion	$163.41 million
9	Teletech Offshore Investments B.V.	P6.59 billion	$155.52 million
10	IBM Daksh Business Process Services Philippines Inc.	P6.31 billion	$148.85 million
11	Sitel Philippines Corp.	P6.84 billion	$143.58 million
12	TeleTech Customer Care Management Philippines Inc.	P5.65 billion	$133.43 million
13	TeleTech Customer Care Management Philippines Inc.	P5.61 billion	$132.28 million
14	IBM Business Services Inc.	P5.60 billion	$132.14 million
15	Aegis People Support Inc.	P5.47 billion	$129.19 million
16	Coca-Cola Far East Ltd.	P5.44 billion	$128.36 million
17	Sykes Asia Inc.	P5.42 billion	$127.80 million
18	Shell Shared Services (Asia) B.V.	P5.29 billion	$124.82 million
19	Deutsche Knowledge Services Pte. Ltd.	P5.26 billion	$124.09 million
20	HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Philippines) Inc.	P5.04 billion	$118.83 million

 

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The top BPO companies for employees

An investor and a BPO employee will have different answers when you ask them what the number 1 BPO company in the Philippines is.  While investors and business owners will look into revenue and profit, employees and job seekers will consider employee packages and support.

Whether you’re wondering which BPO companies treat their employees best or wanting to get an idea of how much to pay an outsource worker, here’s the top five BPO companies according to employee packages.

Note: Figures are based on Payscale’s database of average salaries in the business process outsourcing industry.  Conversions are up to date for August 2018 (1 USD = 53.38 PHP).

1. Genpact began as a unit within General Electric in 1997 but became an independent company in less than 10 years.  With more than 77,000 employees across 20 countries, Genpact had a reported net revenue of $2.57 billion in 2016.
2. Conduent offers digital platforms for both businesses and governments.  Operating in more than 10 industries, Conduent has business process, human resource, procurement, customer experience, and legal services.
3. SYKES is a multinational corporation that provides business process outsourcing, IT, and IT-enabled services.  Founded in 1977, SYKES has headquarters all over the globe, such as the US, Canada, Netherlands, Egypt, El Salvador, India, the Philippines, Slovakia, and Colombia.
4. iQor provides customer service, third-party collections, and accounts receivable management.  iQor has over 45,000 employees in 18 countries that cater to industries like healthcare, retail, media, telecommunications, and transportation.

Top 5 BPO companies according to employee package (in PHP)

BPO Company	Less than 1 Year Experience	1-4 Years Experience	5-9 Years Experience	10-19 Years Experience	Benefits
Genpact	₱184,856	₱207,728	₱378,821	₱1,185,528	Paid Holidays and Vacation, Life Insurance, Paid Sick Leave, Gym Membership, Free Drinks, Casual Dress, Training Reimbursement
Conduent, Inc.	N/A	₱408,079	₱526,233	₱650,000	Paid Holidays and Vacation, Life Insurance, Paid Sick Leave, Time Flexibility, Stock Purchase Plan, Gym Membership, Casual Dress
Sykes Enterprises, Inc.	N/A	₱376,190	₱409,500	₱681,394	Paid Holidays and Vacation, Paid Sick Leave, Optional Work from Home, Cellphone, Free Drinks, Casual Dress, Training Reimbursement
iQor	₱193,137	₱237,436	₱311,274	₱527,839	Paid Holidays and Vacation, Life Insurance, Paid Sick Leave, Cellphone, Time Flexibility, Casual Dress, Rice Subsidy
Accenture Technology Solutions, Inc.	₱220,356	₱279,174	₱485,857	₱939,362	Paid Holidays and Vacation, Life Insurance, Paid Sick Leave, Supplementary Maternity Leave, Cellphone, Free Drinks, Casual Dress

Top 5 BPO companies according to employee package (in USD)

BPO Company	Less than 1 Year Experience	1-4 Years Experience	5-9 Years Experience	10-19 Years Experience	Benefits
Genpact	$290.65	$326.62	$595.63	$1,864.04	Paid Holidays and Vacation, Life Insurance, Paid Sick Leave, Gym Membership, Free Drinks, Casual Dress, Training Reimbursement
Accenture Technology Solutions, Inc.	$346.47	$438.95	$763.93	$1,476.98	Paid Holidays and Vacation, Life Insurance, Paid Sick Leave, Time Flexibility, Stock Purchase Plan, Gym Membership, Casual Dress
Sykes Enterprises, Inc.	N/A	$591.49	$643.87	$1,071.37	Paid Holidays and Vacation, Paid Sick Leave, Optional Work from Home, Cellphone, Free Drinks, Casual Dress, Training Reimbursement
Conduent, Inc.	N/A	$641.63	$827.41	$1,022.01	Paid Holidays and Vacation, Life Insurance, Paid Sick Leave, Cellphone, Time Flexibility, Casual Dress, Rice Subsidy
iQor	$303.67	$373.33	$489.42	$829.94	Paid Holidays and Vacation, Life Insurance, Paid Sick Leave, Supplementary Maternity Leave, Cellphone, Free Drinks, Casual Dress

Five factors that drive outsourcing rates

How does the number 1 BPO company in the Philippines set their rates?

Outsourcing rates vary from one provider to another.  Accelerance, a software outsourcing advisory firm, gives us a peek at how much outsource companies ask for across three continents:

They also detail the five factors that help determine these rates:

• Location.  Basically: the better developed the country, the higher their rates are.  This is the same for all industries, not just software development.  Higher costs of living demand higher salaries for employees so they can make a decent living.
• Team size.  Basically: the bigger the team, the lower the rates.
• Tech stack.  Basically: the rarer and harder the job, the higher the rates.  Specialized skills require specialized knowledge and training, which then require specialized education and experience.  The hours put into training and education, plus the resources required to achieve that level of expertise, drives rates higher.  For instance, data scientists and engineers are expensive no matter which country you outsource, while app developers and front end service providers tend to charge cheaper.
• Length of engagement.  Basically: the longer the length of engagement, the lower the rates.  Short-term projects tend to be more expensive; companies take into account the time and resources they’ll spend looking for another client or project.
• Seniority or Work experience.  Basically: the more experienced the outsource worker, the higher the rates.  Experience is valuable because it spells higher quality and more efficient work.  Additionally, experienced outsource workers are likely to contribute more than just manpower; their experience has lent them wisdom that fresh graduates simply don’t have yet.  They are able to provide advice, suggestions, and valuable feedback if needed.

Outsourcing guarantees huge savings for corporations.  American call center agents make five times as much as Filipino call center agents do, not counting bonuses, commissions, health benefits, and dental insurance.  Onboarding, training, and maintaining a team of in-house specialists costs even more.

While this isn’t a problem for large corporations, owners of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) might have a difficult time scaling their businesses without spending a fortune building a new department or hiring an outsourcing company.

Luckily, there’s a way to get the best of both worlds.

Better than BPOs: Outsourcing for SMEs

When you’re looking to have the loyalty and accessibility of in-house employees plus the cost-efficiency of the number 1 BPO company in the Philippines, then direct outsourcing is the solution for you.

Think of it this way: outsourcing companies are the middle man between you and the skilled Filipino workers who provide the labor you need.  Outsourcing companies are expensive because they also pay for managers, department heads, maintenance, marketing, and overhead expenses like rent and utilities.

Hiring the workers directly is cutting to the chase: you pay for the worker’s salary and nothing else.

Filipino remote workers have their own “office” (a.k.a. their laptop), pay their own taxes, and are as skilled (if not more skilled) than those working in outsourcing companies.

Direct hiring also allows you to have better control of your business operations.  If you’re a startup with only a few clients, you don’t need the large-scale solutions that outsourcing companies provide.  You only need a few people to do the job, and you’re good to go.

You can also easily vet job applicants’ skills and experience yourself, ensuring that your employees are the perfect fit for your company.

Direct outsourcing is easier than it sounds.  Our complete guide to outsourcing Filipino workers has everything you need to begin and to succeed.

All you need to do is come up with a comprehensive job ad, make an account at an online job board, and wait for the job applications to come pouring in.

After that, it’s just a matter of choosing your ideal employee and welcoming them to the company.

Outsource your business—and then outperform your expectations

Outsourcing can help your business succeed far better than you can imagine.  And AwesomeOutsourcing can help you reach that success.

Keep visiting for more tips, tricks, news, and guides.  Or better yet…

 

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