Investment in call center industry slows in Q1

THE Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) said investment in the industry slowed in the first quarter of 2017, an official said on Tuesday.

“First quarter of CCAP this year slows in terms of investments compared with the same period to last year. But we are still on track though there are still factors that are gonna affect that,” Jojo Uligan, CCAP president told reporters during a news briefing on data privacy and outsourcing.

“Because there’s a change of leadership, plus we’re affected by this global change in the digital world nowadays, everyone is shifting so everyone needs to innovate. But there are no indications that the drop is largely because these companies have shifted to other countries. “We’re still the largest, we’re still growing, we’re still hiring people,” Uligan said.

The industry is now hiring now people with a completely different skills set, he said. “The people we’re hiring now have complexities, data analysts and social media people,” he said.

CCAP is now “working closely with government on how the government will be able to help us, to be able to continue the growth of our industry and to find the win-win solution,” Uligan said.

The business process outsourcing is taking serious steps to ensure compliance with cyber security and data privacy regulations.

CCAP is working very closely with the National Privacy Commission (NPC) through Chairman Raymond Liboro, to support, align and roll out programs relevant to the industry, he said.

The NPC, however, is reminding both public and private organizations to comply with the requirements of the Data Privacy Act.

Liboro noted that “September 9, 2017 is the deadline for companies or entities to register with the NPC. The registration is a must for companies that have 250 employees and above, and 1,000 personal records and above.”

The commission is mandated to administer and implement the law. Its functions include rule-making, advisory, public education, compliance and monitoring, investigations and complaints, and enforcement.

As to the impact of Republic Act 10173, or the Data Privacy Act of 2012, industry expert Espie Bulseco said it will significantly boost the Philippine as one of the world’s most preferred BPO destinations. Bulseco is senior director for Business Excellence at Hinduja Global Solutions, and the CCAP Security Council Learning Series Taskforce lead.

“With the creation of the Act, all BPO firms in the country are now mandated to ensure protection of personal data to ensure it would result in an increase in foreign investors’ confidence in growing their outsourcing requirements in the country,” she said.

Source: https://goo.gl/L4vV2m