Description
In 1997, the international community, under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), formalized an agreement to liberalize the telecommunications service in their respective economies.
Labour Market Research Unit
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department
Information Systems and technical Services Division
HEART Trust NTA
January 2014
i
Contents
1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Defining the Business Processing Outsourcing Industry ............................................................... 2
1.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 3
1.4 Limitation ...................................................................................................................................... 3
2.0 Plans and Policies of the BPO Industry ............................................................................................. 4
2.1 Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan................................................................................................... 4
2.3 Planned Developments for the BPO Industry ............................................................................... 6
2.4 Stakeholder’s Association ............................................................................................................. 7
2.5 Value Chain of the BPO Industry ................................................................................................... 7
2.6 Organization of Call/Contact Centre Services in the BPO Industry .............................................. 9
2.7 Attrition in the Global and Local BPO Industry ........................................................................... 10
2.8 Major Issues and Trends Affecting the Offshore Outsourcing Industry ..................................... 11
3.0 Results of Survey and Focus Group Discussion ............................................................................... 12
3.1 The Business Process Outsourcing Industry - Value Chain Analysis ........................................... 12
3.1.1 Main Occupational Areas of Employees in the local Outsourcing & Off-Shoring Industry ..... 12
TEAM LEADERS /MANAGERS /SUPERVISORS ............................................................................................. 12
3.1.2 Employment Categories ...................................................................................................... 13
3.1.3 Attrition in each Occupational Area .................................................................................... 14
3.1.4 Change in Employment by Occupational Areas in the next 2 years ................................... 15
3.1.5 Current Vacancies ............................................................................................................... 16
3.1.6 Skill sets of New Occupational Areas .................................................................................. 17
3.2 Training and Capacity Development ........................................................................................... 19
3.2.1 Training Needs of Occupational Areas ................................................................................ 19
3.2.2 Suggestions offered by Employers for Improving the Training Offerings for Workers and
Potential Workers in the BPO Industry ............................................................................................... 19
3.3 Opportunity for the Jamaican BPO Industry ......................................................................................... 20
3.4 Satisfaction Levels with HEART Trust/NTA and its Graduates .................................................... 21
3.4.1 Type of Recruitment Consideration Given to HEART Trust/NTA Graduates ...................... 21
3.4.2 Employment of HEART Graduates ...................................................................................... 22
3.4.3 Why Employers do not Employ HEART Graduates ............................................................. 22
ii
4. Conclusion and Recommendation ....................................................................................................... 23
References .................................................................................................................................................. 26
Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 27
iii
List of Tables and Figures
Table 1 – Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan - Goals and Outcomes .............................................................. 4
Table 2 - Category of Occupational Areas among BPO Companies ............................................................ 12
Table 3 – Percentage Distribution of Occupational Areas .......................................................................... 13
Table 4 - Number of Employees by Geographical Area and Occupational Area ........................................ 13
Table 5 - Attrition Rates in the BPO Companies Surveyed. ........................................................................ 14
Table 6 – Estimated Number of Persons Leaving the BPO Industry in 2013 .............................................. 14
Table 7 – Number of Persons Exiting the Industry by Occupational Area and Geographical Area ............ 15
Table 8 - Projected New Jobs by Occupational Area and Geographic Area – 2014-2016 .......................... 16
Table 9 - Vacancies ...................................................................................................................................... 16
Table 10 - Vacancies by Occupational Areas and Challenges Faces in Recruiting ...................................... 17
Table 11 - Occupational Areas by Skill Sets Required By BPO Companies Within Next 2 Years ................ 18
Table 12 Training Needs by Occupational Areas ........................................................................................ 19
Table 13 - Level of consideration given to HEART Trust Graduates ........................................................... 21
Table 14 - Past Employment of HEART Graduates ...................................................................................... 22
Figure 1: - Offshore Services Value Chain ..................................................................................................... 8
Figure 2: Structure of Business Outsourcing Services................................................................................. 10
iv
Abbreviations
BPO Business Process Outsource
BPIAJ
GATS
GOJ
HEART Trust/NTA
ITES
Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica
General Agreement on Trade in Services
Government of Jamaica
Heart Trust/National Training Agency
Information Technology Enabled Service
ITO
JAMPRO
Information Technology Outsourcing
Jamaica Promotions
KPO
PIOJ
Knowledge Process Outsourcing
Planning Institute of Jamaica
1
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background
In 1997, the international community, under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS), formalized an agreement to liberalize the telecommunications service in their
respective economies. Two years later, in September 1999, the Government of Jamaica (GOJ)
reached an agreement for the phased liberalization of the local telecommunications sector
1
.
Under this agreement, the GOJ made provision for the upgrading of voice and data
communication services to the Information Technology Industries.
As a result of this, Jamaica became a sought after destination for North American Business
Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies due to its strategic location. Employment in the local
BPO Industry grew over the years, from approximately 4,500 persons in 1999 (JAMPRO: 2000)
to approximately 14,000 persons
2
in 2013.
The global BPO Industry was valued at US$680 billion at the end of 2011, representing one of
the fasting growing industries worldwide.
The Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ’s) ‘Growth Induced Strategy for Jamaica in the medium
and Short Term” indicated that while there was robust performance in the BPO market over the
last ten years, there was no significant investments in Jamaica during that time. With the
expected growth in the global Industry, revenue is expected to reach approximately US$135
billion by 2014. The Caribbean and Latin American market was projected to grow by
approximately 20 percent per year and should therefore amount to US$5 billion by 2013.
Currently, the BPO Industry is valued at US$260 million.
Based on growth trends in the global BPO market, the aim of the GOJ is to double the size of
the Industry over the next two years
3
, to take advantage of its expected growth. The
anticipated growth has sparked a collaborative effort between the National Training Agency
(HEART Trust/NTA) and the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), in which
the Agency will aid in the training of the current and potential workforce for the Industry. In
this regard, the HEART Trust/NTA has undertaken a study of the BPO Industry with the primary
aim being to ascertain its training needs. The results from the Study will inform the training
directions of the Agency.
The specific objectives of the study include:
? A profile of the local Outsourcing and Off-Shoring Industry
? An overview of the current and possible projected changes in the structure of the
industry.
1
Ministry of Industry and Commerce: Telecommunication Supplement 2003. “A New era in Telecommunications”
2
Jamaica Observer News Online – November 29, 2013 “Kerr-Jarrett to break ground on ICT facility in January”
3
JIS Website News - http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/bydate/31464--govt-looking-to-tap-into-bpo-industry
2
? Identification of the Industry’s current and future (2 year projection) training needs
? An employers’ rate of satisfaction in relation to HEART Trust/NTA and employees
trained by the Agency.
? Recommendations for targeted skill areas and numbers for training.
1.2 Defining the Business Processing Outsourcing Industry
The outsourcing companies which started operations in the 1980’s were defined under the
`Information Technology Industry’. However, as the Industry evolved over the years, with
improved information and communications technologies, (Information Communication
Technology or ICT) it was recognized as an Information Technology Enabled Service (ITES) as
distinct from Information Technology (IT) service. Notably, within the global industry, reference
is made to “ITES-BPO Industry”. Additionally, BPO is a relatively new business model that is
dependent on ICT to effect its operations by making time and distance irrelevant. Hence, the
term ICT/BPO, is also used to reference the Industry.
The Vision 2030 National Development Plan of Jamaica - ICT Sector Plan, considers ICT under
two main aspects. That is, ICT as a Sector in its own right and ICT as an enabler of all other
sectors. The Vision 2030 National Development Plan of Jamaica - Services Sector Plan, makes
reference to the Industry under the heading ‘Outsourcing and Off-Shoring’. The BPO Industry
therefore straddles between the ICT and the Services Sectors. As it relates to the policies and
plans for the BPO Industry, the Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan will be referenced.
The concept of Outsourcing and Off-Shoring used in the Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan
provides a much broader definition to describe the numerous activities performed in the
Industry. This concept encompasses three industry segments of the Outsourcing and Off-
Shoring Industry. Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark et.al (2010) defined these to include Information
Technology Outsourcing (ITO), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), and Knowledge Process
Outsourcing (KPO). This research, however, will focus on the BPO Industry segment.
“BPO involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business
functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. BPO is typically categorized into back
office outsourcing, which includes internal business functions; such as human
resources, finance, accounting, and front office outsourcing and customer-related services such
as contact centre services.”
4
The main services offered in the Industry are:
? Finance and Accounting
? Receivables and Debt Collection
? Inbound Customer Service
? Tele-Sales/Marketing
? Tech support
4
http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/byministry/31806-bpo-stakeholders-form-association
3
? Graphics
1.3 Methodology
Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to capture the data. A listing of BPO
companies obtained from JAMPRO was used as a listing frame of companies in the Industry.
Based on the objectives of the study, primary research was done through use of a
questionnaire, which was used to capture data using either face-to-face interviews, electronic
completion of the questionnaires or telephone interviews. One focus group discussion was also
held among industry stakeholders. Secondary information was collected through literature
reviews.
1.4 Limitation
With a response rate of 50%, half of the companies who were sampled did not participate in
the survey, despite numerous follow up calls and emails.
4
2.0 Plans and Policies of the BPO Industry
2.1 Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan
The Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan, under which the BPO Industry falls, represents one of the
strategic priority areas of the Vision 2030 Jamaica - National Development Plan. Four major
goals are outlined by the Services Sector Plan with the accompanying outcomes (Table 1).
Table 1 – Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan - Goals and Outcomes
GOALS OUTCOMES
1:- A globally competitive services sector
1.1:- Service providers who meet relevant international
and domestic standards and accreditation
1.2:- Strong participation in global and domestic markets
1.3:- Services sector with high levels of productivity
2:- Human resources that meet the labour
force needs of the services sector
2.1:- The dynamic labour force needs of the services
sector are met by education and training institutions
2.2:- Improved human resource development in the
services sector
3:- A business environment and
responsive infrastructure which can
adequately support the growth of the
services sector
3.1:- A supportive policy and regulatory framework
3.2:- Modernized and responsive infrastructure
3.3:- Improved personal, property and data security
3.4:- Improved provision of and access to capital
3.5:- Streamlined and facilitatory bureaucracy
3.6:- Strengthened industry associations
4:- Environmentally sustainable sector
4.1:- Reduction of main environmental impacts of services
sector
4.2:- Improved resilience against natural and manmade
hazards
4.3:- Services established as central component in
development of green economy
For the purposes of this report, as it relates to the training needs of the BPO Industry, more
focus will be given to Goal #2; ‘Human resources that meet the labour force needs of the
Services Sector’ and action areas. Reference will also be made to the other goals due to their
interrelatedness in achieving the national goal.
5
2.2 HEART Trust/NTA’S Responsibilities to the National Plan – Vision 2030 Services Sector
The HEART Trust NTA has been identified in the Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan as a key
agency in achieving the goals of the National Plan. The National Training Agency is instrumental
in helping Jamaica to develop a globally competitive Services Sector, as well as supplying human
resources that meets the needs of the Industry. Outlined below are the specific actions that
the HEART Trust/NTA is expected to carry out for achieving the associated national goals.
Goal # 1: A globally competitive Services Sector
a) Outcome: Service providers who meet relevant international and domestic standards and
accreditation.
? Strategy: Strengthen capacity of institutions involved in certification accreditation and
monitoring of standards for services
? Introduce certification into all services industries
? Appoint relevant institutions as certifying bodies
? Carry out training of staff in institutions involved in certification, accreditation and
monitoring of standards
? Improve government institutional capacity to provide for the certification of training
institutions in keeping with national and international standard
b) Outcome: Strong participation in global and domestic markets
? Strategy: Strengthen customer service standards of services sector
? Strengthen customer service orientation and standards of service providers
Goal # 2: Human resources that meet the labour force needs of the Services Sector
a) Outcome: The dynamic labour force needs of the Services Sector are met by education and
training institutions.
? Strategy: Promote partnerships between private and public education and training
institutions
? Encourage private endowments to existing training institutions by stakeholders and
the private sector
? Improve linkages between training programmes in private sector institutions and the
national training institutions.
b) Outcome: Improved human resource development in the Services Sector
? Strategy: Improve levels of training by services enterprises for managers and staff
? Develop and strengthen links with academic and training institutions to certify
training programme
? Ensure HEART certification to be assessed and revised in conjunction with
businesses / service providers
? Provide certification for continuing /on-the job training
6
2.3 Planned Developments for the BPO Industry
As part of the Jamaican Government’s thrust to attract more BPO companies to the country,
the goal is to double the size of the Industry by 2016
5
by providing 1.2 million square feet of
BPO space. According to JAMPRO’s President, there were 30 BPO companies in Jamaica in 2013,
employing approximately 14,000 full time employees.
6
The Ministry of Industry and
Commerce, under which the BPO Industry falls, has partnered with JAMPRO, the Development
Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ) in an effort to achieve this
goal.
Three areas have been earmarked as clusters for BPO space. These areas include:
a) Naggo Head Tech Park – Portmore
b) Caymanas ICT Park – Caymanas Economic Free Zone
c) Barnett Tech park – Montego Bay
In November 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce established a loan facility from the
PetroCaribe Development Fund, in partnership with DBJ, for the build out of BPO space up to
the year 2016. From consultation with JAMPRO, it was noted that under this funding, 200,000
square feet of BPO office space will be made available each year during the two year period -
2014/2015 and 2015/2016. This is expected to generate approximately 4,000 new jobs in each
year. It is, therefore, expected that 8,000 new jobs will be created among the three locations in
Kingston, Montego and Portmore. Consultations with JAMPRO indicated that the distribution
of jobs in the BPO Industry is distributed as follows:
? Montego Bay Region - 65% or approximately 5,200 persons,
? Kingston/Portmore 35% or approximately 2,800 persons.
As part of the build out of the 200,000 square feet BPO space, Barnett Technology Park in
Montego Bay is expected to come on stream by the beginning of 2015. This development will
provide 50,000 square feet facility that is expected to generate approximately 1,500 new jobs
7
.
The Factories Corporation of Jamaica, which is an agency of the Ministry of Industry and
Commerce, has also committed to providing 40 acres in the 200-acre site slated for the
Caymanas Economic Zone and 21 acres in Naggo Head Portmore
8
. At the time of the research,
the FCJ was awaiting Cabinet’s approval for the development of the first phase of the project.
5
JIS Website - http://jis.gov.jm/radio_programs/government-facilitates-us8-5-million-investment-bpo-project/
7
,
7
Jamaica Observer Online, January 10, 2014 – “Kerr-Jarrett to break ground on ICT facility in January”
8
PIOJ – Growth Inducement Strategy for Jamaica in the Short and Medium Term
7
2.4 Stakeholder’s Association
In 2012, stakeholders in the local BPO Industry formed an association to strengthen their
presence and competitiveness in the global industry. The objectives of the Association are to:
? share best practices;
? share experiences;
? share ideas on how to influence growth; and
? come together as a unified body to lobby as an industry.
This formation of the Industry Association is an achievement of Sector Goal #3 (Table 1), which
called for ‘strengthened industry associations’.
2.5 Value Chain of the BPO Industry
Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark et.al (2010), of the Center on Globalization, Governance &
Competitiveness, Duke University, carried out a research entitled “Offshore Services Global
Value Chain”. This research was commissioned by the Chilean Agency for Economic
Development in 2010. The researchers identified three main industry segments related to
offshore services. These included, Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO). These are organized into
horizontal and vertical activities. Horizontal activities are services that can be provided across
all industries and support outsourced business functions. Persons carrying out services in the
horizontal activities are process experts; while those in the vertical activities are industry
specific services and require industry experts.
Along the value chain, ITO services range from low to high, while KPO is at the highest end of
the value chain. BPO ranges from low to mid-level on the chain. The value of each activity
along the value chain is based on the educational level of the human resource required to carry
out the service.
8
Source: Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark et.al. Centre on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness, March 2010. Pg. 14 LOW
Business Process Outsourcing
V
a
l
u
e
A
d
d
e
d
ITO
Information Technology Outsourcing
Knowledge Process Outsourcing
Software R&D
IT Consulting
Software
Infrastructure
Business Consulting
Business Analytics
Market Intelligence
Legal Services
ERM
(Enterprise
Resource
Management)
HRM
(Human Resource
Management)
CRM
Customer
Relationship
Management)
Finance & Accounting
Procurement,
Logistics & Supply
Chain Management
Content/Document
Management
Contact Centres/Call
Centres
Marketing & Sales
Applications Management
Network Management
Infrastructure Management
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
Manufacturing/operations, supply chain
management, financials & project management
Applications Development
Applications Integration
Desktop Management
Training
Talent Management
Payroll
Recruiting
Banking, Financial Services
and Insurance
Ex. Investment, Research, private
equity research, and risk
management analysis
Manufacturing
Ex. Industrial Engineering, and
sourcing and vendor management
Telecommunications
Ex. IP Transformation,
Interoperability, testing and DSP and
multimedia
Energy
Ex. Energy Trading and Risk
Management, and Digital Oil field
Solutions
Travel & Transportation
Revenue Management Systems,
customer loyalty solutions
Health/Pharma
Ex. R&D, Clinical Trials, Medical
Transcripts.
Others
Retail
eCommerce & Planning.
Merchandise & demand intelligence
Horizontal Activities
Vertical Activities
HIGH
Figure 1: - Offshore Services Value Chain
9
Within the value chain, BPO activities are subdivided into Enterprise Resource Management
(ERM), Human Resource Management (HRM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
The activities under each subdivision are also ranked on the value chain. For example, under
CRM, marketing and sales are higher up on the value chain, while contact and call centres are at
the lower end of the chain.
According to Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark et.al (2010), the value chain provides an indicator to
offshore service clients as to the range of services provided in the local industry or in a
company and the educational levels of the workforce. While the model will not be used in its
entirety in this report, it provides a useful and practical guide for understanding the
Outsourcing and Off-Shoring Industry in Jamaica.
The core service of the local ICT/BPO Industry is categorized within the BPO Industry segment
by a concentration of call/contact centres as well as Human Resource and Enterprise Resource
Management services. The Industry offers very limited services in the Knowledge Process
Outsourcing segment.
JAMPRO (2000) noted that in the early years of the Information Technology Industry, BPO
services were confined to the lower end of the market and created little value-added. Over the
years, higher value services such as finance and accounting, human resources, receivables
management, and technical help desk support were carried out by firms in the Industry.
2.6 Organization of Call/Contact Centre Services in the BPO Industry
The services offered by BPO Call/Contact Centre companies may be categorized into back office
and front office outsourcing (Figure 2).
? Front Office outsourcings may be further categorized based on the type of interaction
with the customer. Front office services may involve voice and non-voice interactions
such as, chats/text.
? Back Office outsourcing services involve, for example, processing client transactions,
data analysis, data entry, software development, finance and accounting, etc.
The local BPO Industry is structured around Front Office Services or predominantly call or
contact centres.
Front Office can be further categorised as Voice process (involves direct interaction with
customers over the telephone) and Non-Voice Process (where there is no interaction with the
customer, yet customer service duties are performed).
Further, Voice process may also be categorized into inbound voice and outbound voice.
Inbound voice refers to the BPO call centres receiving incoming calls that are related to a
10
product, whether it is a question, an order, payments or complaints.
9
Outbound voice is
considered as telemarketing, where the BPO company focuses on selling products/services.
A BPO company may specialize in one type of service or may offer different types of services for
their clients.
Figure 2: Structure of Business Outsourcing Services
2.7 Attrition in the Global and Local BPO Industry
The Community for Human Resource Management’s website
10
defines attrition as “the
reduction in the number of employees through resignation, retirement and death. Attrition
rate is the percentage of people leaving the organization, people left i.e. relative to total
number of people who have worked for the organization under consideration”.
Attrition is one of several important factors that companies use to determine the attractiveness
of a destination for outsourcing aspects of their business functions. The Caribbean and Latin
American markets are known for their low levels of attrition rates, compared to larger
destinations such as India and the Philippines. Kerney (2007), and the Economic Commission
for Latin America and the Caribbean (ELARC, 2008) in their study reported that low attrition in
the Latin America and the Caribbean markets have influenced the attractiveness of these
destinations for BPO investments. Kerney (2007) noted that call Centres in India have reported
9
http://www.ehow.com/about_5079413_definition-inbound-customer-service.html#ixzz2jNL71NJ3
10
http://www.chrmglobal.com/Replies/3448/1/Attrition--definition-and-formula.html
BPO Companies
Front Office Services Back Office Services
Voice Process Non-Voice Process
Inbound Calls Outbound Calls
11
attrition rates of 20 to more that 100 percent. According to JAMPRO’S website, the average
attrition rate for Jamaica is 14%. The BPIAJ has also reported a low turnover rate compared to
other destinations.
Iqbal (2012) cited three categories of factors affecting attrition in the BPO Industry. These
included individual, organization and other factors. The individual’s perception of BPO jobs
may not be the ideal ambitious career. The personality of the individual may not match the
personality type that is required of call centre workers who have to interact with customers on
the phone. Family obligations and mobility were other factors affecting the individual.
Organizational factors include lack of challenge and monotony on the job. Where individuals
did not see opportunities for growth, they did not perceive the job as challenging and lacking in
growth. The management style as well as job stress are factors contributing to organizational
causes of attrition.
Other factors are voluntary that may be due to peer pressure, as well as involuntary
resignations.
Iqbal (2012) also noted that two thirds of the people who leave an organization remain in the
industry and move from one call centre to another.
2.8 Major Issues and Trends Affecting the Offshore Outsourcing Industry
In a study conducted by Hewitt Associates (India) Private Ltd., on behalf of the Government of
Ghana, the Information for Development Program (infoDev), and the World Bank Group, on the
role of ICTs and ITES in improving business competitiveness and increasing economic growth in
Ghana, they employed their “Five Driver Model for Location Attractiveness Analysis” and found
that talent/skill was the most import factor in determining the attractiveness of an Off-Shoring
destination. The five drivers included:
? People
? Infrastructure
? Incumbent
? Environment
? Cluster
Their analysis of the People Driver was based on four factors, namely: availability of skill; quality
of skill; cost of skill and cultural adaptability. Communication skills was cited as a major
drawback for some countries such as Ghana, Nicaragua and the Philippines, because the
majority of persons in these countries speak broken English.
12
3.0 Results of Survey and Focus Group Discussion
3.1 The Business Process Outsourcing Industry - Value Chain Analysis
The Business Process Outsourcing companies fell into one or a combination of industry
segments based on the nature of the business that they handle for their clients (Table 2). Based
on the findings of the survey, most of the outsourced businesses handled by companies fell in
the BPO Industry segment of the value chain.
The nature of the businesses handled by most of the ITES-BPO companies was related to
Customer Relationship Management (CRM). CRM involved front office operations such as:
? Appointment/Booking/Reservation ? Telemarketing
? Debt Collection ? Text Support
? Customer Service ? IT Support
? Data Entry ? Sales
3.1.1 Main Occupational Areas of Employees in the local Outsourcing & Off-Shoring Industry
The survey conducted for this report showed that job titles of the main occupations in each
company varied. Based on the occupations named, and the related skill sets, these were
categorized into three broad occupational areas; namely Agents, IT Support and Team
Leaders/Manager/Supervisors. The main occupational areas did not include employees in top
management positions.
Table 2 - Category of Occupational Areas among BPO Companies
AGENTS IT SUPPORT
TEAM LEADERS /MANAGERS
/SUPERVISORS
Agents I.T Hardware Network Accounting
Consultants/Agents IT Developers Accounting Manager
Customer Service Maintenance Manager
Chat Agents Network Developer Operational Management
Client Services Software dev./Networking Quality Assurance
Data Entry Operation Support Agent Quality Control
Records management SQL Developers Sales coaches
Reservations Based Technical Specialist Supervisors
Tele Sales Representatives
Supervisory Management
support Operation Manager
Support Team
Supportive Staff
Workforce management
13
3.1.2 Employment Categories
The survey data revealed that 80% of the main occupations in the BPO Industry were
occupations classified as Agents. IT Support accounted for 12% and Team Leaders/Supervisors
accounted for 8% of the workforce.
Based on secondary data (presented earlier), approximately 14,000 persons were employed
directly to the BPO Industry. Using the percentage distribution of the occupational areas from
the survey data, the estimated 14,000 employees in the Industry can be broken down according
to the information in Table 3.
Table 3 – Percentage Distribution of Occupational Areas
Occupational Area Number of Employees PERCENTAGE
Agents 11,200 80%
IT Support 1,680 12%
Team Leaders/Supervisors 1,120 8%
Total 14,000 100%
It is, therefore, estimated that approximately 11,200 persons employed in the Industry were
employed as Agents. An estimated number of 1,680 persons were employed as IT support
worker, while 1,120 persons were estimated to be employed as Team Leaders/Supervisors.
This information is further broken down by geographical area. Information presented earlier
in Section 1 of this report noted that 65% of the workforce was located in Montego Bay and
35% in Kingston or Portmore. (Table 4)
Table 4 - Number of Employees by Geographical Area and Occupational Area
OCCUPATIONAL AREA
KINGSTON/PORTMORE
(35%) MONTEGO BAY (65%)
NUMBER OF
EMPLOYEES
Agents 3,920 7,280 11,200
IT Support 588 1,092 1,680
Team Leaders/Supervisors 392 728 1,120
TOTAL 4,900 9,100 14,000
14
3.1.3 Attrition in each Occupational Area
Employers were asked to estimate the annualized attrition among the main occupations in their
organization. Among Agents, who represented the largest grouping of workers in the Industry,
attrition ranged from 0% to a high of 60%.
Sixty-two (62%) of the companies reported attrition rates in the range of 0 – 15% for all
categories of workers, while thirty-eight percent (38%) indicated attrition rates in the range of
30% – 60%. There was no pattern in the data when attrition was compared to the size of the
company or the nature of the BPO handled for clients. The majority of BPO companies fell in
the national range of an overall attrition rate of 14%.
Table 5 - Attrition Rates in the BPO Companies Surveyed.
AVERAGE RANGE OF ATTRITION RATES PERCENTAGE OF COMPANIES
0 – 15% 62%
30 – 60% 38%
Total 100%
As stated earlier, Iqbal (2012) noted that two-thirds of the persons who leave the company
remain in the Industry, as they move from one company to the next. Therefore, one-third
actually leaves the Industry. This supports our findings from the survey and Focus Group
discussion that workers leave one company to join another in the Industry. Using this
information, attrition at the end of 2013 can, therefore, be estimated at 1,960 persons and of
this number; approximately 647 persons actually leave the Industry.
Table 6 – Estimated Number of Persons Leaving the BPO Industry in 2013
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS EST. NO. OF PERSONS
IN EMPLOYMENT -
2013
EST. ATTRITION OF
CURRENT
EMPLOYMENT @14%
ACTUAL NO. OF PERSONS
WHO WILL LEAVE THE
INDUSTRY IN 2013 (33%)
Agents 11,200 1,568 517
IT Support 1,680 235 78
Team
Leaders/Supervisors
1,120 157 52
Total 14,000 1,960 647
Approximately 1,960 persons in the BPO Industry left their jobs in 2013. It is also estimated
that of this number, 1,313 persons remained in the Industry by seeking employment in other
BPO companies. Of the number of persons who leave their jobs, approximately 647 persons
will seek employment in another Industry. Of this number, Kingston/Portmore is estimated to
15
have accounted for 226 persons, while Montego Bay, is estimated to account for 421 persons
(Table 7).
Table 7 – Number of Persons Exiting the Industry by Occupational Area and Geographical Area
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS ATTRITION IN KINGSTON – 2013 ATTRITION IN MONTEGO BAY 2013
Agents 181 336
IT Support 27 51
Team Leaders/Supervisors 18 34
Total 226 421
One company noted that they had managed to reduce their attrition from 20% to 7%, by having
flexible work hours and scheduling persons in times that are compatible with their individual
situations. From the focus group discussion, participants noted that attrition was an issue that
was directly related to ‘poaching’
11
in the Industry. In other words, there is a circular
movement of workers from one company to the next. Employers also noted that if there was
an adequate supply of trained persons in the workforce, this would help to ease the problem.
It was noted that high attrition rates affect companies financially, as there is a high cost
associated with training persons.
Other factors that affected attrition included:
? Persons returning to school during August/September;
? Security concerns – some persons live in volatile communities and the nature of
the Industry is 24 hour operation, thus presenting a challenge for person leaving
and returning home late at nights;
? Family responsibilities; and
? Involuntary separation from the job.
3.1.4 Change in Employment by Occupational Areas in the next 2 years
All employers anticipated growth in the global BPO Industry in the coming two years (2014-
2016). There was a projected increase in the current size of the workforce, mainly as Agents,
where over three-quarter of expected growth will be. This anticipated growth is due to an
increase in the existing businesses, as well as new clientele.
Based on JAMPRO’s projection of 8,000 new jobs over a two year period, the distribution of
workers in each occupational area by geographic area is tabulated in Table 8, using the
percentage break down in Table 3.
11
Term used in the BPO Industry – when companies in the Industry attract employees from other companies in the
same industry by offering higher wages or more incentives.
16
Table 8 - Projected New Jobs by Occupational Area and Geographic Area – 2014-2016
OCCUPATIONAL AREA
NUMBER OF
EMPLOYEES PERCENTAGE
KINGSTON/PORTMORE
(35%)
MONTEGO BAY
(65%)
Agents
6,400 80% 2,240 4,160
IT Support
960 12% 336 624
Team Leaders/Supervisors
640 8% 224 416
Total
8,000 100% 2,800 5,200
Approximately 4,160 new jobs classified as Agents is projected to be available over the two year
period in Montego Bay and 2,240 similar jobs in the Kingston/Portmore area. Overall, it is
estimated that 5,200 new jobs will become available in Montego Bay and 2,800 in
Kingston/Portmore during the period 2014-2016.
3.1.5 Current Vacancies
Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the BPO companies surveyed indicated that they had vacancies. Of
these, 64% had difficulties filling these vacancies. The vacancies reported were mainly for
Agents (Table 9).
Table 9 - Vacancies
Occupational Areas Total Vacancies Percent
Agents 639 93%
IT Support 22 3%
Team Leaders/Supervisors 24 4%
Total 685 100%
Table 10 presents some of the reasons that employers encountered difficulties in filling the
existing vacancies.
17
Table 10 - Vacancies by Occupational Areas and Challenges Faces in Recruiting
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS REASONS FOR DIFFICULTY IN FILLING VACANCIES FOR AGENTS
Agents
Bilingual accounts require fluency. Jamaicans applying aren't
competent in conversing in Spanish comfortably. Cubans aren’t
competent enough in English.
Although there is a large pool of skilled labour, many persons do
not have selling techniques.
Applicants are challenged in the areas of typing and spelling.
Soft Skills/People Skills/Interpersonal Skills lacking.
Communication skills (some employees do not speak standard
English).
IT Support
Difficulty in sourcing person with specialized skills in networking
or advanced IT e.g. SQL programming
Team Leaders/Supervisor
Leadership skills are lacking
Several reasons were given for the difficulties that employers faced in filling the vacancies
among Agents. There was a difficulty in finding Agents who had bilingual fluency.
Information gleaned from the focus group discussion indicated that the main challenge facing
BPO companies was finding suitable persons as Sales Agents. Additionally, employers were also
faced with unsatisfactory level of the communication skills and soft skills of workers and
potential workers in the Industry.
3.1.6 Skill sets of New Occupational Areas
Though not in the needed urgently, given the requirements (capital etc.), employers identified
the following Outsourcing areas as potential emerging areas in Jamaica.
? Virtual Assistantship/Administrative Assistant
? Legal Process outsourcing
? Human Resource outsourcing
? Wedding Planners
? Animation
? Software Development
? Workforce Management
? Business Analytics
? Knowledge Process Outsourcing
18
However, these services fall at a much higher level on the value chain of outsourcing services
such as the ITO and KPO segments.
BPO companies also indicated that there is a need to upgrade the skill sets of the
workforce/potential workforce to support the projected increase of labour within the Industry
in the next two years (Table 11).
Table 11 - Occupational Areas by Skill Sets Required By BPO Companies Within Next 2 Years
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS NEW SKILL SETS
Agents
Coding Medical Claims
Computer literacy
Spanish Fluency
Problem solving Skills
Sales Skills
Skills sets in customer care similar to airline industry
Command of the English Language
Typing skills of 45 wpm
IT Support
Fluency in Foreign Language
Technical Support
Advance IT
Software development
Programming
Team Leaders/Supervisors Leadership skills
It is apparent that an expansion in the Spanish market is a viable option considered by some
employers; hence, Spanish fluency was a skill that was emphasised.
19
3.2 Training and Capacity Development
3.2.1 Training Needs of Occupational Areas
The training needs of all three occupational areas were identified by employers and presented
in Table 12.
Table 12 Training Needs by Occupational Areas
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS TRAINING NEEDS
Agents
Customer care skills in Chat, Email and Telephone
communications.
Information management
Basic IT
Deportment
Mannerism
Work etiquette
Soft Communication Skills
Accent reduction
Neutral accent
Sales Training
Survey/Questionnaire administration
IT Support
Customer care
Communication skills
Team Leaders/Supervisors
Problem solving
Critical thinking,
Supervisory training
Professionalism
3.2.2 Suggestions offered by Employers for Improving the Training Offerings for Workers
and Potential Workers in the BPO Industry
? Understanding of Global markets and how work attitude affects Jamaica as a whole
? E-mail creation
? Negotiation skills for sales and debt collection
? Improve Communication Skills (Workers need to Speak and write English Well)
? Computer navigation skills
? Focus on Accent Neutralization
? Improve Soft Skills
? Training in the importance of Data Security
? More practical and hands on training
? Telephone etiquette
? Quality management
? Search Competency (Using key Words to search for solution on the internet).
20
? Typing skills
? Conversational Spanish and or French
? Workforce Management
? Professionalism and Job etiquette
? Improve Customer service Skills
? Training for trainers
3.3 Opportunity for the Jamaican BPO Industry
The Hewitt Report (2006) noted that of the five drivers in their Location Attractiveness Model
12
,
talent/skill was the most important in determining location attractiveness. Further analysis of
the People Driver, was done using four other factors; including talent availability, talent quality,
talent cost, and cultural adaptability. These four factors have been used to summarise the
skills of the BPO industry in this report.
Talent/Skill Availability/Skill Quality
According to JAMPRO’s website, the typical worker in the BPO Industry is a high school
graduate with some tertiary training. Employers have also indicated that the minimum
qualification for Agents is three CXC subjects including Maths and English.
In order to refine and perfect the already available skills among the local workforce, the
following skills, which were found lacking, should be addressed:
- Problem solving skills
- Communication
- Work ethics
- Ability to work in harmony with co-workers
- Skills in persuasive sales techniques
- Foreign language fluency
Jamaica has a large pool of unemployed skilled graduates whose mother tongue is English.
Talent Skill/Cost
Labour cost in Jamaica was seen as competitive relative to other destinations in the region. This
was not an immediate factor for the BPO companies. However, due to the high demand for
quality skills, some companies were willing to increase wages to attract experienced workers
12
Five Driver Model (People, Infrastructure, Incumbent, Environment, and Cluster)
21
from other companies. Poaching
13
as it is termed in the Industry, has been a major problem
that could force companies to seek other destinations, as this is directly related to attrition.
Cultural Adaptability
Given that North America and Jamaica share a strong affiliation through tourism, travel and
migration, this has helped to enhance the cultural adaptability of the workforce towards the
North American culture. However, while there is adaptability of culture, it was noted that
workers lacked the cultural knowledge of these markets.
3.4 Satisfaction Levels with HEART Trust/NTA and its Graduates
It is important to understand how employers feel about graduates of the National Training
Agency, if the Agency is to play a meaningful role in supplying labour for the Industry.
3.4.1 Type of Recruitment Consideration Given to HEART Trust/NTA Graduates
Eighty-seven (87%) of employers indicated that when externally recruiting workers, they would
give equal or more consideration to HEART Trust/NTA’s applicants with the required training.
Table 13 - Level of consideration given to HEART Trust Graduates
Type of Consideration Given Percent
Less Consideration 7
Equal Consideration 67
More Consideration 20
No Consideration 7
Total 100
Employers who indicated that they would give equal or more consideration stated the following
as their reasons:
? Satisfied with the previous employees who were HEART graduates;
? Has confidence in the standard of the HEART Trust/NTA;
? Preference given to skill sets rather than institutions trained or certification; and
? Persons employed who were trained by HEART do not need a lot of specialized training.
Employers who indicated that they would give less consideration or no consideration stated the
following reasons:
13
Term used to attract workers from one company to another
22
? Communication skills are poor, especially on the phone;
? The skill set is not present;
? Had bad experience; and
? Poor telephone etiquette
3.4.2 Employment of HEART Graduates
Approximately 81% of BPO employers in the past had employed a HEART graduate.
Table 14 - Past Employment of HEART Graduates
Employed a HEART Graduate Percent
YES 81%
NO 19%
Total 100%
3.4.3 Why Employers do not Employ HEART Graduates
? They were less prepared when compared to other applicants
? The skill sets not present
? Had bad experience with HEART graduates in the past
? Telephone etiquette was poor
23
4. Conclusion and Recommendation
The liberalization of the Telecommunication Industry in 1999 brought about a revolution in the
Information Communication Technology (ICT) Sector, which has left a permanent mark on the
way international companies do business. The ICT Sector has been an enabling factor in the
growth and development of Outsourcing & Off-Shoring Industry both locally and
internationally. Based on world trends, the global Outsourcing/Off-Shoring Industry is expected
to increase at an annual growth rate of 25% to reach US$135 billion in revenue.
If Jamaica is to take advantage of this expected growth as well as to maintain its market share
in the regional market, then more FDI’s should be attracted to doing business in Jamaica. Based
on the current situation, as it relates to the skills of the human resource base, training has been
identified as a necessary prerequisite to improve the productivity and effectiveness of the BPO
companies.
Based on the survey findings, focus group discussion and secondary data analysis,
recommendations for training current and potential workers in the BPO Industry are presented
below.
1. Number of Persons to be Trained in Year 1 – 2014/2015
In the first year 2014/2015, an estimated 4,840 persons will need to be trained to meet the
projected needs of the labour market.
? Approximately 1,694 persons are to be trained in 2014/2015, in the Kingston/Portmore
area. This is inclusive of replacement of the persons who left the industry in 2013
through attrition.
o Agents – 1,355
o IT Support – 203
o Team Leader/Supervisors - 136
? Approximately 3,146 persons are to be trained to supply the labour market needs in the
Montego Bay area. Of this number, 546 are persons who will replace those who left
through attrition in 2013. The number to be trained is further broken out as follows:
o Agents – 2,517
o IT Support – 378
o Team Leader/Supervisor - 252
24
? Based on the second phase (2015/2016) of the expansion of the BPO Industry, an
additional 1,400 jobs would be created in the Kingston/Portmore area. Additionally,
given an estimated attrition of 356 the total number to be trained in this region is 1,756.
The training should be allocated as follows:
o Agents – 1,405
o IT Support – 211
o Team Leader/Supervisor - 141
? Approximately 3,479 new persons will join the BPO Industry in 2015/2016 in the
Montego Bay vicinity. This is inclusive of persons who left the industry through attrition
in 2014/2015. The training should be allocated as follows:
o Agents - 2,783
o IT Support – 418
o Team Leader/Supervisor – 278
2. Skills/Competencies to be Trained
HEART Trust/NTA should focus on training offerings for employees in the three occupational
areas namely; Agents, IT Support and Team Leaders/Supervisors in the BPO Industry. Several
deficiencies in different skill areas were identified by employers for each occupational area.
These include:
Agents
? Typing skills ? Composing emails
? Computer navigational skills ? Conversational Spanish
? Communication skills ? Selling skills
? Customer service skills ? Survey administration
? Soft skills ? Accent reduction
? Internet search skills ? Chat skills
? Problem solving skills ? Telephone skills
IT Support
? Communication Skills ? Accent reduction
? Customer Service Skills ? Advance IT skills
? Soft skills ? Specialized Skill in networking or SQL
? Conversational Spanish ? Telephone skills
25
Team Leaders/Supervisors
Areas of training identified for Team Leaders and Supervisors include:
? Supervisory training ? Professionalism
? Mental maturity ? problem solving
? critical thinking ? Workforce management
? Business Analytics
3. New and Emerging Areas of Outsourcing.
a) Given that Employers identified the following BPO areas as potential areas of expansion
for the National Industry, while indicating that the extent to which these will be
explored is yet to be determined given the capital that is required; it is advised that
further analysis be done to determine investors’ interest in the following areas in order
to better advice future training directions:
? Virtual Assistantship/Administrative Assistant
? Legal Process outsourcing
? Human Resource outsourcing
? Wedding Planners
? Animation
? Software Development
? Workforce Management
? Business Analytics
? Knowledge Process Outsourcing
b) Within the Offshore/Outsourcing Value Services Chain, Jamaica has positioned itself in
the BPO Industry segment with emphasis on Customer Relationship Management.
Greater efforts should also be given to Enterprise Resource management and Human
Resource Management.
c) To take advantage of the wide range of skills, training and expertise, more FDI in the
higher value services should be encouraged.
26
References
1. Planning Institute of Jamaica. Vision 2030 Jamaica- ICT Sector Plan
2. Planning Institute of Jamaica. Vision 2030 Jamaica- Services Sector Plan
3. Planning Institute of Jamaica (2011). A Growth Induced Strategy for Jamaica in the Short
and Medium Term.
4. The Ministry of Commerce Science and Technology March 2003. “A New Era in
Telecommunications”. A Telecommunications Supplement.
5. Gary Gereffi & Karina Fernandez-Stark et. al. “The Offshore Services Global Value Chain”.
Center on Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness. Duke University. Research
Commissioned by the Chilean Agency for Economic Development.
6. Hewitt Associates. 2006. Improving Business Competitiveness and Increasing Economic
Growth in Ghana: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies & IT-Enabled
Services. Washington, DC: infoDev / World Bank. Available at:
http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.170.html
7. Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean (2008). ELAC Publications.
http://www.cepal.org/publicaciones/xml/4/36094/LCG2406if.pdf
8. Foreign direct investment in offshore business services in Latin America and the Caribbean
Chapter 11 (2008) http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/4/36094/LCG2406i_chap_IIf.pdf
9. Analyzing Causes Of Attrition Rate And Giving The Solution Through Maslow’s Hierarchy Of
Need In BPO Industry Iqbal, Naila (2012). http://www.rgcresearchjournal.org/volume-I,issues-
IV,October-
December2012/commerceandmgt/ANALYZINGCAUSESOFATTRITIONRATEANDGIVINGTHESOLUTION.
pdf
Websites visited.
1. http://www.managementstudyguide.com/future-of-business-process-outsourcing-
india.htm
2. http://outsourcemagazine.co.uk/how-are-buy-side-attitudes-driving-the-evolution-of-the-
bpo-space/
3. http://www.jamaicatradeandinvest.org/documents/ICT_Jmaica_Brochure.pdf
4. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20001217/out/out2.html
5. http://www.jadigiport.com/main.php?p=testimonials.php&r=apple%20vacations
6. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTFINANCIALSECTOR/Resources/282884-
1303327122200/120braga.pdf
7. http://www.intgovforum.org/Substantive_2nd_IGF/TelecomsLiberalization.pdf
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 27
Appendix
The Business Processing Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), the HEART Trust/NTA and the University of the
West Indies Mona (WJC) are conducting a research to ascertain the human resource needs of employers in the
Business Process Outsourcing Industry. The information collected will be used to inform the training needs,
target group and training modality that best suit the players in the industry.
Kindly assist us with this exercise by completing this questionnaire. Information provided will be treated
confidentially.
Organisation: ______________________________ Age of business: ______________________
Parish: ____________________________
Section 1: The BPO Industry
1. What is the nature of BPO that you handle for your companies
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. What percentage of your clients are:
Outbound voice Inbound Voice Non Voice
3. What is the current estimated size of your workforce? _________________________
4. Please list the main occupational areas in your organization indicating number, main skill sets and the
estimated attrition?
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS SKILL SETS NUMBER
ESTIMATED
ATTRITION
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 28
5. How do you expect the number of employees in your organization to change in the next two years?
CHANGE IN
EMPLOYMENT OCCUPATIONAL AREAS
# OF
EMPLOYEES REASONS
Increase
Reduction
No Change
Section 2: Employment in the BPO Industry
6. Do you have any vacancies currently?
Yes ? No ? (Go to question 9)
7. What occupational areas and number of vacancies are currently available in your organization?
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS NUMBER
DIFFICULTY
RECRUITING IF YES, WHY?
YES NO
? ?
? ?
? ?
? ?
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 29
8. Which new occupational areas and skill sets do you believe will be created within your firm/Industry in
the next two (2) years?
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS SKILL SETS
Section 3: Training and Capacity Development
9. Please state the occupational areas in your organization that are in need of training and the specific
training needs?
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS TRAINING NEEDS
10. Is your training focus on:
Front Office ? Back Office ? Front and back office?
11. What suggestions would you make in relation to improving the training offerings for workers and
potential workers in the BPO Industry?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 30
Section 4: Satisfaction Levels with HEART and its Graduates
12. When externally recruiting workers, would the applicant with the required training from HEART be
given: (tick only one)
12b. Please explain your response to question 12 (Q.12).
13. Have you ever employed a HEART graduate?
Yes ? (Go to question 15) No ?
14. Why have you never employed a HEART graduate?
(Go to question 16)
a) Less consideration than applicants with similar level training from other training
institutions
?
b) Equal consideration with applicants having similar training from other training
institutions
?
c) More consideration than applicants with similar training from other training
institutions
?
d) No consideration is given at all ?
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 31
15. Using the table below, how would you rate the current or past worker(s) at your organization who are graduate(s) of HEART?
PERFORMANCE RATING OF HEART TRAINED CURRENT & PAST WORKERS (This Section Should Reflect Feedback from the available Supervisors)
In answering this question, first identify the occupational group (e.g., Office Administration) of the worker(s) trained by HEART and then rate them as a group
for each performance item listed in the table below. An average rating is required at all times, except where there is or were only one HEART trained worker.
A rating scale of 1 – 4 must be used, where 1 = far below standard, 2 = just below standard, 3 = at standard, and 4 = above standard.
Job/Occupational Areas: ____________________________________ Respondent’s Position/Title: _________________________
Performance Category Far below
Standard
1
Just Below
Standard
2
At the
Standard
3
Above
Standard
4
a) Communication skills (oral & written)
b) Computation skills
c) Productivity
d) Quality of work; ability to meet quality demands.
e) Computer skills
f) Cooperativeness; ability to work with others
g) Acceptance of advice and supervision
h) Technical use of tools and equipment
i) Ability to use own initiative and problem solving skills
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 32
16. Are you satisfied with the level of support received from the HEART Trust/NTA?
Yes ? (END - Thank you for your time) No ?
17. Please state the area(s) of dissatisfaction and the reason(s).
AREA(S) OF DISSATISFACTION REASON(S) FOR DISSATISFACTION
Comments
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for taking time out to complete this questionnaire.
doc_996651773.pdf
In 1997, the international community, under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), formalized an agreement to liberalize the telecommunications service in their respective economies.
Labour Market Research Unit
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department
Information Systems and technical Services Division
HEART Trust NTA
January 2014
i
Contents
1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ................................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Defining the Business Processing Outsourcing Industry ............................................................... 2
1.3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 3
1.4 Limitation ...................................................................................................................................... 3
2.0 Plans and Policies of the BPO Industry ............................................................................................. 4
2.1 Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan................................................................................................... 4
2.3 Planned Developments for the BPO Industry ............................................................................... 6
2.4 Stakeholder’s Association ............................................................................................................. 7
2.5 Value Chain of the BPO Industry ................................................................................................... 7
2.6 Organization of Call/Contact Centre Services in the BPO Industry .............................................. 9
2.7 Attrition in the Global and Local BPO Industry ........................................................................... 10
2.8 Major Issues and Trends Affecting the Offshore Outsourcing Industry ..................................... 11
3.0 Results of Survey and Focus Group Discussion ............................................................................... 12
3.1 The Business Process Outsourcing Industry - Value Chain Analysis ........................................... 12
3.1.1 Main Occupational Areas of Employees in the local Outsourcing & Off-Shoring Industry ..... 12
TEAM LEADERS /MANAGERS /SUPERVISORS ............................................................................................. 12
3.1.2 Employment Categories ...................................................................................................... 13
3.1.3 Attrition in each Occupational Area .................................................................................... 14
3.1.4 Change in Employment by Occupational Areas in the next 2 years ................................... 15
3.1.5 Current Vacancies ............................................................................................................... 16
3.1.6 Skill sets of New Occupational Areas .................................................................................. 17
3.2 Training and Capacity Development ........................................................................................... 19
3.2.1 Training Needs of Occupational Areas ................................................................................ 19
3.2.2 Suggestions offered by Employers for Improving the Training Offerings for Workers and
Potential Workers in the BPO Industry ............................................................................................... 19
3.3 Opportunity for the Jamaican BPO Industry ......................................................................................... 20
3.4 Satisfaction Levels with HEART Trust/NTA and its Graduates .................................................... 21
3.4.1 Type of Recruitment Consideration Given to HEART Trust/NTA Graduates ...................... 21
3.4.2 Employment of HEART Graduates ...................................................................................... 22
3.4.3 Why Employers do not Employ HEART Graduates ............................................................. 22
ii
4. Conclusion and Recommendation ....................................................................................................... 23
References .................................................................................................................................................. 26
Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 27
iii
List of Tables and Figures
Table 1 – Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan - Goals and Outcomes .............................................................. 4
Table 2 - Category of Occupational Areas among BPO Companies ............................................................ 12
Table 3 – Percentage Distribution of Occupational Areas .......................................................................... 13
Table 4 - Number of Employees by Geographical Area and Occupational Area ........................................ 13
Table 5 - Attrition Rates in the BPO Companies Surveyed. ........................................................................ 14
Table 6 – Estimated Number of Persons Leaving the BPO Industry in 2013 .............................................. 14
Table 7 – Number of Persons Exiting the Industry by Occupational Area and Geographical Area ............ 15
Table 8 - Projected New Jobs by Occupational Area and Geographic Area – 2014-2016 .......................... 16
Table 9 - Vacancies ...................................................................................................................................... 16
Table 10 - Vacancies by Occupational Areas and Challenges Faces in Recruiting ...................................... 17
Table 11 - Occupational Areas by Skill Sets Required By BPO Companies Within Next 2 Years ................ 18
Table 12 Training Needs by Occupational Areas ........................................................................................ 19
Table 13 - Level of consideration given to HEART Trust Graduates ........................................................... 21
Table 14 - Past Employment of HEART Graduates ...................................................................................... 22
Figure 1: - Offshore Services Value Chain ..................................................................................................... 8
Figure 2: Structure of Business Outsourcing Services................................................................................. 10
iv
Abbreviations
BPO Business Process Outsource
BPIAJ
GATS
GOJ
HEART Trust/NTA
ITES
Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica
General Agreement on Trade in Services
Government of Jamaica
Heart Trust/National Training Agency
Information Technology Enabled Service
ITO
JAMPRO
Information Technology Outsourcing
Jamaica Promotions
KPO
PIOJ
Knowledge Process Outsourcing
Planning Institute of Jamaica
1
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background
In 1997, the international community, under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS), formalized an agreement to liberalize the telecommunications service in their
respective economies. Two years later, in September 1999, the Government of Jamaica (GOJ)
reached an agreement for the phased liberalization of the local telecommunications sector
1
.
Under this agreement, the GOJ made provision for the upgrading of voice and data
communication services to the Information Technology Industries.
As a result of this, Jamaica became a sought after destination for North American Business
Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies due to its strategic location. Employment in the local
BPO Industry grew over the years, from approximately 4,500 persons in 1999 (JAMPRO: 2000)
to approximately 14,000 persons
2
in 2013.
The global BPO Industry was valued at US$680 billion at the end of 2011, representing one of
the fasting growing industries worldwide.
The Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ’s) ‘Growth Induced Strategy for Jamaica in the medium
and Short Term” indicated that while there was robust performance in the BPO market over the
last ten years, there was no significant investments in Jamaica during that time. With the
expected growth in the global Industry, revenue is expected to reach approximately US$135
billion by 2014. The Caribbean and Latin American market was projected to grow by
approximately 20 percent per year and should therefore amount to US$5 billion by 2013.
Currently, the BPO Industry is valued at US$260 million.
Based on growth trends in the global BPO market, the aim of the GOJ is to double the size of
the Industry over the next two years
3
, to take advantage of its expected growth. The
anticipated growth has sparked a collaborative effort between the National Training Agency
(HEART Trust/NTA) and the Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), in which
the Agency will aid in the training of the current and potential workforce for the Industry. In
this regard, the HEART Trust/NTA has undertaken a study of the BPO Industry with the primary
aim being to ascertain its training needs. The results from the Study will inform the training
directions of the Agency.
The specific objectives of the study include:
? A profile of the local Outsourcing and Off-Shoring Industry
? An overview of the current and possible projected changes in the structure of the
industry.
1
Ministry of Industry and Commerce: Telecommunication Supplement 2003. “A New era in Telecommunications”
2
Jamaica Observer News Online – November 29, 2013 “Kerr-Jarrett to break ground on ICT facility in January”
3
JIS Website News - http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/bydate/31464--govt-looking-to-tap-into-bpo-industry
2
? Identification of the Industry’s current and future (2 year projection) training needs
? An employers’ rate of satisfaction in relation to HEART Trust/NTA and employees
trained by the Agency.
? Recommendations for targeted skill areas and numbers for training.
1.2 Defining the Business Processing Outsourcing Industry
The outsourcing companies which started operations in the 1980’s were defined under the
`Information Technology Industry’. However, as the Industry evolved over the years, with
improved information and communications technologies, (Information Communication
Technology or ICT) it was recognized as an Information Technology Enabled Service (ITES) as
distinct from Information Technology (IT) service. Notably, within the global industry, reference
is made to “ITES-BPO Industry”. Additionally, BPO is a relatively new business model that is
dependent on ICT to effect its operations by making time and distance irrelevant. Hence, the
term ICT/BPO, is also used to reference the Industry.
The Vision 2030 National Development Plan of Jamaica - ICT Sector Plan, considers ICT under
two main aspects. That is, ICT as a Sector in its own right and ICT as an enabler of all other
sectors. The Vision 2030 National Development Plan of Jamaica - Services Sector Plan, makes
reference to the Industry under the heading ‘Outsourcing and Off-Shoring’. The BPO Industry
therefore straddles between the ICT and the Services Sectors. As it relates to the policies and
plans for the BPO Industry, the Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan will be referenced.
The concept of Outsourcing and Off-Shoring used in the Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan
provides a much broader definition to describe the numerous activities performed in the
Industry. This concept encompasses three industry segments of the Outsourcing and Off-
Shoring Industry. Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark et.al (2010) defined these to include Information
Technology Outsourcing (ITO), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), and Knowledge Process
Outsourcing (KPO). This research, however, will focus on the BPO Industry segment.
“BPO involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business
functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. BPO is typically categorized into back
office outsourcing, which includes internal business functions; such as human
resources, finance, accounting, and front office outsourcing and customer-related services such
as contact centre services.”
4
The main services offered in the Industry are:
? Finance and Accounting
? Receivables and Debt Collection
? Inbound Customer Service
? Tele-Sales/Marketing
? Tech support
4
http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/byministry/31806-bpo-stakeholders-form-association
3
? Graphics
1.3 Methodology
Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were used to capture the data. A listing of BPO
companies obtained from JAMPRO was used as a listing frame of companies in the Industry.
Based on the objectives of the study, primary research was done through use of a
questionnaire, which was used to capture data using either face-to-face interviews, electronic
completion of the questionnaires or telephone interviews. One focus group discussion was also
held among industry stakeholders. Secondary information was collected through literature
reviews.
1.4 Limitation
With a response rate of 50%, half of the companies who were sampled did not participate in
the survey, despite numerous follow up calls and emails.
4
2.0 Plans and Policies of the BPO Industry
2.1 Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan
The Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan, under which the BPO Industry falls, represents one of the
strategic priority areas of the Vision 2030 Jamaica - National Development Plan. Four major
goals are outlined by the Services Sector Plan with the accompanying outcomes (Table 1).
Table 1 – Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan - Goals and Outcomes
GOALS OUTCOMES
1:- A globally competitive services sector
1.1:- Service providers who meet relevant international
and domestic standards and accreditation
1.2:- Strong participation in global and domestic markets
1.3:- Services sector with high levels of productivity
2:- Human resources that meet the labour
force needs of the services sector
2.1:- The dynamic labour force needs of the services
sector are met by education and training institutions
2.2:- Improved human resource development in the
services sector
3:- A business environment and
responsive infrastructure which can
adequately support the growth of the
services sector
3.1:- A supportive policy and regulatory framework
3.2:- Modernized and responsive infrastructure
3.3:- Improved personal, property and data security
3.4:- Improved provision of and access to capital
3.5:- Streamlined and facilitatory bureaucracy
3.6:- Strengthened industry associations
4:- Environmentally sustainable sector
4.1:- Reduction of main environmental impacts of services
sector
4.2:- Improved resilience against natural and manmade
hazards
4.3:- Services established as central component in
development of green economy
For the purposes of this report, as it relates to the training needs of the BPO Industry, more
focus will be given to Goal #2; ‘Human resources that meet the labour force needs of the
Services Sector’ and action areas. Reference will also be made to the other goals due to their
interrelatedness in achieving the national goal.
5
2.2 HEART Trust/NTA’S Responsibilities to the National Plan – Vision 2030 Services Sector
The HEART Trust NTA has been identified in the Vision 2030 Services Sector Plan as a key
agency in achieving the goals of the National Plan. The National Training Agency is instrumental
in helping Jamaica to develop a globally competitive Services Sector, as well as supplying human
resources that meets the needs of the Industry. Outlined below are the specific actions that
the HEART Trust/NTA is expected to carry out for achieving the associated national goals.
Goal # 1: A globally competitive Services Sector
a) Outcome: Service providers who meet relevant international and domestic standards and
accreditation.
? Strategy: Strengthen capacity of institutions involved in certification accreditation and
monitoring of standards for services
? Introduce certification into all services industries
? Appoint relevant institutions as certifying bodies
? Carry out training of staff in institutions involved in certification, accreditation and
monitoring of standards
? Improve government institutional capacity to provide for the certification of training
institutions in keeping with national and international standard
b) Outcome: Strong participation in global and domestic markets
? Strategy: Strengthen customer service standards of services sector
? Strengthen customer service orientation and standards of service providers
Goal # 2: Human resources that meet the labour force needs of the Services Sector
a) Outcome: The dynamic labour force needs of the Services Sector are met by education and
training institutions.
? Strategy: Promote partnerships between private and public education and training
institutions
? Encourage private endowments to existing training institutions by stakeholders and
the private sector
? Improve linkages between training programmes in private sector institutions and the
national training institutions.
b) Outcome: Improved human resource development in the Services Sector
? Strategy: Improve levels of training by services enterprises for managers and staff
? Develop and strengthen links with academic and training institutions to certify
training programme
? Ensure HEART certification to be assessed and revised in conjunction with
businesses / service providers
? Provide certification for continuing /on-the job training
6
2.3 Planned Developments for the BPO Industry
As part of the Jamaican Government’s thrust to attract more BPO companies to the country,
the goal is to double the size of the Industry by 2016
5
by providing 1.2 million square feet of
BPO space. According to JAMPRO’s President, there were 30 BPO companies in Jamaica in 2013,
employing approximately 14,000 full time employees.
6
The Ministry of Industry and
Commerce, under which the BPO Industry falls, has partnered with JAMPRO, the Development
Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and the Factories Corporation of Jamaica (FCJ) in an effort to achieve this
goal.
Three areas have been earmarked as clusters for BPO space. These areas include:
a) Naggo Head Tech Park – Portmore
b) Caymanas ICT Park – Caymanas Economic Free Zone
c) Barnett Tech park – Montego Bay
In November 2013, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce established a loan facility from the
PetroCaribe Development Fund, in partnership with DBJ, for the build out of BPO space up to
the year 2016. From consultation with JAMPRO, it was noted that under this funding, 200,000
square feet of BPO office space will be made available each year during the two year period -
2014/2015 and 2015/2016. This is expected to generate approximately 4,000 new jobs in each
year. It is, therefore, expected that 8,000 new jobs will be created among the three locations in
Kingston, Montego and Portmore. Consultations with JAMPRO indicated that the distribution
of jobs in the BPO Industry is distributed as follows:
? Montego Bay Region - 65% or approximately 5,200 persons,
? Kingston/Portmore 35% or approximately 2,800 persons.
As part of the build out of the 200,000 square feet BPO space, Barnett Technology Park in
Montego Bay is expected to come on stream by the beginning of 2015. This development will
provide 50,000 square feet facility that is expected to generate approximately 1,500 new jobs
7
.
The Factories Corporation of Jamaica, which is an agency of the Ministry of Industry and
Commerce, has also committed to providing 40 acres in the 200-acre site slated for the
Caymanas Economic Zone and 21 acres in Naggo Head Portmore
8
. At the time of the research,
the FCJ was awaiting Cabinet’s approval for the development of the first phase of the project.
5
JIS Website - http://jis.gov.jm/radio_programs/government-facilitates-us8-5-million-investment-bpo-project/
7
,
7
Jamaica Observer Online, January 10, 2014 – “Kerr-Jarrett to break ground on ICT facility in January”
8
PIOJ – Growth Inducement Strategy for Jamaica in the Short and Medium Term
7
2.4 Stakeholder’s Association
In 2012, stakeholders in the local BPO Industry formed an association to strengthen their
presence and competitiveness in the global industry. The objectives of the Association are to:
? share best practices;
? share experiences;
? share ideas on how to influence growth; and
? come together as a unified body to lobby as an industry.
This formation of the Industry Association is an achievement of Sector Goal #3 (Table 1), which
called for ‘strengthened industry associations’.
2.5 Value Chain of the BPO Industry
Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark et.al (2010), of the Center on Globalization, Governance &
Competitiveness, Duke University, carried out a research entitled “Offshore Services Global
Value Chain”. This research was commissioned by the Chilean Agency for Economic
Development in 2010. The researchers identified three main industry segments related to
offshore services. These included, Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO), Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO). These are organized into
horizontal and vertical activities. Horizontal activities are services that can be provided across
all industries and support outsourced business functions. Persons carrying out services in the
horizontal activities are process experts; while those in the vertical activities are industry
specific services and require industry experts.
Along the value chain, ITO services range from low to high, while KPO is at the highest end of
the value chain. BPO ranges from low to mid-level on the chain. The value of each activity
along the value chain is based on the educational level of the human resource required to carry
out the service.
8
Source: Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark et.al. Centre on Globalization, Governance & Competitiveness, March 2010. Pg. 14 LOW
Business Process Outsourcing
V
a
l
u
e
A
d
d
e
d
ITO
Information Technology Outsourcing
Knowledge Process Outsourcing
Software R&D
IT Consulting
Software
Infrastructure
Business Consulting
Business Analytics
Market Intelligence
Legal Services
ERM
(Enterprise
Resource
Management)
HRM
(Human Resource
Management)
CRM
Customer
Relationship
Management)
Finance & Accounting
Procurement,
Logistics & Supply
Chain Management
Content/Document
Management
Contact Centres/Call
Centres
Marketing & Sales
Applications Management
Network Management
Infrastructure Management
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)
Manufacturing/operations, supply chain
management, financials & project management
Applications Development
Applications Integration
Desktop Management
Training
Talent Management
Payroll
Recruiting
Banking, Financial Services
and Insurance
Ex. Investment, Research, private
equity research, and risk
management analysis
Manufacturing
Ex. Industrial Engineering, and
sourcing and vendor management
Telecommunications
Ex. IP Transformation,
Interoperability, testing and DSP and
multimedia
Energy
Ex. Energy Trading and Risk
Management, and Digital Oil field
Solutions
Travel & Transportation
Revenue Management Systems,
customer loyalty solutions
Health/Pharma
Ex. R&D, Clinical Trials, Medical
Transcripts.
Others
Retail
eCommerce & Planning.
Merchandise & demand intelligence
Horizontal Activities
Vertical Activities
HIGH
Figure 1: - Offshore Services Value Chain
9
Within the value chain, BPO activities are subdivided into Enterprise Resource Management
(ERM), Human Resource Management (HRM) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM).
The activities under each subdivision are also ranked on the value chain. For example, under
CRM, marketing and sales are higher up on the value chain, while contact and call centres are at
the lower end of the chain.
According to Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark et.al (2010), the value chain provides an indicator to
offshore service clients as to the range of services provided in the local industry or in a
company and the educational levels of the workforce. While the model will not be used in its
entirety in this report, it provides a useful and practical guide for understanding the
Outsourcing and Off-Shoring Industry in Jamaica.
The core service of the local ICT/BPO Industry is categorized within the BPO Industry segment
by a concentration of call/contact centres as well as Human Resource and Enterprise Resource
Management services. The Industry offers very limited services in the Knowledge Process
Outsourcing segment.
JAMPRO (2000) noted that in the early years of the Information Technology Industry, BPO
services were confined to the lower end of the market and created little value-added. Over the
years, higher value services such as finance and accounting, human resources, receivables
management, and technical help desk support were carried out by firms in the Industry.
2.6 Organization of Call/Contact Centre Services in the BPO Industry
The services offered by BPO Call/Contact Centre companies may be categorized into back office
and front office outsourcing (Figure 2).
? Front Office outsourcings may be further categorized based on the type of interaction
with the customer. Front office services may involve voice and non-voice interactions
such as, chats/text.
? Back Office outsourcing services involve, for example, processing client transactions,
data analysis, data entry, software development, finance and accounting, etc.
The local BPO Industry is structured around Front Office Services or predominantly call or
contact centres.
Front Office can be further categorised as Voice process (involves direct interaction with
customers over the telephone) and Non-Voice Process (where there is no interaction with the
customer, yet customer service duties are performed).
Further, Voice process may also be categorized into inbound voice and outbound voice.
Inbound voice refers to the BPO call centres receiving incoming calls that are related to a
10
product, whether it is a question, an order, payments or complaints.
9
Outbound voice is
considered as telemarketing, where the BPO company focuses on selling products/services.
A BPO company may specialize in one type of service or may offer different types of services for
their clients.
Figure 2: Structure of Business Outsourcing Services
2.7 Attrition in the Global and Local BPO Industry
The Community for Human Resource Management’s website
10
defines attrition as “the
reduction in the number of employees through resignation, retirement and death. Attrition
rate is the percentage of people leaving the organization, people left i.e. relative to total
number of people who have worked for the organization under consideration”.
Attrition is one of several important factors that companies use to determine the attractiveness
of a destination for outsourcing aspects of their business functions. The Caribbean and Latin
American markets are known for their low levels of attrition rates, compared to larger
destinations such as India and the Philippines. Kerney (2007), and the Economic Commission
for Latin America and the Caribbean (ELARC, 2008) in their study reported that low attrition in
the Latin America and the Caribbean markets have influenced the attractiveness of these
destinations for BPO investments. Kerney (2007) noted that call Centres in India have reported
9
http://www.ehow.com/about_5079413_definition-inbound-customer-service.html#ixzz2jNL71NJ3
10
http://www.chrmglobal.com/Replies/3448/1/Attrition--definition-and-formula.html
BPO Companies
Front Office Services Back Office Services
Voice Process Non-Voice Process
Inbound Calls Outbound Calls
11
attrition rates of 20 to more that 100 percent. According to JAMPRO’S website, the average
attrition rate for Jamaica is 14%. The BPIAJ has also reported a low turnover rate compared to
other destinations.
Iqbal (2012) cited three categories of factors affecting attrition in the BPO Industry. These
included individual, organization and other factors. The individual’s perception of BPO jobs
may not be the ideal ambitious career. The personality of the individual may not match the
personality type that is required of call centre workers who have to interact with customers on
the phone. Family obligations and mobility were other factors affecting the individual.
Organizational factors include lack of challenge and monotony on the job. Where individuals
did not see opportunities for growth, they did not perceive the job as challenging and lacking in
growth. The management style as well as job stress are factors contributing to organizational
causes of attrition.
Other factors are voluntary that may be due to peer pressure, as well as involuntary
resignations.
Iqbal (2012) also noted that two thirds of the people who leave an organization remain in the
industry and move from one call centre to another.
2.8 Major Issues and Trends Affecting the Offshore Outsourcing Industry
In a study conducted by Hewitt Associates (India) Private Ltd., on behalf of the Government of
Ghana, the Information for Development Program (infoDev), and the World Bank Group, on the
role of ICTs and ITES in improving business competitiveness and increasing economic growth in
Ghana, they employed their “Five Driver Model for Location Attractiveness Analysis” and found
that talent/skill was the most import factor in determining the attractiveness of an Off-Shoring
destination. The five drivers included:
? People
? Infrastructure
? Incumbent
? Environment
? Cluster
Their analysis of the People Driver was based on four factors, namely: availability of skill; quality
of skill; cost of skill and cultural adaptability. Communication skills was cited as a major
drawback for some countries such as Ghana, Nicaragua and the Philippines, because the
majority of persons in these countries speak broken English.
12
3.0 Results of Survey and Focus Group Discussion
3.1 The Business Process Outsourcing Industry - Value Chain Analysis
The Business Process Outsourcing companies fell into one or a combination of industry
segments based on the nature of the business that they handle for their clients (Table 2). Based
on the findings of the survey, most of the outsourced businesses handled by companies fell in
the BPO Industry segment of the value chain.
The nature of the businesses handled by most of the ITES-BPO companies was related to
Customer Relationship Management (CRM). CRM involved front office operations such as:
? Appointment/Booking/Reservation ? Telemarketing
? Debt Collection ? Text Support
? Customer Service ? IT Support
? Data Entry ? Sales
3.1.1 Main Occupational Areas of Employees in the local Outsourcing & Off-Shoring Industry
The survey conducted for this report showed that job titles of the main occupations in each
company varied. Based on the occupations named, and the related skill sets, these were
categorized into three broad occupational areas; namely Agents, IT Support and Team
Leaders/Manager/Supervisors. The main occupational areas did not include employees in top
management positions.
Table 2 - Category of Occupational Areas among BPO Companies
AGENTS IT SUPPORT
TEAM LEADERS /MANAGERS
/SUPERVISORS
Agents I.T Hardware Network Accounting
Consultants/Agents IT Developers Accounting Manager
Customer Service Maintenance Manager
Chat Agents Network Developer Operational Management
Client Services Software dev./Networking Quality Assurance
Data Entry Operation Support Agent Quality Control
Records management SQL Developers Sales coaches
Reservations Based Technical Specialist Supervisors
Tele Sales Representatives
Supervisory Management
support Operation Manager
Support Team
Supportive Staff
Workforce management
13
3.1.2 Employment Categories
The survey data revealed that 80% of the main occupations in the BPO Industry were
occupations classified as Agents. IT Support accounted for 12% and Team Leaders/Supervisors
accounted for 8% of the workforce.
Based on secondary data (presented earlier), approximately 14,000 persons were employed
directly to the BPO Industry. Using the percentage distribution of the occupational areas from
the survey data, the estimated 14,000 employees in the Industry can be broken down according
to the information in Table 3.
Table 3 – Percentage Distribution of Occupational Areas
Occupational Area Number of Employees PERCENTAGE
Agents 11,200 80%
IT Support 1,680 12%
Team Leaders/Supervisors 1,120 8%
Total 14,000 100%
It is, therefore, estimated that approximately 11,200 persons employed in the Industry were
employed as Agents. An estimated number of 1,680 persons were employed as IT support
worker, while 1,120 persons were estimated to be employed as Team Leaders/Supervisors.
This information is further broken down by geographical area. Information presented earlier
in Section 1 of this report noted that 65% of the workforce was located in Montego Bay and
35% in Kingston or Portmore. (Table 4)
Table 4 - Number of Employees by Geographical Area and Occupational Area
OCCUPATIONAL AREA
KINGSTON/PORTMORE
(35%) MONTEGO BAY (65%)
NUMBER OF
EMPLOYEES
Agents 3,920 7,280 11,200
IT Support 588 1,092 1,680
Team Leaders/Supervisors 392 728 1,120
TOTAL 4,900 9,100 14,000
14
3.1.3 Attrition in each Occupational Area
Employers were asked to estimate the annualized attrition among the main occupations in their
organization. Among Agents, who represented the largest grouping of workers in the Industry,
attrition ranged from 0% to a high of 60%.
Sixty-two (62%) of the companies reported attrition rates in the range of 0 – 15% for all
categories of workers, while thirty-eight percent (38%) indicated attrition rates in the range of
30% – 60%. There was no pattern in the data when attrition was compared to the size of the
company or the nature of the BPO handled for clients. The majority of BPO companies fell in
the national range of an overall attrition rate of 14%.
Table 5 - Attrition Rates in the BPO Companies Surveyed.
AVERAGE RANGE OF ATTRITION RATES PERCENTAGE OF COMPANIES
0 – 15% 62%
30 – 60% 38%
Total 100%
As stated earlier, Iqbal (2012) noted that two-thirds of the persons who leave the company
remain in the Industry, as they move from one company to the next. Therefore, one-third
actually leaves the Industry. This supports our findings from the survey and Focus Group
discussion that workers leave one company to join another in the Industry. Using this
information, attrition at the end of 2013 can, therefore, be estimated at 1,960 persons and of
this number; approximately 647 persons actually leave the Industry.
Table 6 – Estimated Number of Persons Leaving the BPO Industry in 2013
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS EST. NO. OF PERSONS
IN EMPLOYMENT -
2013
EST. ATTRITION OF
CURRENT
EMPLOYMENT @14%
ACTUAL NO. OF PERSONS
WHO WILL LEAVE THE
INDUSTRY IN 2013 (33%)
Agents 11,200 1,568 517
IT Support 1,680 235 78
Team
Leaders/Supervisors
1,120 157 52
Total 14,000 1,960 647
Approximately 1,960 persons in the BPO Industry left their jobs in 2013. It is also estimated
that of this number, 1,313 persons remained in the Industry by seeking employment in other
BPO companies. Of the number of persons who leave their jobs, approximately 647 persons
will seek employment in another Industry. Of this number, Kingston/Portmore is estimated to
15
have accounted for 226 persons, while Montego Bay, is estimated to account for 421 persons
(Table 7).
Table 7 – Number of Persons Exiting the Industry by Occupational Area and Geographical Area
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS ATTRITION IN KINGSTON – 2013 ATTRITION IN MONTEGO BAY 2013
Agents 181 336
IT Support 27 51
Team Leaders/Supervisors 18 34
Total 226 421
One company noted that they had managed to reduce their attrition from 20% to 7%, by having
flexible work hours and scheduling persons in times that are compatible with their individual
situations. From the focus group discussion, participants noted that attrition was an issue that
was directly related to ‘poaching’
11
in the Industry. In other words, there is a circular
movement of workers from one company to the next. Employers also noted that if there was
an adequate supply of trained persons in the workforce, this would help to ease the problem.
It was noted that high attrition rates affect companies financially, as there is a high cost
associated with training persons.
Other factors that affected attrition included:
? Persons returning to school during August/September;
? Security concerns – some persons live in volatile communities and the nature of
the Industry is 24 hour operation, thus presenting a challenge for person leaving
and returning home late at nights;
? Family responsibilities; and
? Involuntary separation from the job.
3.1.4 Change in Employment by Occupational Areas in the next 2 years
All employers anticipated growth in the global BPO Industry in the coming two years (2014-
2016). There was a projected increase in the current size of the workforce, mainly as Agents,
where over three-quarter of expected growth will be. This anticipated growth is due to an
increase in the existing businesses, as well as new clientele.
Based on JAMPRO’s projection of 8,000 new jobs over a two year period, the distribution of
workers in each occupational area by geographic area is tabulated in Table 8, using the
percentage break down in Table 3.
11
Term used in the BPO Industry – when companies in the Industry attract employees from other companies in the
same industry by offering higher wages or more incentives.
16
Table 8 - Projected New Jobs by Occupational Area and Geographic Area – 2014-2016
OCCUPATIONAL AREA
NUMBER OF
EMPLOYEES PERCENTAGE
KINGSTON/PORTMORE
(35%)
MONTEGO BAY
(65%)
Agents
6,400 80% 2,240 4,160
IT Support
960 12% 336 624
Team Leaders/Supervisors
640 8% 224 416
Total
8,000 100% 2,800 5,200
Approximately 4,160 new jobs classified as Agents is projected to be available over the two year
period in Montego Bay and 2,240 similar jobs in the Kingston/Portmore area. Overall, it is
estimated that 5,200 new jobs will become available in Montego Bay and 2,800 in
Kingston/Portmore during the period 2014-2016.
3.1.5 Current Vacancies
Sixty-eight percent (68%) of the BPO companies surveyed indicated that they had vacancies. Of
these, 64% had difficulties filling these vacancies. The vacancies reported were mainly for
Agents (Table 9).
Table 9 - Vacancies
Occupational Areas Total Vacancies Percent
Agents 639 93%
IT Support 22 3%
Team Leaders/Supervisors 24 4%
Total 685 100%
Table 10 presents some of the reasons that employers encountered difficulties in filling the
existing vacancies.
17
Table 10 - Vacancies by Occupational Areas and Challenges Faces in Recruiting
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS REASONS FOR DIFFICULTY IN FILLING VACANCIES FOR AGENTS
Agents
Bilingual accounts require fluency. Jamaicans applying aren't
competent in conversing in Spanish comfortably. Cubans aren’t
competent enough in English.
Although there is a large pool of skilled labour, many persons do
not have selling techniques.
Applicants are challenged in the areas of typing and spelling.
Soft Skills/People Skills/Interpersonal Skills lacking.
Communication skills (some employees do not speak standard
English).
IT Support
Difficulty in sourcing person with specialized skills in networking
or advanced IT e.g. SQL programming
Team Leaders/Supervisor
Leadership skills are lacking
Several reasons were given for the difficulties that employers faced in filling the vacancies
among Agents. There was a difficulty in finding Agents who had bilingual fluency.
Information gleaned from the focus group discussion indicated that the main challenge facing
BPO companies was finding suitable persons as Sales Agents. Additionally, employers were also
faced with unsatisfactory level of the communication skills and soft skills of workers and
potential workers in the Industry.
3.1.6 Skill sets of New Occupational Areas
Though not in the needed urgently, given the requirements (capital etc.), employers identified
the following Outsourcing areas as potential emerging areas in Jamaica.
? Virtual Assistantship/Administrative Assistant
? Legal Process outsourcing
? Human Resource outsourcing
? Wedding Planners
? Animation
? Software Development
? Workforce Management
? Business Analytics
? Knowledge Process Outsourcing
18
However, these services fall at a much higher level on the value chain of outsourcing services
such as the ITO and KPO segments.
BPO companies also indicated that there is a need to upgrade the skill sets of the
workforce/potential workforce to support the projected increase of labour within the Industry
in the next two years (Table 11).
Table 11 - Occupational Areas by Skill Sets Required By BPO Companies Within Next 2 Years
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS NEW SKILL SETS
Agents
Coding Medical Claims
Computer literacy
Spanish Fluency
Problem solving Skills
Sales Skills
Skills sets in customer care similar to airline industry
Command of the English Language
Typing skills of 45 wpm
IT Support
Fluency in Foreign Language
Technical Support
Advance IT
Software development
Programming
Team Leaders/Supervisors Leadership skills
It is apparent that an expansion in the Spanish market is a viable option considered by some
employers; hence, Spanish fluency was a skill that was emphasised.
19
3.2 Training and Capacity Development
3.2.1 Training Needs of Occupational Areas
The training needs of all three occupational areas were identified by employers and presented
in Table 12.
Table 12 Training Needs by Occupational Areas
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS TRAINING NEEDS
Agents
Customer care skills in Chat, Email and Telephone
communications.
Information management
Basic IT
Deportment
Mannerism
Work etiquette
Soft Communication Skills
Accent reduction
Neutral accent
Sales Training
Survey/Questionnaire administration
IT Support
Customer care
Communication skills
Team Leaders/Supervisors
Problem solving
Critical thinking,
Supervisory training
Professionalism
3.2.2 Suggestions offered by Employers for Improving the Training Offerings for Workers
and Potential Workers in the BPO Industry
? Understanding of Global markets and how work attitude affects Jamaica as a whole
? E-mail creation
? Negotiation skills for sales and debt collection
? Improve Communication Skills (Workers need to Speak and write English Well)
? Computer navigation skills
? Focus on Accent Neutralization
? Improve Soft Skills
? Training in the importance of Data Security
? More practical and hands on training
? Telephone etiquette
? Quality management
? Search Competency (Using key Words to search for solution on the internet).
20
? Typing skills
? Conversational Spanish and or French
? Workforce Management
? Professionalism and Job etiquette
? Improve Customer service Skills
? Training for trainers
3.3 Opportunity for the Jamaican BPO Industry
The Hewitt Report (2006) noted that of the five drivers in their Location Attractiveness Model
12
,
talent/skill was the most important in determining location attractiveness. Further analysis of
the People Driver, was done using four other factors; including talent availability, talent quality,
talent cost, and cultural adaptability. These four factors have been used to summarise the
skills of the BPO industry in this report.
Talent/Skill Availability/Skill Quality
According to JAMPRO’s website, the typical worker in the BPO Industry is a high school
graduate with some tertiary training. Employers have also indicated that the minimum
qualification for Agents is three CXC subjects including Maths and English.
In order to refine and perfect the already available skills among the local workforce, the
following skills, which were found lacking, should be addressed:
- Problem solving skills
- Communication
- Work ethics
- Ability to work in harmony with co-workers
- Skills in persuasive sales techniques
- Foreign language fluency
Jamaica has a large pool of unemployed skilled graduates whose mother tongue is English.
Talent Skill/Cost
Labour cost in Jamaica was seen as competitive relative to other destinations in the region. This
was not an immediate factor for the BPO companies. However, due to the high demand for
quality skills, some companies were willing to increase wages to attract experienced workers
12
Five Driver Model (People, Infrastructure, Incumbent, Environment, and Cluster)
21
from other companies. Poaching
13
as it is termed in the Industry, has been a major problem
that could force companies to seek other destinations, as this is directly related to attrition.
Cultural Adaptability
Given that North America and Jamaica share a strong affiliation through tourism, travel and
migration, this has helped to enhance the cultural adaptability of the workforce towards the
North American culture. However, while there is adaptability of culture, it was noted that
workers lacked the cultural knowledge of these markets.
3.4 Satisfaction Levels with HEART Trust/NTA and its Graduates
It is important to understand how employers feel about graduates of the National Training
Agency, if the Agency is to play a meaningful role in supplying labour for the Industry.
3.4.1 Type of Recruitment Consideration Given to HEART Trust/NTA Graduates
Eighty-seven (87%) of employers indicated that when externally recruiting workers, they would
give equal or more consideration to HEART Trust/NTA’s applicants with the required training.
Table 13 - Level of consideration given to HEART Trust Graduates
Type of Consideration Given Percent
Less Consideration 7
Equal Consideration 67
More Consideration 20
No Consideration 7
Total 100
Employers who indicated that they would give equal or more consideration stated the following
as their reasons:
? Satisfied with the previous employees who were HEART graduates;
? Has confidence in the standard of the HEART Trust/NTA;
? Preference given to skill sets rather than institutions trained or certification; and
? Persons employed who were trained by HEART do not need a lot of specialized training.
Employers who indicated that they would give less consideration or no consideration stated the
following reasons:
13
Term used to attract workers from one company to another
22
? Communication skills are poor, especially on the phone;
? The skill set is not present;
? Had bad experience; and
? Poor telephone etiquette
3.4.2 Employment of HEART Graduates
Approximately 81% of BPO employers in the past had employed a HEART graduate.
Table 14 - Past Employment of HEART Graduates
Employed a HEART Graduate Percent
YES 81%
NO 19%
Total 100%
3.4.3 Why Employers do not Employ HEART Graduates
? They were less prepared when compared to other applicants
? The skill sets not present
? Had bad experience with HEART graduates in the past
? Telephone etiquette was poor
23
4. Conclusion and Recommendation
The liberalization of the Telecommunication Industry in 1999 brought about a revolution in the
Information Communication Technology (ICT) Sector, which has left a permanent mark on the
way international companies do business. The ICT Sector has been an enabling factor in the
growth and development of Outsourcing & Off-Shoring Industry both locally and
internationally. Based on world trends, the global Outsourcing/Off-Shoring Industry is expected
to increase at an annual growth rate of 25% to reach US$135 billion in revenue.
If Jamaica is to take advantage of this expected growth as well as to maintain its market share
in the regional market, then more FDI’s should be attracted to doing business in Jamaica. Based
on the current situation, as it relates to the skills of the human resource base, training has been
identified as a necessary prerequisite to improve the productivity and effectiveness of the BPO
companies.
Based on the survey findings, focus group discussion and secondary data analysis,
recommendations for training current and potential workers in the BPO Industry are presented
below.
1. Number of Persons to be Trained in Year 1 – 2014/2015
In the first year 2014/2015, an estimated 4,840 persons will need to be trained to meet the
projected needs of the labour market.
? Approximately 1,694 persons are to be trained in 2014/2015, in the Kingston/Portmore
area. This is inclusive of replacement of the persons who left the industry in 2013
through attrition.
o Agents – 1,355
o IT Support – 203
o Team Leader/Supervisors - 136
? Approximately 3,146 persons are to be trained to supply the labour market needs in the
Montego Bay area. Of this number, 546 are persons who will replace those who left
through attrition in 2013. The number to be trained is further broken out as follows:
o Agents – 2,517
o IT Support – 378
o Team Leader/Supervisor - 252
24
? Based on the second phase (2015/2016) of the expansion of the BPO Industry, an
additional 1,400 jobs would be created in the Kingston/Portmore area. Additionally,
given an estimated attrition of 356 the total number to be trained in this region is 1,756.
The training should be allocated as follows:
o Agents – 1,405
o IT Support – 211
o Team Leader/Supervisor - 141
? Approximately 3,479 new persons will join the BPO Industry in 2015/2016 in the
Montego Bay vicinity. This is inclusive of persons who left the industry through attrition
in 2014/2015. The training should be allocated as follows:
o Agents - 2,783
o IT Support – 418
o Team Leader/Supervisor – 278
2. Skills/Competencies to be Trained
HEART Trust/NTA should focus on training offerings for employees in the three occupational
areas namely; Agents, IT Support and Team Leaders/Supervisors in the BPO Industry. Several
deficiencies in different skill areas were identified by employers for each occupational area.
These include:
Agents
? Typing skills ? Composing emails
? Computer navigational skills ? Conversational Spanish
? Communication skills ? Selling skills
? Customer service skills ? Survey administration
? Soft skills ? Accent reduction
? Internet search skills ? Chat skills
? Problem solving skills ? Telephone skills
IT Support
? Communication Skills ? Accent reduction
? Customer Service Skills ? Advance IT skills
? Soft skills ? Specialized Skill in networking or SQL
? Conversational Spanish ? Telephone skills
25
Team Leaders/Supervisors
Areas of training identified for Team Leaders and Supervisors include:
? Supervisory training ? Professionalism
? Mental maturity ? problem solving
? critical thinking ? Workforce management
? Business Analytics
3. New and Emerging Areas of Outsourcing.
a) Given that Employers identified the following BPO areas as potential areas of expansion
for the National Industry, while indicating that the extent to which these will be
explored is yet to be determined given the capital that is required; it is advised that
further analysis be done to determine investors’ interest in the following areas in order
to better advice future training directions:
? Virtual Assistantship/Administrative Assistant
? Legal Process outsourcing
? Human Resource outsourcing
? Wedding Planners
? Animation
? Software Development
? Workforce Management
? Business Analytics
? Knowledge Process Outsourcing
b) Within the Offshore/Outsourcing Value Services Chain, Jamaica has positioned itself in
the BPO Industry segment with emphasis on Customer Relationship Management.
Greater efforts should also be given to Enterprise Resource management and Human
Resource Management.
c) To take advantage of the wide range of skills, training and expertise, more FDI in the
higher value services should be encouraged.
26
References
1. Planning Institute of Jamaica. Vision 2030 Jamaica- ICT Sector Plan
2. Planning Institute of Jamaica. Vision 2030 Jamaica- Services Sector Plan
3. Planning Institute of Jamaica (2011). A Growth Induced Strategy for Jamaica in the Short
and Medium Term.
4. The Ministry of Commerce Science and Technology March 2003. “A New Era in
Telecommunications”. A Telecommunications Supplement.
5. Gary Gereffi & Karina Fernandez-Stark et. al. “The Offshore Services Global Value Chain”.
Center on Globalization, Governance and Competitiveness. Duke University. Research
Commissioned by the Chilean Agency for Economic Development.
6. Hewitt Associates. 2006. Improving Business Competitiveness and Increasing Economic
Growth in Ghana: The Role of Information and Communication Technologies & IT-Enabled
Services. Washington, DC: infoDev / World Bank. Available at:
http://www.infodev.org/en/Publication.170.html
7. Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean (2008). ELAC Publications.
http://www.cepal.org/publicaciones/xml/4/36094/LCG2406if.pdf
8. Foreign direct investment in offshore business services in Latin America and the Caribbean
Chapter 11 (2008) http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/4/36094/LCG2406i_chap_IIf.pdf
9. Analyzing Causes Of Attrition Rate And Giving The Solution Through Maslow’s Hierarchy Of
Need In BPO Industry Iqbal, Naila (2012). http://www.rgcresearchjournal.org/volume-I,issues-
IV,October-
December2012/commerceandmgt/ANALYZINGCAUSESOFATTRITIONRATEANDGIVINGTHESOLUTION.
Websites visited.
1. http://www.managementstudyguide.com/future-of-business-process-outsourcing-
india.htm
2. http://outsourcemagazine.co.uk/how-are-buy-side-attitudes-driving-the-evolution-of-the-
bpo-space/
3. http://www.jamaicatradeandinvest.org/documents/ICT_Jmaica_Brochure.pdf
4. http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20001217/out/out2.html
5. http://www.jadigiport.com/main.php?p=testimonials.php&r=apple%20vacations
6. http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTFINANCIALSECTOR/Resources/282884-
1303327122200/120braga.pdf
7. http://www.intgovforum.org/Substantive_2nd_IGF/TelecomsLiberalization.pdf
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 27
Appendix
The Business Processing Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ), the HEART Trust/NTA and the University of the
West Indies Mona (WJC) are conducting a research to ascertain the human resource needs of employers in the
Business Process Outsourcing Industry. The information collected will be used to inform the training needs,
target group and training modality that best suit the players in the industry.
Kindly assist us with this exercise by completing this questionnaire. Information provided will be treated
confidentially.
Organisation: ______________________________ Age of business: ______________________
Parish: ____________________________
Section 1: The BPO Industry
1. What is the nature of BPO that you handle for your companies
_________________________________________________________________________________
2. What percentage of your clients are:
Outbound voice Inbound Voice Non Voice
3. What is the current estimated size of your workforce? _________________________
4. Please list the main occupational areas in your organization indicating number, main skill sets and the
estimated attrition?
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS SKILL SETS NUMBER
ESTIMATED
ATTRITION
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 28
5. How do you expect the number of employees in your organization to change in the next two years?
CHANGE IN
EMPLOYMENT OCCUPATIONAL AREAS
# OF
EMPLOYEES REASONS
Increase
Reduction
No Change
Section 2: Employment in the BPO Industry
6. Do you have any vacancies currently?
Yes ? No ? (Go to question 9)
7. What occupational areas and number of vacancies are currently available in your organization?
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS NUMBER
DIFFICULTY
RECRUITING IF YES, WHY?
YES NO
? ?
? ?
? ?
? ?
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 29
8. Which new occupational areas and skill sets do you believe will be created within your firm/Industry in
the next two (2) years?
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS SKILL SETS
Section 3: Training and Capacity Development
9. Please state the occupational areas in your organization that are in need of training and the specific
training needs?
OCCUPATIONAL AREAS TRAINING NEEDS
10. Is your training focus on:
Front Office ? Back Office ? Front and back office?
11. What suggestions would you make in relation to improving the training offerings for workers and
potential workers in the BPO Industry?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 30
Section 4: Satisfaction Levels with HEART and its Graduates
12. When externally recruiting workers, would the applicant with the required training from HEART be
given: (tick only one)
12b. Please explain your response to question 12 (Q.12).
13. Have you ever employed a HEART graduate?
Yes ? (Go to question 15) No ?
14. Why have you never employed a HEART graduate?
(Go to question 16)
a) Less consideration than applicants with similar level training from other training
institutions
?
b) Equal consideration with applicants having similar training from other training
institutions
?
c) More consideration than applicants with similar training from other training
institutions
?
d) No consideration is given at all ?
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 31
15. Using the table below, how would you rate the current or past worker(s) at your organization who are graduate(s) of HEART?
PERFORMANCE RATING OF HEART TRAINED CURRENT & PAST WORKERS (This Section Should Reflect Feedback from the available Supervisors)
In answering this question, first identify the occupational group (e.g., Office Administration) of the worker(s) trained by HEART and then rate them as a group
for each performance item listed in the table below. An average rating is required at all times, except where there is or were only one HEART trained worker.
A rating scale of 1 – 4 must be used, where 1 = far below standard, 2 = just below standard, 3 = at standard, and 4 = above standard.
Job/Occupational Areas: ____________________________________ Respondent’s Position/Title: _________________________
Performance Category Far below
Standard
1
Just Below
Standard
2
At the
Standard
3
Above
Standard
4
a) Communication skills (oral & written)
b) Computation skills
c) Productivity
d) Quality of work; ability to meet quality demands.
e) Computer skills
f) Cooperativeness; ability to work with others
g) Acceptance of advice and supervision
h) Technical use of tools and equipment
i) Ability to use own initiative and problem solving skills
Labour Market Research and Intelligence Department Version 1 Page 32
16. Are you satisfied with the level of support received from the HEART Trust/NTA?
Yes ? (END - Thank you for your time) No ?
17. Please state the area(s) of dissatisfaction and the reason(s).
AREA(S) OF DISSATISFACTION REASON(S) FOR DISSATISFACTION
Comments
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Thanks for taking time out to complete this questionnaire.
doc_996651773.pdf