Convergys to put up call centers in Davao

DAVAO CITY—Convergys, reputedly the world’s largest call center company, is set to put up two call centers in the city.

American Chamber president Sonny Dizon said Wednesday that Convergys country manager Marife Zamora confirmed the expansion plan.

The Cincinnati-based company expects to hire about 1,000 for the two branches, said Bert Barriga, vice president of the city’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector.

Barriga said Convergys, which has 18 branches in Luzon and Visayas and employs about 26,000 nationwide, has identified the sites where it will establish the call centers.

It is not yet clear, however, when the two centers will start commercial operations.

Barriga said Convergys had expressed confidence that it will be able to get qualified workers from Davao City, given its track record in producing qualified call center agents.

There are about 14,000 full-time call center agents here, working in 18 BPOs led by Sutherland.

The other call center facilities are operated by Sitel, Callboy, People Support, Etelecare, Concentrix, Synex, Gcom/Cybercity, Western Watts, Surecruit, Global Connect, Global-X, Callwell, Sixeleven, Qualiserv, Quantum Information Systems, Hubport Interactive and IDX Web Designs.

“In the next three months, new locators will also be coming in and that would translate into 4,000 additional jobs,” Barriga said, as he announced a rosy forecast for the business process outsourcing sector here.

Convergys provides customer management services, including agent assisted, self-service and care software for communications, financial services, technology, retail, healthcare and government sectors.

It also offers information management products, primarily to large corporations.

Convergys has been aggressively trimming down its US workforce and increasing its offshore activities in India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Canada, Costa Rica, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa where labor is cheaper.

A company briefer said the move was aimed at reducing the salary and benefits cost, which should increase revenue.

The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations (Nasdaq) listed Convergys’ assets at $1.25 billion as of the first quarter of 2012, a sharp increase from $953 million at the end of 2012.  With a report from Allan Nawal, Inquirer Mindanao