(BPO) industry and Cebu’s workforce.

Top officials said the company’s expansion in Cebu signifies their commitment to and confidence in the country’s booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industry and Cebu’s workforce.

GLOBAL outsourcing firm Aegis PeopleSupport launched yesterday its 12-storey Aegis Tower Cebu at the Asiatown I.T. Park.

Top officials said the company’s expansion in Cebu signifies their commitment to and confidence in the country’s booming business process outsourcing (BPO) industry and Cebu’s workforce.

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“We are the only (BPO company) that is putting dollars on the ground, which means we are here for good,” said Aegis Limited managing director and global chief executive officer Aparup Sengupta in a press conference at the Cebu City Marriott Hotel.

Sengupta cited proximity, hospitality, excellent English communication skills and strong service culture as among Cebu’s attractive characteristics for BPO investors.

“We aim to become a $1-billion company, crossing the 60,000 mark in headcount by March 2012. The Philippine market plays a big part in helping us achieve our goals,” Sengupta said.

Commitment

Aegis invested P2 billion for the building of Aegis Tower Cebu, whose development comes in two phases.

“It’s a proof of our commitment to the Philippines and to the Filipino talent. Cebu continues to provide an extremely skilled workforce providing great affinity with the right experience for our local and international clients,” said Rajiv Ahuja, Aegis Limited president for Asean and ANZ.

Aegis has about 50, 000 employees in 50 locations in 12 countries.

In the Philippines, the firm has about 12,000 employees with other offices located in Manila and Baguio. Cebu has about 4,000 employees. Ahuja said they hope to increase the Cebu workforce by hiring 2,000 more employees with the completion of the Tower’s Phase 2.

Aegis Tower Cebu sits on a 3,300 square meter property. Apart from the being the first
company-owned BPO building, the facility also boasts of being one of the first BPO green buildings in the country.

According to the firm, the building was designed to maximize energy efficiency, using sustainable materials sourced from suppliers with environment-friendly practices.

The tower’s Phase 1 aims to become the first Gold-Level purpose-built BPO building in the Philippines, certified under the US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) version 2.2 standard for new construction and major renovation. The Phase 2 project, which will be completed next year, also aims for the same certification under the LEED.

Liza Lamzon, Aegis PeopleSupport Inc. vice president for strategic programs, said the company will be fully integrated by the end of 2012 with the completion of its Phase 2 building. She said the firm is currently in transition, transferring manpower and resources from previous locations at e-Office and Skyrise 1.

The combined phases of the building will bring a total capacity of 8, 000 employees.

Among the tower’s amenities include a customized applicant experience center; a two-level fitness center with dance studio; a recreation center; a roof-top garden; two basements and three floors of parking spaces.

Growing faster

The global outsourcing and offshoring industry is estimated to reach $270 billion in the next five years. growing at an average of 15 percent a year, according to Aegis chief people officer S.M. Gupta.

He said the Philippines is growing faster than the global growth rate of more than 23 percent in the last 10 years. Gupta said the country has to take advantage of this growth and continue producing a large talent pool for the BPO and IT industry.

However, talent pool requirement is one of the major challenges faced by the BPO sector. Sengupta said this is one major area that needs to be addressed by the government and other private stakeholders considering that Cebu has become a preferred BPO destination.

“What if we will be hiring 1,000 employees in three months, will Cebu have the ability to produce the required number?” Sengupta said. He noted that talent pool in metro cities is slowly drying up.

Search for talent

“We are looking at either going to provinces and searching for this talent or going to these provinces and putting up establishments,” he said.

Aegis serves a spectrum of industries such as banking, financial services, insurance, telecom, healthcare, travel and hospitality, consumer goods, retail and technology.

Known for its aggressive acquisition strategy, Aegis Limited entered into a definitive merger agreement with PeopleSupport in 2008. Aegis is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Essar Group, a $17-billion conglomerate based in Mumbai, India.

Aegis was ranked third among top BPO players in India in a recent survey by Dataquest, a leading knowledge publication. The firm is also recognized among the top four BPO companies in Nasscom’s recent annual BPO ranking this year.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 11, 2011.

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