OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND SECURITY MEASURES FOR BPO FIRMS

Hindu.com posted a story about the case of a female call center employee who was murdered while on her way home from a night shift. While security measures were observed to have slackened, the report quoted some of the procedures that are being implemented in order to assure the safety of female employees outside of their office premises. I know of at least one call center in Manila that includes personal protection in their employees training program.

Most BPO firms are generally labor intensive organizations making employees’ health a major concern. In fact, a past article in this site discussed an incident wherein a call employee inflicted his coworkers with an infectious disease.

In regard to other workplace safety matters, the International Labor Organization (ILO) has published in its website some inexpensive and easy to implement rules that can minimize the occurrence of accidents at work. Furthermore, the Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted the same ILO expert /author and published a slightly different version. Both versions are quoted below:

A. PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER VERSION: 10 tips for a safer workplace:

1. If you see something wrong, take action. Don’t leave it up to someone else to correct a possibly dangerous situation. “Small, day-to-day improvements are key to a safe and productive work environment.”

2. Use your space well. Don’t muddle up areas for working, resting, or storage. Keep working areas and passageways clear and well-lit. Clean drinking water and restroom facilities should be easily available.

3. Regularly check your work area. Ideally, you should work at elbow level and in natural posture, minimizing twisting, arm-raising, and bending. Frequently used items must be within easy reach.

4. Machines with dangerous moving parts must have guards; electric connections and wirings must be safe. Monthly maintenance for broken, unstable parts is recommended.

5. Maximize natural ventilation; keep temperature comfortable. Chemicals must be properly labeled and kept in a secure place.

6. First-aid kits and training on their use must be available.

7. Use labor-saving equipment for moving or lifting heavy and awkward objects, or performing regular tasks.

8. Add variety to what you and your employees do. “Monotony and boredom are the enemies of productivity, quality, and safety. Making work more interesting will also help develop new skills,” Kawakami said.

9. Consider the needs of pregnant women, those with disabilities, foreign or migrant workers, and the elderly.

10. Take a break. “Regular short rests help to keep productivity and work quality high and accident levels low. Longer term, don’t think of regular days off and vacations as a luxury; they help to avoid burnout, fatigue, and exhaustion,” he said.

“It’s easy to see that safety and health is a basic part of decent, quality work. So, creating a safety culture that lasts 365 days a year -- not just one -- is in all our interests,” Kawakami stressed.

B. INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION (ILO) TIPS FOR A SAFE HOME AND WORKPLACE:

1]. Keep the floor clear. Don’t use corridors and stairways for storage, they make it easy for people to trip and fall badly. Boxes in passageways also block your escape in a fire or emergency - and that could be fatal.

2] Carry carefully. Think before picking up something large or heavy. A back injury can last for life. Use a trolley or conveyor instead.

3] Chemicals. Every home and workplace has toxic chemicals that can kill – bleach, fertilizer, cleaning materials. They should be clearly labeled, in a language everyone understands, with basic information about their properties. And they should be securely stored so children can’t reach them.

4] First Aid. A basic first aid kit is not expensive. Make sure it’s easily available and that you know what it contains and how to use it. The right on-the-spot treatment can make a big difference.

5] Take precautions. Personal protective equipment like gloves, shoes, masks, goggles and hard hats doesn’t have to be expensive but can save you from serious injury in the home, fields or office, so get into the habit of using them. Domestic and work machines should be fitted with protective guards.

6] Electricity can be lethal. Don’t let electric cables lie loose on the floor. All electrical machinery - domestic and industrial - should be well earthed.

7] Work smart. Whether you’re cooking at home, sitting at a computer, or standing mixing and assembling products make sure you are comfortable. Standing or sitting, worktops are best at elbow height. Chairs should have supporting backrests. Don’t sit on the floor to work or cook – it’s bad for your back as well as being dirty and unsafe.

8] Pure, fresh drinking water should be easily and plentifully available. Washing and toilet facilities need to be clean and convenient, with soap, towels and separate facilities for men and women.

9] Give yourself a break. Working long hours without a rest makes people less productive and more likely to have accidents or make mistakes. It’s easier to stay alert if you introduce some variety into your tasks rather than monotonously performing the same action. You’ll develop new skills too.

10] Light and air. Good light and fresh air help you stay alert and cut down unhealthy build-ups of chemicals and dirt. Better ventilation and a proper, insulating ceiling can pay for themselves with reduced heating and air con bills.

11] Be aware that elderly people, the disabled, pregnant women, young and inexperienced workers have special needs in health and safety, as in other things.

12] Systems are the key to safety. Make good health and safety practices part of your daily habits at home and at work, 365 days a year.

Are outsourcing fears misplaced?

More articles supporting this site’s several pronouncements are coming out. In the linked article, the CEO of Infosys talks about the need to cope with the times. Details Here

With the upcoming US presidential elections, people paranoid with offshore outsourcing are increasing their call for the candidates to go against the trend. This is despite proofs supporting the argument that outsourcing actually brings about an increased demand for higher value jobs (onshore), resulting to higher productivity and stronger American companies.

The IT industry shows that more than 147,000 new US jobs were created. The problem with the American manpower pool is that it cannot fulfill the quantity of demand. Please read the complete article here.

I’ve read a few years ago, that despite the growing need for IT graduates and the increasing salaries of IT professionals, the number of Americans enrolling in IT courses continues to go down.

This scenario is very similar to the transcription sector where the supply of onshore transcribers is a lot less than the actual demand. A relative in the US tells me that daily newspapers always include advertisements of companies “Looking for transcriptionists”.

“But there is so much global demand for employees proficient in programming languages, engineering, and other skills demanding higher level technology knowledge that outsourcing can't meet all U.S. needs. "There would have been a lot more than 147,000 jobs created here, but our companies are having difficulty finding Americans with the background," says William Archey, president and chief executive of the AeA.

One culprit is the dearth of U.S. engineering and computer science college graduates. Second, immigration caps have made it difficult for highly skilled foreign-born employees to obtain work visas. Congress has been debating whether to increase the numbers of foreign skilled workers allowed into the country under the H-1B visa program (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/27/07, "Immigration Reform: Americans First?").

BPO Industry Hires 25% of Bagiuo's New Grads

The Philippine's summer capital now has another reason to smile. Aside from it's brisk tourism trade, a big portion of its new graduates were recently hired by the BPO sector.

"Only 2 to 3 percent of Manila's labor pool land jobs in business outsourcing firms, he said. But the BPO industry has been hiring 25 percent of Baguio's fresh graduates, he added."

In contrast to the pronouncement of an article posted in another site (read here), this column wishes to thank the foreign clients who entrusted some of their business processes to the Filipinos. As I have always maintained, the companies who outsourced properly, are bound to end with better productivity and emerge as a much better organizations. Furthermore, the offshore companies that benefited from outsourcing are called local heroes for having provided jobs. However, they should always be on their toes and stay competitive. Otherwise, the contracts might leave, faster than the rate the it came in.

As the new battlecry goes; "let's move towards KPO"

More Newspaper Jobs being Outsourced, Commentaries and Other News.

An Indian paper claims; “American inefficiency is India’s outsourcing gain”. I beg to disagree. Outsourcing leads to higher productivity for the companies that sent the jobs elsewhere. The end result will undoubtedly be a stronger and bigger enterprise. Please read my related discourse through this link.

The beneficiaries of outsourcing, instead of angering their clients, should be thankful for the inflow of new employment and business opportunities. Instead of namecalling, why not focus on doing the job well? Geesh, is that the way to treat clients? Call them inefficient? I wonder why the paper stopped itself from calling them stupid.

A day after a New Zealand newspaper announced the outsourcing of 70 sub-editing jobs to Australia (details here); an American newspaper declared plans to outsource jobs to another country. In the news, the Star Tribune (Minneapolis) will be sending 25 graphic design jobs to India (details in this page). Of course, the union is mad. Again, this site’s contention in regard to this topic remains.

This site preaches the gospel of outsourcing but is constantly aware of the follies of a few employees of outsourcing companies specifically, call center agents. Of course, most people know that absurd replies to customer questions are heard everywhere. Furthermore, it is also known that offshore contact centers are delivering better services at lesser cost. It is indeed very true, that the benefits of outsourcing far outweigh the costs. As an example, PC manufacturer DELL has thousands of customer service representatives in the Philippines and in a television advertisement in Manila, a ranking Dell executive declares that their BPO facility in the country is the best so far. Here is another testimony to outsourcing’s exemplary benefits.

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

- As the US turns to India and other Asian countries for their outsourcing needs, Western Europe is sending jobs to its former adversaries-Eastern Europe. Please read the complete news here.

- Infosys BPO is expanding to Manila. Please read it here.

- While call centers are rapidly being outsourced to Asian countries, some US call centers continue to expand (onshore). Please read it here.

Outsourcing Newspaper Editing

A Newspaper in New Zealand will be outsourcing 70 sub editing jobs to Australia. The organization of journalists are strongly condemning the act saying "Assembly-line sub-editing' would compromise the quality and accuracy of news coverage in the country." Please read the news here.

Not everything can effectively be outsourced but newspaper sub-editing should not be so difficult to properly implement. The only concern for me, at this point, is the loss of jobs. Employees are human beings who have worked with the company for a long time and fallen in love with it. On the other hand, business owners have to decide at a certain point. Faced with serious competition, wary stockholders and rising costs, they have to know where savings and better quality can be derived. Right now, conventional wisdom points toward outsourcing. For some businesses, it spells the difference between profitability or loss. Please read a related article here.

Besides, the idea of outsourcing should be seriously considered by everybody. As of now, it is a step upwards for most companies. We all know what failure to move upwards mean. It is actually, a step downwards. As for the displaced employees, the solution to their plight has been discussed in a previous article.

FILIPINO FIRM ACQUIRES US BPO FIRM AS OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING CONTINUE BOOM

While sending jobs overseas has become the trend, a foreign firm purchased a US outsourcing giant.

SPi Technologies, A subsidiary of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone company (PLDT) has acquired Springfield Service Corporation (SSC). SSC is a top player in the US medical billing industry with an employee base of more than 300. It stands to make US$30 million within the next 12 months. Read the entire article here.

Meanwhile, offshore businesses continue to boom. Some refer to it as offshoring, global sourcing and strategic sourcing. Whatever it may be called, sending certain processes to be done offshore is continuing to grow.

An article reports that outsourcing jobs to offshore providers has reached to a level wherein clients have stopped worrying where the outsourcing company is located. Read the entire article here.

Well, the basic premise continuous. Jobs are sent offshore in order to find the best talents that will get it done, lessen cost and free internal resources that can be devoted to the main strategic goals of the company.

FAIL SAFE SERVICES

The string of calamities that hit Asia, Australia and most recently, the US once again emphasized the need for companies that has backed up, redundant and fail safe systems. In BPO, several end clients distribute their requirements to a number of service providers in order protect themselves in the event of unforeseen incidences.

Further to that, outsourcing companies are also known to purposely operate while utilizing less than 100% of their individual capacities. The reason for such an operating policy includes being able to accommodate a sudden surge of client requirements and a drop in their own capacities. A drop in an outsourcing firm's capacity includes a sudden low employee turnout due to typhoons and bog downs in company equipments such as the recent Asian internet failure, caused by the earthquake in Taiwan. please refer to a related post.

Not a single country is safe from calamities. The mighty United States, itself, regularly deals with its own share. However, since business dealings of most companies reaches far across state boundaries, it is imperative that business services continue uninterrupted.

That is the challenge of every BPO company. To be able to deliver its services, without fail.

PRICING ONE'S SELF OUT OF THE MARKET

Yesterday's article in PE.com illustrated what most of the BPO insiders know but are not talking about. Read the article here.

Technology has made it possible for some tasks to be done from distant locations. As a result, offshore companies who are into customer services, information technology, transcription, animation, architectural & engineering design, medical research, etc. has successfully penetrated the US and European markets.

As the demand for outsourced work continuous to grow, the existing service providers are observed to be increasing their prices. This is mostly due to sharp increases in their factors of production (loss of government incentives and rising cost of wages, office spaces, etc.).

Unfortunately for them, customers are not complacent. After a while, the same creative minds that made them resort to outsourcing will tell them to continue and look for new places to send their outsourcing requirements. For example, the garments industry which left the US years ago, has started departing from the Philippines towards China. In addition, the call center and transcription businesses which used to be synonymous with India are now known to be successfully being hosted by other Asian countries like the Philippines, China, Pakistan and Indonesia.

In the Philippines, BPO firms which used to be predominantly located within Metro Manila have started to expand to the provinces in order to lower their costs (land, labor, taxes, electricity, etc.). At this point, the call centers can still afford the cost of doing business in the country. However, the industry should take heed.

Be careful not price yourselves out of the market. When you keep on increasing the cost of servicing a client, the customer will be forced to move on to the next provider.

ARE AMERICAN JOBS IN REAL DANGER?

I think not.

In a news report, economist Alan S Blinder, a champion of free trade warns about the inevitable consequences of outsourcing.

"Communication technology that allows services to be delivered electronically from afar — will put as many as 40 million jobs at risk of being shipped out of America in the next two decades."

The job insecurity US workers face today is “only the tip of a very big iceberg”, said Blinder.

The same report quoted the disagreement of another economist jagdish Bhagwati.

“You have two-way flows, three-way flows; you have what we call trade in variety,” Bhagwati said. “Even if India has the same skill person, it doesn’t mean the US is going to suffer. It just means the US and India will transact within the same industry.”

He cited the example of clinical trials now being done in India.

“An American surgeon is not going to lose his job because drug trials are being done in India,” he remarked.

Bhagwati responded to the rising rhetoric about high-end research being outsourced:

— there will always be a to-and-fro movement of trade and services.”

Read the full report here:

In the immediate future, I can see a great number of jobs being outsourced. However, the process should also pave way for the creation of a lot of better news career positions for Americans.

With some of the traditional jobs now being sent to far locations, US firms should be able to give more attention to the main purposes of their businesses. It will result to the recruitment of more core personnel thus paving the way for higher productivity of American companies.

For example, with help desk call centers and vital machine parts being done elsewhere, the management of a manufacturing company will suddenly have time for greater focus on product development and marketing of their products.

In the areas of medical billing, coding and transcription, the few existing onshore transcribers should learn to handle quality assurance (of the output coming from offshore offices). When the voice recognition technology has matured and become ready to transcribe voice dictations, the transcripionists should be ready to become editors who will fine tune the software to the specific dictators. In IT outsourcing, more managerial jobs will be created onshore. In addition, more attention can be given to the most vital tasks.

The demand for conventional (traditional) jobs will diminish but not totally disappear. Those who will be displaced should be able to upgrade their skills. In so doing, they will be able to move (upwards)to other positions. In the case of the manufacturing company, some of the employees will have to learn to handle sales and marketing or become technically competent to be able to move on to product development.

In the long run, Outsourcing should be good for the country. It will upgrade the skills of its citizens, giving it a higher value. In the end, GDP will increase. Besides, the world continues to move forward, labor unions pressuring their company's management to stop outsourcing are simply posing as hindrances to development.

This is a competitive world, those who fail to upgrade, will be culled.

Hmmn.. I just remembered Darwin and his theory of evolution by natural selection.

WORKPLACE SAFETY + BPO NEWS AND COMMENTS FOR TODAY

Last week, different newspapers articles reported the shutting down of several call centers in the US. This week however, there are reports of new ones rising. To cite a couple, there is one in Colorado and another in Pleasanton.

Call Centers in the Philippines continue to expand. On 2006, companies led by DELL hired thousands of new call center employees. This year, People Support and several other existing BPO’s are contracting new buildings that will house their expansions. Today, another call center expands its operation.

The voice of the customer management profession points out that outsourcing is inevitable. However, there are some perils associated with it and discussed ways to avoid it.

In Dubai, a center called the Financial Technologies Centre for Straight Through Processing Services (FT-CSS) was created to act as a “Technology platform for brokers of stocks and commodities to outsource their complete trading and back-office transaction processing.”

Emirates, the Dubai based airline company will will inaugurate a big call and data center at the Dubai Outsource Zone in order to augment its existing facilities.

A call center incident in Portland has highlighted the need to establish steps to protect contact center employees from infectious diseases. Hopefully, all those affected will recover properly. What happened in that call center should serve as a lesson to all other BPO and non BPO firms all over the world.

The workplace conditions should be planned, taking into careful consideration the outmost safety of the people working in it. Despite the cut throat competition, it will always be a good business practice to institute measures that will protect the employees.

Clients should also take such matters into consideration whenever they choose new vendors. It is not simply the low figures that they should rely upon. Clients and vendors alike, should compete and take pride for the distinction of having and supporting the best working environments in the industry. Calling the Safety Organizations in the world...

MODES OF COLLECTING PAYMENTS

This is beneficial to BPO's and most other companies.

Doing business these days require a good means of collecting payments. The old way of receiving cash on sight (over the counter) is limited to personal or face-to-face transactions. Nowadays, there are instances where that system is simply not practical. Clients who order via the internet, phone transactions or those physically located in far locations will find it very inconvenient to pay using the face-to-face method. Businesses who rely solely on this system are bound to lose a lot of clients.

These days, payments via credit cards and bank transfers have become the norm. from the sellers point of view, using the two systems may be inconvenient. Bank transfers are costly and time consuming especially for international clients. The use of credit cards are convenient in some parts of the world but for companies located outside the US and Europe, getting a merchant account that will allow the collection through credit cards is a very difficult, if not impossible task. It is also worthwhile mentioning that for countries with difficult systems for getting credit card merchant accounts, the number of consumers with credit cards are also relatively low.

This hurdles to doing business have created the need for alternative payment systems that will incorporate the use of direct transfers, credit and debit cards and online systems for payment and collections. The global business community which were used to names like Visa, Amex and Mastercard has now been introduced to new players.

The most visible company in this field is Paypal followed by e-gold and moneybookers. At the moment, paypal does not allow the acceptance of payments for some countries but moneybookers and e-gold has the flexibility that will enable the members to collect money in most, if not all parts of the world.

To get a free Paypal account, please sign up here.
To get a free moneybookers account, please sign up here.
To get a free e-gold account, please sign up here.

Apartheid in the BPO Industry? + Other BPO Updates

A US Congressman filed a bill requiring foreign call center workers to disclose their location. Read the complete news this page:

"The congressman, a Democrat, has filed legislation called the Call Center Consumer's Right to Know Act that would require call center employees to state their physical location when called by consumers. supporters believe location disclosure would inform consumers that many of their calls have been redirected to foreign countries and will focus attention on the degree to which U.S. call center jobs have moved overseas."

Hmmn.. Does the congressman want to encourage the practice discrimination based on location, race and color? Isn't this bill leading to a new variant of Apartheid and Racial Profiling? Let's see what the American Civil Liberties Union have to say regarding this.

Andolini, an economist, will probably have a different take on this. Let's wait for his comments.

Cops Outsource the maintenance of their crime database. Click here.

"Police officers are entering crime incident reports, arrest records and other important data into the CrimeCog integrated criminal justice system using personal computers and a common Internet browser. The information is encrypted as it is sent to a secure data center, where it can be accessed by other authorized users, including other police departments."

In Jerusalem, large tourists arrivals are forcing hotel owners to do what others may think as "Unthinkable". Hotels are currently outsourcing rooms to competitors. I hope Asian hotels will have a way of transporting the tourists to their hotels for the evening and return them to the streets of Jerusalem in the morning. Hmmn.. "Beam me up, Scottie!" Read the news here