Take Three on Talent

Wazzup asks three questions on Talent Development answered by three top honchos from some of the leading companies in the country today. You might need a little more than three minutes to take in all their answers but it will be worth your time.

Let’s now take it from Danilo Sebastian Reyes (DSR), Country Manager for Genpact; Faisal Khan (FK), Site Leader for GE Money Servicing Philippines; and Marife Zamora (MZ), Vice-President and Country Manager for Convergys.

Wazzup: Manila holds the distinction of being the largest BPO city in the world. Do you think that given the current state of our talent pool, will it be able to maintain this edge for long? If not, what threats should the industry be preparing for?

DSR: If all stakeholders in the Philippine BPO industry continue to work together as a team, we should be able to capture the expected growth and continue to be a destination of choice.

FK: 2009 has been an interesting year for the BPO space growth of about 19% for Manila, strong for a tough year. This momentary pause has given companies a great opportunity to re-examine certain structures. On talent pool particularly, the throughput is 5%, which means that out of every 100 resumes received, 5% are selected to join. This certainly implies that there is a pressure on getting the right talent as this number has got a bit lower from the earlier 10% throughput. To continue to maintain the edge, there will need to be a continued and consistent effort on focusing on the right talent development and talent retention.

MZ: Our experience is that fresh graduates continue to want to work in the Metro Manila area.  The dynamic city is popular among young people and holds many opportunities for them, as our current Convergys employees in Manila have found.  The greater acceptance of BPO work as a career (expanding the talent pool willing to work for the industry) and programs provided by associations like BPAP and CCAP, with English language proficiency support in schools (which, over time, will help improve the quality of language proficiency) will continue to appeal to many people in the Metro Manila area.

Wazzup: What potentials remain untapped in the talent resource of the country? Do you think that employment opportunities in the Non-Voice business process areas ( i.e. in accounting, HR, logistics, software management, architecture and science, to name several ) will continue to increase?

DSR: Non-Voice services is growing but with more room for expansion. As the next wave cities develop, there will be more resources to fuel the growth of this sector. 

FK: To keep the industry going requires motivated talent and the leadership ability of the company to continuously move up the value chain. Both are kind of interdependent on each other. Good talent needs good opportunities and likewise good opportunities need good talent. It is imperative that the companies continue to scout and develop capabilities to move up the value chain and start getting high- end processes and likewise continue to train, develop and invest in their talent pool. Thus it is yet another chicken and egg complex that we all need to deal with for continued success in this space.

MZ: Yes, especially during tough economic times, more and more industries will look to offshoring as an option to help decrease costs while maintaining quality.  Over the past few years, the Philippines market has established itself as a leader in the BPO industry.  The large pool of accountants, architects and science graduates from local universities will enhance the appeal to prospective clients as they consider their options to outsource.

Wazzup: Is your company involved in setting up a talent development program that will help meet future needs and requirements? 

DSR: Genpact has solid programs in Leadership and Domain expertise to ensure our continued success. 

FK: We have a very focused and strong talent development programs with the key pillars being Employee Engagement, Professional Growth and Personal Development. These three pillars of talent development are strengthened by our various programs like Take 5s, Employee Satisfaction Surveys and Engaging moments to increase employee involvement. For professional development we have programs like Management Assessment Centers, Lateral Growth and Learning Opportunities and Excellent Training Programs. Our counseling programs and tie up with universities for further education are great opportunities for employees to focus on personal development.

MZ: Convergys has a robust set of talent development programs and we continue to encourage our 18,000 employees to get involved in order to help them grow within the company. As a leader in relationship management, our goal is for every employee to become a key point of differentiation and a competitive advantage for Convergys.  Our people are our greatest resource and by emphasizing talent management, we are able to help them develop their skills and move into different roles within the company.  We offer Management Development Program to prepare senior team leaders for management roles within operations, as well as a Transition to Management Program, which offers on-going training to managers and senior managers in both Operations and among the various resource units.  Convergys also offers an online learning academy called the Personal Development Center, or  the PDC, which is available to all employees.  We also have training and development opportunities in the United States such as the Emerging Leaders and Future Leaders Programs, where we identify qualified candidates throughout our global operations and send them to our headquarters in Cincinnati, OH, to participate in career building and leadership exercises amongst their peers.  We are proud of these programs and how they support our promise to make Convergys a company people can build a career in.
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Greater than any other resource, talent is what drives most companies’ success. If an organization wishes to thrive in an ever-changing business climate, it needs more than just feeling the pulse of the stock market to succeed. It needs to be proactive in finding, developing, and equipping the right people. And wiser still is the company that does whatever it takes to keep these people, or Talents, to stay on board.