The BPO Confidence Index and Resilience: The case for the Caribbean

The COVID-19 pandemic had a massive impact on the outsourcing industry, initially disrupting but ultimately leading to companies employing dynamic operating shifts such Work From Home to continue provide service to their customers. The acceleration of client’s digital customer channels and solutions led to a ?key transition in ?BPO organizations which ?shifted from single-function operations per location to multi-functional operations to reduce the risk impact at any single location. ?Many companies also moved some of their operations to other locations to mitigate the risk exposure. ?

The BPO consulting firm Ryan Strategic Advisory puts out an annual Offshore BPO Confidence Index which gauges how offshore and nearshore operators view the countries in which they operate.

In their 2021 Report #Colombia scored the overall Number 1 position. Colombia has distinguished itself as a top-tier BPO/KPO destination in this hemisphere based on talent pool, talent scalability (both segments benefit from a population of 50 million and 91 universities) and ?the highest number of IT and engineering graduates in all of Latin America. Government infrastructure and the work done by the Colombian BPO association, #BPro, have served to anchor its position as a trusted viable location for international BPO/KPO companies to establish operations.

Also scoring highly in several areas was Jamaica. Jamaica secured the Number One position in Political Stability and placed in the Top Four in BPO Industry Collaboration, government Support and of course, Language Skills.

Jamaica’s BPO industry grew from 40,000 agents at the beginning of January 2020 to approximately 45,000 by October 2021. This 14% increase was driven by various factors such as BPO companies receiving more work, new customers and expansion of contracts ?as the Covid Pandemic drove more people to online transactions.?The spread of Covid in Jamaica was not as catastrophic as it was in other Latin American countries and the government moved quickly to classify BPO workers as essential workers (which led to their exemption from curfew and lockdown regulations), and allowed companies to employ “Work From Home” options which allowed them to move equipment outside the Special Economic Zones. Finally, the Jamaican government also prioritized BPO workers, along with food manufacturing personnel, food retail and hotel workers, for early vaccination.

Jamaica’s growth to become the leader of BPO operations in the Caribbean with approximately 60 multinational BPO/Outsourcing operations (eclipsing the Dominican Republic who now has 26,000 agents) was the result of various factors, some of which was mentioned in the Offshore BPO Confidence Index, such as political stability, government support, talent pool , competitive costs, robust telecommunications network and of course, being a Native English-speaking country.

Native English: A Dynamic Advantage

As more BPO companies with operations in Latin America continue to expand their client base and scope of work in North America (Canada and the USA), they frequently encounter challenges with ramping up with truly bi-lingual agents who are fluent in English and, even more challenging, a near-native accent. ?English is not only a competitive advantage but a key component of a low cost, knowledge-based services export strategy. English has been critical to Jamaica’s success in this regard.

“If the product itself is customer service, and the customer is an English-language speaker in the United States, then there is no choice – a business will succeed or fail based on the language competency of its workforce.” Said one BPO country manager in Colombia, who uses American English teachers residing in Bogota to periodically update his agents on new colloquial American expressions or regional pronunciations (especially for Southern states).

Shift For Purpose

Perhaps most importantly, some BPO’s have been shifting more seats to countries, like Jamaica and also to Belize and St. Lucia. This shift has been the result of feedback from American customers tired of talking with foreigners who could, strictly speaking, converse in English, but where communication was lost because of their accents and because they couldn’t create the cultural understanding that so often is necessary even for mainly technical conversations.

Cultural Affinity

North America’s cultural influence on Latin America is exceptionally strong.?However, this cultural influence is certainly deeper in the English-speaking Caribbean, where ?American tv shows and movies are consumed by English-speaking citizens who assimilate the jargon and catchphrases into their daily lives. Countries like Jamaica also has greater US brand awareness due to its closer proximity?to the United States and having majority American brands in stores and supermarkets.

Business Environment

Jamaica benefits from the presence of leading players of the BPO offshore services Global Value Chain, including Teleperformance, Alorica, Conduent, Concentrix, and Sutherland Global Services. Globally, three of these companies participate not only in the low and high-end BPO segment of the value chain, but also in vertical industries, including financial services, life sciences, and insurance.

Global player, Ibex identified Jamaica as the perfect place for rapid expansion due to the island’s location and high-quality talent. From Jamaica they offer BPO and KPO value -added services to clients in North America and Asia. ?In the last three years Ibex’s staff complement has grown 397%, currently with 6,500 agents.

The Future of Caribbean -Latin American Collaboration and Synergy

When we think of thriving?BPO industries, we automatically think of Asian countries like India, the Philippines, and Vietnam. In the past, Asian countries have ruled the BPO world but Latin America ?and the Caribbean has been gaining ground as an incredible place to outsource. Latin America is witnessing a boom in the BPO industry because of affordable labour costs, proximity and compatible time zone with the US, and technical skills.

??More and more companies are realizing that the English-speaking Caribbean presents proven unique advantages for BPO companies looking for dynamic locations with competitively priced and a skilled talent pool. This does not mean that it puts countries like Jamaica in a directly competitive position to countries like Colombia, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, but rather Jamaica represents a natural ally and option for LATAM BPO operators.

?Jamaica has seen the entrance of Panama BPO operator Iterium Connections, which opened their operations in Jamaica in September 2021 to serve their North American clients in sectors such as e-commerce, fintech and telecommunications. ??Additionally, several Colombian and Chilean companies have been subcontracting to Jamaican BPO companies, while also exploring the establishment of operations on the island.

Many executives will be looking once again at their customer service strategy in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic and thinking about how to boost business resilience. ?It signifies the advantages of multiple locations for resilience and key differentiator segmentation.

?#BPO #nearshore #Jamaica #Caribbean #callcenters #KPO #siteselection #digitalservices #foreigninvestment #FDI #foreigndirectinvestment #Caricom #telecommunications #easterncaribbean #JAMPRO #sharedservices #globalbusiness #TransformaciónDigital #digitaltransformation #investmentpromotion #outsourcing #techsupport #LATAM #latinamerica

?Nicholas Sutherland is the Manager for New Market Development at JAMPRO. He is ?a Foreign Direct Investment and Business Development Professional taking part in the implementation of Jamaica's economic development strategies and leading investment-seeking initiatives focused on Latin America and Asia, particularly in the BPO(contact centers), hotel and logistics sectors.?