CEBU-BASED outsourcing companies are implementing innovation and talent development programs to keep the industry up to date and resilient in the event of a downturn, the head of an industry group said.
Exuperto P. Cabataña, president of the Cebu IT-BPM Organization, said that the Cebu outsourcing industry plans to reorganize some of its committees to focus on preventing the decline seen elsewhere.
“The innovation and ecosystem committee… handles innovation projects, which we are going to undertake,” he told ANC Monday.
The industry group is working on proposing robotic process automation projects with the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Trade and Industry, and universities in Cebu.
These automation projects, he said in a phone interview, will be locally developed for use in health system management, insurance, and general processes like finance, accounting, and back office.
“Another very important committee is the talent development committee where we’re going to accelerate the acquisition of the latest leading-edge technologies from existing major players in the world,” Mr. Cabataña told ANC.
“Expansion has to be done in such a way that we deliberately, explicitly make the moves that will bring us to the higher value-added services and that’s a very important consideration because we have had this mistake in the past where we got stuck to the low-cost leveraging strategy. What we need to do now is develop ourselves such that we can go more into the higher-value leveraging strategy.”
Mr. Cabataña said in the phone interview that the talent development committee will work on technical skills and soft skills such a communication, analysis, and teamwork.
“These companies Microsoft, IBM, Amazon… they have free courses available, but it requires very systematic management that will really track and push the participants to finish. The value added that we have as a committee is the management of the Cebuano participants such that they will really finish,” he said.
Outsourcing revenue rose 1.4% to $26.7 billion last year, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines said. Revenue growth had been 7.1% in 2019.
“That kind of low growth (in 2020) is expected to continue for the next few years. That’s why we’re taking this opportunity to inject something new to the industry… to recover its fast growth trajectory,” Mr. Cabataña said.
A partnership between the government and private sector last year identified 25 cities for outsourcing development as part of efforts to redirect opportunities towards the countryside. Cities like Batangas, Olongapo, and Zamboanga were chosen based on parameters identified as priorities for investors, including talent availability, infrastructure, cost, and business environment.
Outsourcing firms are laying out plans for expansion in Metro Manila and the provinces, indicating interest in spaces in Iloilo, Cebu, and Pampanga, Leechiu Property Consultants said in March.
Telus International Philippines last month launched its Iloilo office, its first site outside Metro Manila. — Jenina P. Ibañez