Flaws of the anti-call center speech by Rep. Raymond Palatino

Today we shall scrutinize the anti-call center speech delivered by Kabataan Partylist rep. Raymond Palatino as it gives exaggerated reports and points depicting our call center industry as a ghastly modern-day "slave ship" for us employees. I shall also point out the flaws specific errors in transcript delivered before Congress August 17, 2009 as it doesn't do us justice being an industry as a whole.

I have clearly and elaborately expressed my resentment over this BPO workers welfare and protection act over my last two posts about it and I see the logic on stressing specific points in future articles. In the meantime, this article shall focus erroneous data provided by the good Activist/Blogger turned Congressman in his speech.

Points of contention:

1st Error(inaccurate data): Congressman Palatino says: "CCAP pegs the turnover rate for the country at 60-80%, the highest in the world.

Reports as late as July 2009, CCAP President Benedict Hernandez has indicated the Philippine call center attrition rate is at a steady 54% and well below their projection of 60%. Some reports also say that it is 57% but not 60-80 and certainly not the highest in the world. The CCAP President, the same person Mr. Palatino quoted as the source of his call center turn-over statistics, also mentions India has far worse attrition rate pegged at 80%. There are multiple online publications proving this statistical fact. Additionally, in one of the reports I've read, Dell Philippines human resource director Donna Grande mentions that mentoring is a key factor in keeping call center employees within the company. This is a far cry from reasons stated by the good Congressman depicting our call center environment as deplorable work spaces as the biggest factor. If anything else, having no mentoring process within a call center environment hardly qualifies as dim working conditions.

2nd Error (Exaggeration): Congressman Palatino, says: "I rise in behalf of fellow young Filipinos denied of their dreams and were forced into the illusory world of call centers".

Do I need to do some research on this? This prelude in his speech clearly describes his contempt against call centers and everyone in it. As Mr. Palatino knows all true well, we live in a democratic country where forced servitude is illegal as any other inhuman acts. No one is forced to work in call centers. Everyone working as a BPO employee, is in it under his/her own volition by reasons specific to each individual. If ever Filipinos are lured into joining call centers, it is because of lack of attractive alternative options that addresses their family's needs and NOT because it is the fault of call centers as an industry.

3rd Error (inaccurate data and outdated research): Congressman Palatino, says: "The average annual salary of call center agents in the Philippines is US$3,964."

While this number may actually have been accurate... in 2007, it clearly is not in the year of our Lord 2009. Maybe Mr. Mong Palatino wasn't able to research and study that one of the biggest concerns of the Philippine BPO as an industry are skyrocketing salaries of call center agents. It is also a big factor contributing to high turn-over rates among call centers. In an ongoing call center salary survey I'm conducting here in this blog, although hardly scientific, majority of call center agent survey participants are favoring a starting salary of more than 18,000 pesos. In this rate, our agents are actually at par with their counterparts in Thailand and Malaysia that are probably the countries which the Philippines is closer in terms of standards of living compared to Singapore.

4th Error (unconfirmed/doubtful reports): Congressman Palatino, says:" According to a multi-country survey conducted by callcentres.net, full-time call center agents stay in a contact center for a brief 22 months, while part-time agents stay for an even shorter 10 months"

I don't have the same statistical reports to see myself but why did he quote a multi-country survey? Does it include the Philippines? What is the real number for the Philippines BPO industry? In order to present a good case, one must show accurate and corresponding data that clearly and substantially reflects our performance. This multi-country data is mixed up with numbers from countries like India where conditions could be less favorable. Generalizing it would not be an accurate representation of how the country's BPOs are doing in terms of keeping employees within their fold and satisfied.

5th Error (poor research): Congressman Palatino, says: "The culprit: poor quality of jobs at the call center. A survey by the Call Center Project based at Cornell University in New York shows that the high attrition  rate is caused by a low job quality in call centers. The study revealed that 67% of agents found in 39% of call center work in low to very low quality of jobs.

While I am not about to argue with "Cornell University" Call Center project study conclusions, the numbers he quoted speaks for itself... Sixty-seven percent of agents in Thirty-nine percent of call centers clearly doesn't represent a good sampling to make conclusions. More importantly, I wonder how many Philippine Business Process Outsourcing employees were involved in this particular study based in the U.S.? A good research to quote should be entirely based with local call centers in question. I've already quoted above that according to local industry experts, present attrition rates are can be inflated due to "salary wars" between call centers and as Donna Grande may have implied above, poor HR methods.

I can scrutinize his speech further but this is kinda getting lengthy and boring already. I haven't even touched on the actual House Bill no. 6921 yet. So I just end this piece, with a few contemptuous quotes showing his true color in his speech. However, this just my single personal opinion. You judge for yourselves.

1. Mr. Speaker, distinguished colleagues, the job of a call center agent is not all that fancy and ideal. For it is in the very nature of the call center job to be exploitative.- an unfair generalization.

2. How apt, Mr. Speaker, that this industry is marked by hellos and goodbyes. - malicious quip.

3. Unlike our jobs, we have time to read the newspapers or chat with our office mates. The job of a call center agent is one of isolation.  -- This is a true testament that Mr. Palatino does not understand the nature of our jobs. He may have gotten used to reading newspapers and chatting as part of his daily routine at work lol. Seriously, in general we do have time during breaks and downtime to socialize with office mates and no one is preventing us to do so. C'mon!

4. According to the Ecumenical Institute for Labor and Research, only 10-minutes per day period is allowed for personal use such as going to the restroom. - an exaggeration which certainly is inhuman. Based on experience and as a matter of being human as well, call center managers and supervisors provide a work-around to accommodate special requests as such. If it is imperative to complete Staff Time, the agents can complete it after work but NOT prevent them to go to the bathroom altogether and pave way to get them sick. This statement is clearly an unfair generalization and wreaks of bad intentions.

5. Foreign employers warn that if unions in the call centers will allowed, they will leave the Philippines. - There's a typo here in the actual transcript but seriously, I challenge Mr. Raymond Palatino to produce concrete evidence in written memo or actual witnesses to such directives by call center clients or call center companies. If there are true violators who forbid such democratic rights, I will be more than happy to see them get shut down by the government. However, the fact is, these claims are unsubstantiated myths.

These 10 points leaves me no choice but to cut this story short and leave the rest of my commentaries for future articles. This anti-call center speech and House Bill no. 6921, in my opinion can clearly be represented if the people behind them actually consulted local industry experts and made a balanced research. I think this cause will be better represented by people who have actual stake in it and who can act PROACTIVELY not reactively.

If you have Facebook, Twitter or other social networks, please use the share button on the bottom toolbar and share this article to your friends. We would really appreciate it. :)