Call Center Blog Reflections For 2009

What a banner year 2009 has been for the Philippine call center industry and our call center blog! A lot of things have changed and developed while some are still stuck in the 90's. There are so many things to be thankful for but lets talk about the good things that happened this year.

The Philippine outsourcing industry's growth

The good news - Despite the past year economic crisis and despite some people's predictions that the industry will only be good in the Philippines for 10 years, it definitely seems that call centers and BPO as a whole will stay where its at and continue to grow. Collectively, BPOs in the Philippines grew by 20% year on year but fell short against the projected 35% it should have grown as many experts expected it to be. Considering the bleak economic conditions, I think 20% is still something to be thankful for! It was hardly felt in the job market as many companies are still posting job opening everywhere and with high salary offers for that matter.

The bad news - The same problems still hound the industry as it did for the past years: attrition, low hiring percentage and now a new problem that is both causing and feeding the first 2 -> skyrocketing salaries. Industry leaders warn this practice may lead to unsustainability and eventual unraveling of business process outsourcing. As to the truth and its realization, only time will tell and companies can control.

Things to be thankful for

I'm always the type of person who see a half-filled glass of water as half-full rather than half empty. Its nice to know that when call center employees are laid off work, they can find many other similar jobs to go for in the job market. We are not pets, dependents or slaves of this industry. The fact is, the Philippine outsourcing leadership consider call center and all BPO associates to be the backbone and driving force of the industry. We should all be thankful that despite the fact that many people elsewhere lost their jobs, most of us have kept our own and we have received our 13th month pay to share with family and friends.

CallCenterBlogger.com's growth

Our call center blog had its own fair share of ups and downs in the past year. Personally, I had problems keeping this blog updated as much as I wanted to because of personal reasons. However, in early October of this year, I found the time and reason to write again. I became more encouraged to write regularly after I've read this anti-call center speech by Congressman Raymond Palatino. I became inclined to criticize his take on the call centers and defend the industry and employees' cause.

Since October, our call center blog has experienced growth tremendously. More and more people are finding this website frequently in search engines. A substantial number of readers and other bloggers have also been inclined to visit this blog regularly since it is frequently updated. I also took steps to make sure that we reach out to call center employees frequenting major social networks like Facebook and Twitter. As a result, our blog now exponentially growing its followers in both places. We have also gained a few business partners who have come forward and expressed interest on this blog's cause.

Things to be thankful for

I'd like to thank our first two members of the blogging team: France and Deo. They represent the quintessential followers of this blog and they were kind enough to share their time, words and expertise to the rest of us. It gives me great joy to have found nice people like them who share my visions for our call center industry and employees. We have also granted permissions to 2 other contributors to write here and we are just waiting for them to publish their first post so that we can officially introduce them to you. :). We are always looking for more call center employees to write for us about their knowledge and even just plain call center experiences so that we can provide a wider perspective to you readers. If you wish to try out writing for us, please send me an email and let me know.

Secondly, I'd like to thank my business partners who have given me an avenue to write elsewhere and get paid regularly for my writings. This particular blog is borne only out of true passion and does not provide any significant income for any of its authors. However, it has paved way for companies and editors to find us and offer us writing jobs in their own website. Hopefully, one day France and Deo will be also be approached by others to share their talents and get paid for it.

Last but not the least, I'd like to thank you for continuing to read callcenterblogger.com. If you have read this article up to this point, it means to me that you have really taken interest on matters that this website has discussed. In return, I promise to keep this blog in tune with your concerns and interest. Your regular visits truly means a lot to us.

I thank the Lord for the life, our health and the strength given to us in all aspects of our lives. May this holiday season be a time for true reflections and thanksgiving for all we have received! :)

Posted in: call center blog