Will There Still Be Sunshine Tomorrow?

The Philippines used to be investor-friendly having one of the most affordable high-quality labor in the world whole of Southeast Asia. Unfortunately, due to the usual catalysts such as our weird sense of democracy, globalization westernization, and the omnipresent Kilusang Mayo Uno (not that I hate them), our country and its work force is no longer considered as best buy by the likes of Intel, IBM, and soon enough, all of P&G.

So what happened? Think collective bargaining agreement. Think endless and perhaps senseless protests. Think about workers going on strike. Fast forward to year 2008 and we only have a handful of big multinational companies left manufacturing their goods in the Islands Philippines.

Now, what is left in our country that still churn out money like there’s no tomorrow is a vast ocean of call centers and BPOs. Call centers after call centers continue to emerge out of nowhere. In fact, the once lonely stretch along Commonwealth Avenue may soon become a deserving competitor to Eastwood City, at the very least.

However, in my own honest opinion, the days of sunshine for these agents are numbered. Never mind the US recession and the never-ending turmoil in the Philippine political arena. What matters, what really matters, is the fact that our call center agents here are beginning to have egos bigger than their bodies can contain. Now, I am not generalizing. Sure, there are a lot of humble and down-to-earth agents left out there. But as a marketer, I am trending, and honestly, this is what I have to say.

If you don’t know there is a certain practice that some call center agents are doing right now to speed up their so called appreciation as an employee. For example, an agent, say, from Convergys, gets a higher basic pay than a staff from a local bank. If you’re a fresh graduate and basically have zero working experience, you’d opt for the former because – hey – money talks.

For some reason, while they’re inside working for a call center, they began to hear talks over yosi Lucky Me Starbucks that the newly opened Dell (assuming it still is) offers 30% higher basic pay. So with the misguided belief that 6 months working at Convergys is a bankable work experience, they apply at Dell and demand for a basic pay that is 40% higher than what they are currently receiving.

But then again, Dell (in theory) is desperate for a headcount, so they still give in. After all, the applicants are not a Manny Pacquiao with the English language and even at that rate; they are still earning less than the hombre from NY. And so, this cycle goes on and on as new and newer call centers arrive and as older and, perhaps, stronger call centers vie for retention and acquisition of those so-called quality agents.

Now, lemme ask. Why did these companies (Accenture, Convergys, People Support, etc.) even decided to put up their businesses here? Unlike real estate, it is not location, location, location. The quick answer is SAVINGS. We Pinoys are cheap. Some agents may feel sophisticated and all each time they splurge their take-home cash at Italiannis but at the end of every day, they are still not living the lives of their American counterpart.

So can you just imagine what would happen to the call center industry should these agents fail to comprehend that their practice of milking out the call center cow would sooner or later equate the Opex of the local subsidiaries at the same level as doing so in the States?

The quick answer is GOODBYE. They may have a recession there, baby, but they surely don’t elect actors as Presidents. They surely don’t have renegade soldiers with egos that can outsize a hot-air balloon. And they, especially the big bosses, don’t have to live far away from home.

So go ahead, don’t learn from the past. Don’t learn from this post. Sooner or later, the jobs you so love the most will vanish before your very eyes. These investors are like customers to, if they don’t like your service, if they don’t feel contented with your service, they can just simply call to cancel. Now, that wouldn’t be too nice, huh?