Strong currency hurts Philippine call centres

[kitloy]

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para asa gud ning strong peso daw? nya para nako mura negative nuon siya ..

mao ra man geapon taas ang mga basic commodities,

manghambog pa ang gobyerno nga kusog na daw ang peso , pero sus di man mafeel sa mga tawo..

tsk tsk

[diatabz]

One disturbing notion that call center or potential call center people don't see is that call center companies pay you in cash and have minimal health benefits. so in case of emergency, utang na naman kay gamay ra makaya sa health benefit program sa call center company.

Huh? Before the advent of the BPO industry, company-provided health insurance was unheard of for the entry-level employee. No SME offers coverage of up to 500,000 to non-regularized employees--I can give you more than a handful of local BPOs that do. And if an SME or even MNC does give that kind of coverage, they are the exception, not the rule. More importantly, these local companies are plagued by nepotism issues--something BPOs don't have--so prospective employees have to jump through hoops they needn't to in the first place.

As someone who works in healthcare, more than 70 percent of HMO claims we see are from employees working in BPO companies. Go figure.

You don't bite the hand that fed you. The BPO industry has been the saving grace of this country, along with OFW remittances.

But on the other side of the coin, businesses, especially traiditonal businesses have become less favorable in terms of potential employers to the workforce because: a) low take home salary compared to what call centers are offerring. ; b) because call centers are located in more "sosyal" locations, they would rather work there for the "prestige".

Gone are the days when work is work no matter where it is; so long as it is decent and sufficient with good benefits, beyond those that the government demands of its business owners.

Sounds protectionist to me .

[james_chaw]

You don't bite the hand that fed you. The BPO industry has been the saving grace of this country, along with OFW remittances.

Sounds protectionist to me .

you don't bite the hand that feeds you? The depends entirely on which side of the business arena you are feeding from. The BPO industry is the saving grace of potential employees. Saving grace of the country? Majority of these BPOs are located in PEZA protected zones which means they are zero-rate which means they pay little to no taxes. That is the "attractiveness" for BPOs to do business with our country. They open new branches in newly established PEZA zones in order to avoid taxes so don't kid yourself. and OFW remittances? again, these go to the benefit of relatives who spend them. Correct me if i'm wrong but I think the BIR has not fully taxed OFW remittances/salaries so nothing directly goes into government coffers so it hasn't, to put it in your language, become the "saving grace of this country"

"protectionist?" are you for real? my statement doesn't have an iota hinting at protectionism. That statement is merely a fact of the sad state of the choices local businesses are left with.

[james_chaw]

i'm aware of that bro, i just mentioned brain drain because of what you've mentioned earlier. in a way there is still some sort of a "brain drain" for local companies here because if they're paying low they can't expect highly talented workers to work for them. the one company that i've tried applying bro their outgoing IT could not even make a daily time recorder application that the company badly needed for their payroll that's why they wanted him replaced.

talented workers advance themselves not only because of what the company spoon-feeds to them but also through self-discipline. If a worker or any human being wishes to improve one's self, then one will definitely be disciplined enough to stick to a regiment of self study.

Nowadays, it's no longer impossible to do self-study. The internet has been a vital tool in broadcasting information. And because of such an avenue, self-study is more than available to anyone.

[james_chaw]

When we take into consideration that the Philippine economy is in large part easily affected by OR practically buoyed by BPO/outsourcing, I don't see how a stronger Peso would entail a stronger economy--without hurting these earners first. It's pretty much a pipe-dream if you ask me. It's a dilemma. Does this "stronger peso" mean the Philippines will become a more import-based economy?

perhaps the more pressing matter should be how to increase the spending power of the peso. In what way is the "peso that much stronger" does that mean 1 peso today can buy more stuff than before? More jobs is the easiest band aid to a larger problem. SUSTAINED economic reforms. or SUSTAINED beneficial reforms for that matter.

The problem with the Philippines is that every new administration will always "detach" itself from the former administration so they stop, drag, or perhaps eradicate programs, reforms and such that were started or continued by the former administration. In effect, mura tag China sauna and the dynasties.

[james_chaw]

The peso strengthening does more good than harm. Unfortunately for BPOs, usa sila sa maigo gyud. Same can be said about OFWs. My suggestion is adapt to change. Leave that decision making and earnings problem to the company. Equip yourself with the skills necessary for a career change.

I agree. 60 or 70 years ago, employees aren't the multi-taskers that they are today.

[james_chaw]

para asa gud ning strong peso daw? nya para nako mura negative nuon siya ..

mao ra man geapon taas ang mga basic commodities,

manghambog pa ang gobyerno nga kusog na daw ang peso , pero sus di man mafeel sa mga tawo..

tsk tsk

mao gyud run. stronger peso but buying power hasn't really appreciated. tabla rag wla

[rickflag]

talented workers advance themselves not only because of what the company spoon-feeds to them but also through self-discipline. If a worker or any human being wishes to improve one's self, then one will definitely be disciplined enough to stick to a regiment of self study.

Nowadays, it's no longer impossible to do self-study. The internet has been a vital tool in broadcasting information. And because of such an avenue, self-study is more than available to anyone.

bro in IT self study will not be an impressive notes to your resume. it's actual working experience. i can study many programming languages but i can only put few in my resume because i haven't used them on actual projects. if i my working experience is on using powerbuilder, vb6 or foxpro and then I put in Java in my resume but only on self study, the interviewer would just laugh at me. it's more like specialization in medicine. it's not same with other fields bro.

[james_chaw]

bro in IT self study will not be an impressive notes to your resume. it's actual working experience. i can study many programming languages but i can only put few in my resume because i haven't used them on actual projects. if i my working experience is on using powerbuilder, vb6 or foxpro and then I put in Java in my resume but only on self study, the interviewer would just laugh at me. it's more like specialization in medicine. it's not same with other fields bro.

and once again, if we focus on i.t. alone, this conversation will go round and round. BPO companies are NOT ONLY I.T. companies but also a multitude of various kinds of companies.

[james_chaw]

Off topic: @rickflag: Kabantay ko bro ba, before last week, you were still a senior member. now you're an elite member.