Experts give tips on how BPOs can weather the crisis

Adapting environment-friendly facilities and investing in incentives for employees can help minimize operational costs of call center companies during the economic crisis, a business processes outsourcing expert said.

Dave Rizzo, regional vice president for operations of Teleperformance, on Wednesday said that call center companies can save a lot of money by using green technologies.

“Electricity costs here in the Philippines is very high,” he said during the 2009 Call Center Conference and Expo held Wednesday in Pasay City.

Rizzo said that having a “green mindset” in the company by teaching employees energy and water conservation measures can help save more money for the company. He cited Teleperformance for being able to bring down utility costs by as much as 25% by continuously educating their workforce from the moment they start working about energy conservation.

“At the end of the day, those dollars and cents can be put back into the operations for additional investments,” he said.

Companies, he added, can also save more if they use motion-sensor lights and waterless urinals, and if their employees observe energy saving measures like turning off their computers when they are not using them.

Companies should adopt new technologies, like videoconferencing and webcasts, not only because it is cheaper but also because it is environment-friendly. “This is a great way not only to decrease communications cost but also reduce carbon footprint,” Rizzo said.

Call center firms, Rizzo said, can also provide incentives to workers to improve employee satisfaction and reduce attrition.

“Employee satisfaction translates to retention and we know that oftentimes attrition is the number one killer in terms of costs,” he said.

Call center companies have been suffering from high turnover rates during the past years and companies have been complaining of this because they have been spending a lot of money and resources in training their workers.

Call center companies, Rizzo said, can also save money by making efficient leaders by investing on management skills training on agents that have just been promoted into supervisors.

“They typically don’ have the financial background and the business acumen that the companies expect from them, he said, adding that they need to be coached in understanding the needs of the clients, the key performance indicators, how they can achieve their targets, reporting  and other management skills.

These trainings, he added, promote accountability in the company. (Newsbreak)

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