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A US-BASED provider of high value business process
out-sourcing (BPO) services to the communications industry worldwide
is set to put up its first facility in the Philippines this month,
its chief operating officer said Friday.
StarTek Inc. said it will open
its first Philippine facility in Makati City, with operations
starting in the fourth quarter.
Larry Jones, StarTek president
and chief operating officer, said the Philippine government and the
local BPO community helped the US company locate here, adding its
maiden office would employ more than 1,100 Filipinos.
“We are delighted to begin
operations in the Philippines, which has attained a high level of
visibility within the BPO industry in recent years for its
exceptional talent pool and reputation for quality service
delivery,” Jones said.
Oscar Sañez, chief executive
officer of the Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPA/P),
said StarTek’s entry demonstrates the increasing attractiveness of
the country to BPO service providers.
“One of the reasons we are
viewed as a major offshoring and outsourcing center is the presence
of industry heavyweights such as Star-Tek,” he said.
A standard investment for a BPO
company entails at least $3,000 per seat.
Jones said the company undertook
a comprehensive global search, and chose the Philippines for three
critical reasons. These are its large talent pool of highly
literate, college-educated English speakers, the country’s
reliable, redundant communications infrastructure, including
dedicated connectivity to the US to ensure high voice-quality to
customers, and cost effective operations compared with other
potential sites.
StarTek is building its new
7,200-square-meter state-of-the-art facility inside a four-story
building in Makati City.
Jones said that its future
employees will have large work stations and conveniences such as
24-hour food service, themed pantry areas and employee nap rooms.
--Katrina Mennen A. Valdez
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