The Philippine business process outsourcing sector holds up to 15 percent of the global market, employing an estimated 1.3 million Filipinos and contributing nearly $30 billion to the local economy yearly.
With an annual growth trajectory of eight and 10 percent, outsourcing services and digital solutions providers TaskUs predict sustained growth, noting the shift in client preference to Filipino BPO agents.
“We are seeing clients outsource new functions for the first time that they previously thought they would outsource. We are also seeing continued interest in shifting and geographic footprints among our clients, with the Philippines and India leading the way from low-cost destinations where these clients can get good quality work done. The Philippines and India will benefit on these tracks,” TaskUs co-founder and president Jaspar Weir said.
Given their mature executive team, Weir does not see any slowdown in operation.
“We are becoming a global company as we are now in 13 countries, but the primary services that we offer, especially when it comes to English support, content moderation, data operation, and other sorts of services that we offer, the Philippines remains the premiere place to get this work done,” told the Daily Tribune.
And with the global economy in a hot mess right now, Weir said the BPO industry in the country and other parts of the world would bounce back towards normalcy.
For his part, Dean Van Ormer, TaskUs senior vice president and head of Southeast Asia Region, maintained the demand for the Philippines remains strong, not only driven by several different ways but also by the company’s performance that they deliver to clients.
“It’s been a top-tier performance that we deliver in the Philippines, which fuels even more growth, and that’s due to the executive team down through the teammates working for us. We need to continue to drive great performance,” Ormer said.
According to Kris Mandap, vice president of Operations and the lead of TaskUs Ortigas-Phoenix, the company currently employs 45,300 staff across 26 locations in 13 countries, including the United States, the Philippines, and India.
“Agents are close to 28,000 in the Philippines alone, and the company is geared towards providing more opportunities to Filipinos amid challenging times,” Mandap said.
“On top of that, we don’t only vouch on delivering a great performance that fuels our growth, but we’re seen as the employer of choice in the Philippines. From an employee perspective, we have a superb culture, which fuels our growth with that capability to go out and hire people in the workplace,” Ormer added.
Unfazed by Ukraine war
Without elaborating on growth figures, Weir said TaskUs is seen to grow by 20 percent this year amid the financial crisis happening in the world, particularly the ongoing war in Ukraine.
“Overall, we are not affected by the war in Ukraine, specifically now, as it has other macro effects, which probably impact us indirectly. But China and Taiwan have such a big presence in Southeast Asia. For us, it’s a situation we are monitoring very closely, but as of now, has not had an impact on our business,” Weir told the Daily Tribune.
TaskUs began its humble beginnings in a small office on top of a vulcanizing shop in Aguinaldo Highway Bacoor, Cavite. Their business grew exponentially when people back then believed in the capabilities of its founders, Weir, and Bryce Maddock, TaskUs’ CEO and co-founder, who also believed in the innate goodness, strength, and intelligence of the Filipino workforce, fueling their growth.