Call Centre facts
“Offshore outsourcers are expected to steal one in fifteen call centre agent jobs in the US by 2008, according to forecasts by analyst group Datamonitor. The firm says that offshore centres in Canada, Mexico, India and the Philippines stand to benefit most from the exodus as financial services firms and other industries move to cut costs by exporting jobs to cheaper locations. The report estimates that one out of every 24 call centre agents, or 121,000 agent positions, serving US customers are currently outsourced to a near- or offshore bureau. This is expected to rise to one in 15, or 201,000 offshore jobs, within the next five years.” Click here.
“The Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU), which represents the 3,500 Optus call centre staff, said the announcement spelled uncertainty for both permanent and contract workers. “Obviously, we’re extremely concerned about it and we’re calling on Optus to review its decision, CEPU Telecommunications and Services national president Colin Cooper said.” Optus contract call centre workers employed in regional centres, including Devonport in Tasmania, were “nervous” about their fate, he said.” Click here.
“National Australia Bank plans to move part of its back-office to India, fuelling fears of more job cuts just days after it announced that it was axing 4,200 positions. It follows similar announcements from other banks and insurance companies that are looking to benefit from the lower wages paid in countries such as India and the Philippines. The bank is also axing 1,700 jobs in Britain and another 500 from head office and its institutional markets business.”
The disappearing positions:
- In the US 500,000 finance jobs may go overseas over the next five years.
- In Britain in the seven months following October 2003 more than 14,000 jobs went offshore.
- The annual salary of a call centre worker in the Philippines is $US4,000. The salary of a call centre worker in the United States is $46,000 US.
- Workers in the Philippines are required to respond to 400 calls a day. In Australia it is closer to 80. Source: the Finance Sector Union” Click here.
“According to Datamonitor, 241,100 agent positions will be located offshore in 2007. Global Offshore Call Centre Outsourcing: Who will be the next India Mexico, South Africa (seen as a hidden gem of offshore call centre outsourcing) and Malaysia are among the leading offshore locations. They are growing in stature at the expense of India and the Philippines whose share of the offshore market will drop to 64 percent in 2007 compared to 70 percent in 2002.”
Offshore call centres are not living up to expectations
Click here.
More links to check out