One Step Ahead In The Talent War Across Call Centers In Manila

https://www.recruiter.com/i/5-tips-on-cultivating-your-talent-pipeline/

Came across this interesting article on LinkedIn. I’m always curious about that people are saying about how to have success with recruiting, because its perhaps the top challenges in my industry.

Recruiting good call center agents in Manila has got to be one of the hardest requirements to fill anywhere on the globe right now. Awhile back I came up with a formula for what makes up a good call center agent, and not the just the surface skills, but he core competencies. Here is what I see:

  • Conversational English (20%) – Conversations follow rules of etiquette because conversations are social interactions, and therefore depend on social convention.
  • Customer Service (20%) – Customer service is a series of activities designed to enhance the level of customer satisfaction – that is, the feeling that a product or service has met the customer expectation.
  • Technical Training (20%) – Instruction to help agents use the systems and personal computers on which they are dependent to get their daily work done.
  • Product Knowledge (20%) – An understanding of a good or service that might include having acquired information about its application, function, features, use and support requirements.
  • Work Ethics (20%) – A strong work ethic is vital to a company achieving its goals. An example of someone with work ethic is a person who gets to work on time every day and always works long days to get the job done.

Of these, the hardest to teach is the fifth one, work ethic. So to me 5 ways to look for strong work ethic in a candidate are similar to the ones listed in the LinkedIn article. They are:

  1. Recruiting at events is more the just showing our brand, but our story out there. It’s a crowded field and we are just one, small voice. But it’s a enchanting story that get people excited about working with us.
  2. We too lean on Referrals for a high % of our new hires. There is nothing better than an endorsement for the job from someone doing the job.
  3. Internships/OJT/Trainees let us see how they work and letting them see what its like to work with my team. Great way to make sure it’s a good fit from both ends.
  4. Looking locally at schools and outside the industry places like retail and service jobs to attract new talent to the industry. The industry is full of job hoppers and money chasers, so going for them is not a good option.
  5. Staying in touch by sending newsletters, inviting to trainings, text blasts is important to us. Staying top of mind and keep telling our story.

So there you, go that’s how we are helping companies stay ahead of the game when it comes to the talent war going on in the call center industry in the Philippines right now.

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I am currently working on a book dedicated to helping HR & Recruitment professionals in the Philippines. The book should be ready by early 2017. In the meantime, you can check out my latest work, Putting Your Data to Work, for an overview of how to get started with analytics in your business. Connect with me and I will show you how to get a copy of my fast selling analytics guidebook.

HR & Recruitment Analytics – The recruitment and retention of top talent is the biggest challenge facing just about every organization. DMAIPH is a leading expert in empowering HR & Recruitment teams with analytics techniques to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn how to get more analytics in your HR & Recruitment process so you can rise to the top in the ever quickening demand for top talent.

IBM’s Six Ways To Use Analytics To Manage A Workforce

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ibm/2015/04/06/6-ways-to-use-analytics-to-better-manage-a-workforce/

Interesting article about how to use more analytics in areas that are traditionally data rich, but not a focus of most enterprise analytics solutions.

Right now in the BPO industry in the Philippines, two of the bullet points really got me thinking.

Using analytics in HR to predict if and when employees might leave is a pretty cool concept. Their is plenty of historical data to look at resignation and termination patterns and segment the data in various buckets to see if any meaningful patterns jump out.

This goes hand in hand with higher employee expectations for work life balance and having a strong sense of community within the work place.

Both are things that might require a lot of unstructured analytics as well… although it blurs employee privacy issues, Facebook and Twitter can be an excellent place to glean insights into employee mood and their intentions.

I am curious to see how deep analytics can go into looking at data and trying to predict employee loyalty and stickiness.

The recruitment and retention of top talent is the biggest challenge facing just about every organization. DMAIPH is a leading expert in empowering HR & Recruitment teams with analytics techniques to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes.

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DMAIPH also specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

What Kind Of Analyst Do You Want To Be?

“The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts but learning how to make facts live.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes

An ANALYST is a person who analyzes and is skilled in analysis. Business Analysts (BA) are required to find, analyze and report business data to support business optimization.

The job functions of an analyst very greatly from business to business and even within each business job functions can vary from analyst to analyst. However at their core, you will find that just about anyone with analyst in the title has several things in common.

Based on the book, the Accidental Analyst, four character traits that most analysts have are:

  • PASSION for helping people solve real problems
  • KNOWLEDGE of the business being analyzed
  • EXPOSURE to thinking analytically and problem solving tools
  • EXPERIENCE using data to solve problems

In addition most analysts have certain personality types:

  • reflective
  • intuitive
  • deep-thinkers
  • and able to make quick judgments

These findings show a consistency across analysts no matter if their focus in on reporting, analysis and/or research, if they are working with small structured data sets or volumes of unstructured big data or if they are actively working to optimize the business or just providing information.

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Per CHED some of the analytics jobs graduates of the program should be ready for:

  • Jr. Business Analyst
  • Operations Assistant
  • (Web) Site Analyst
  • Marketing Officer
  • Jr. Operations Analyst
  • Financial Analyst
  • Supply Chain Analyst
  • Human Resources Associate
  • Training Associate
  • Administrative Associate
  • Accounting Analyst
  • Quality Assurance Analyst
  • Facilities Associate
  • Planning/Budget Analyst
  • Insurance Analyst
  • Social Media Analyst
  • Virtual Assistant
  • Customer Service Rep
  • Finance Analyst
  • Accounts Payable Analyst
  • Travel Analyst
  • Expense Analyst
  • General Accounting Analyst

This list is hardly exhaustive. On a typical day on jobstreet.com you will see hundreds of job titles that includes analyst in the title.

So I guess the next question to ask is, “What kind of analytics and analyst jobs interest you the most? ”

The Fundamental of Business Analytics – Business Analytics is the application of talent, technology and technique on business data for the purpose of extracting insights and discovering opportunities. DMAIPH specializes in empowering organizations, schools, and businesses with a mastery of the fundamentals of business analytics. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to find out how you can strengthen your business analytics fundamentals.

Finding Data For A Case Study In Outsourcing

Taking a business projects I did a few years ago and turning it in to a case study exercise for a group of students.

Project Goal – To determine the viability of outsourcing 3-5 engineering jobs (Project Engineer and Draftsman) from the home office in Rotterdam to the rep office in the Philippines.

Current Situation – There is currently a rep office in Makati that has the space to add at least 3-5 engineering jobs. This study will determine if outsourcing these positions will result in cost savings as well as add value to the overall company operations.

This study will provide answers to three questions:

Is Makati an viable outsourcing solution?

What is the average salary for talent in Makati?

Is anyone else outsourcing along similar lines?

Recommendations – We recommend the following actions to ensure the overall success of an outsourcing transition.

  1. Conduct a thorough cost-benefit analysis comparing current and future salaries and benefits of staff in Rotterdam and Manila.
  2. Post a job listing to see what kind of candidates apply and screen them as future hires.
  3. Market to OFWs as they return from aboard as they are the most likely pool of experienced candidates.
  4. Contract a local Subject Matter Expert who can be hired as the Team Lead who can take the lead in filling out the staff.

Analytics Outsourcing – DMAIPH has successful set up Filipino analytics teams for over a dozen U.S. based businesses. Offering both virtual and office based teams that specialize in problem solving using data, new technology and analytics techniques is our strength. Finding and empowering analytics talent is increasingly challenging, but we have it down to a science. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn more about how to set up an analytics-centric team in the Philippines.

Analytics Tip > Keep Your Data Clean

http://bicorner.com/2015/03/22/5-nuggets-from-the-big-data-driven-business/

Came across this interesting post on LinkedIn…

Database quality now has an unprecedented impact on the success of Big Data initiatives. To ensure that these databases are as productive as possible, Marketers must maintain good data hygiene.

Five steps for cleaner data:

1) Make sure your data entry team is keying in data accurately in the first place.  Make the data entry team a priority.

2) Incentivize your sales team, call-center squad and other customer facing employees to regularly request updated contact information and other data from the customers they encounter.

3) Use available software, such as Trillium, to streamline the process of cleansing, correcting and updating email and postal addresses.

4) Allow customers access to their records so they can help keep them accurate.  Consider offering discounts as an incentive for customers to participate.

5) Regularly contact customers, either via phone or email, to update records.  This approach is critical with the most important accounts.

Having clean data is very, very important.

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I have my admin team refresh my connection data on LinkedIn on a regular basis so our mailings lists stay up to date.

We also have audits of our client pipeline to make sure all relevant applicant data is captured for analysis.

Make sure you put some thought into how to keep your data clean!

Analytics is the application of using data and analysis to discover patterns in data. DMAIPH specializes in empowering and enabling leaders, managers, professionals and students with a mastery of analytics fundamentals.

DMAIPH is also a founding member of the Analytics Council of the Philippines and specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

Talented Philippines! A Really Helpful Resource For BPO Professionals

http://www.talentedphilippines.com/

Came across this new book and just ordered it. Im pretty excited about it.

In a nutshell… Talented Philippines answers critical questions for multinational corporations currently operating in, expanding or establishing operations in the Philippines.

Some of the key questions tackled in the book:

What are the critical business issues for multinationals in the Philippines?

What are the key talent management implications?

How have the Philippine’s best organizations addressed those challenges?

talented philippines

Talented Philippines was created to address the critical business and HR issues impacting the Philippines today as the country continues to transform. Based on the responses of more than 650 business and HR practitioners at the forefront of HR innovation, thought leadership and implementation in the country, the book explores the people management priorities across small, medium and large enterprises operating in the Philippines. Combined with numerous case studies that highlight the experiences of leading organizations and insight from a wide cross-section of public and private sector enterprises, Talented Philippines offers global best practices for multinational companies looking to leverage the great promise of this flourishing nation and its talented workforce.

This is well timed as the last year has seen a quickening of the talent war in the Philippines as the issue of a skills mismatch between job seekers and employers has really come to a head. It is a must read for anyone involved in the BPO industry in the Philippines.

However, there is one thing that based on what I see so far, is missing form this book. The fact that no matter how awesome a company’s HR practitioners are… they are still trying to find talent when it is truly lacking in a natural state. As a companion piece to this book, would be solid advice on how, when, where and why to invest more in training… especially pre-hire training and training geared towards internal advancement.

No matter how great an HR team is, they still have to get the right people in the door to apply and that seems to be the issue… because even in country of 90 million there is just not enough Filipinos with the skill sets and/or aptitude for a BPO career right now. The demand will only be met if the supply is given more training, more preparation and more data to make good career decisions.

Dr. Data_Analytics in the Philippines
If you like this book, you will probably enjoy my new book as well. Putting Your Data to Work is a guidebook designed to help Filipinos get started with building a good analytics culture in their business. Connect with me if you are interested in purchasing a copy for only 600 PHP.

HR & Recruitment Analytics – The recruitment and retention of top talent is the biggest challenge facing just about every organization. DMAIPH is a leading expert in empowering HR & Recruitment teams with analytics techniques to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn how to get more analytics in your HR & Recruitment process so you can rise to the top in the ever quickening demand for top talent.

Why The Philippines? The Shift In Services Across The Globe Leads to My Adopted Country

“The world is currently witnessing a fundamental reorganization in the way services are delivered to customers. This is what is behind the movement to outsource. It’s a lot more than just saving money by shipping jobs overseas.” – Harvard Professor Robert E. Kennedy

In his book the Services Shift, Kennedy outlines 5 primary reasons for this shift in services. All 5 have a great deal of influence on why the Philippines has become the call center capital of the world.

The globalization of services, in which different tasks are being carried out by different individuals in different locations, is about gaining access to the best combination of talent, resources and markets.

  • Technological Innovations like easy access to the internet and stored data.
  • Emerging Market Growth in traditionally closed markets
  • Global Macroeconomic Liberalization of government polices toward trade
  • The Corporate Imperative to both reduce costs and improve quality
  • The Convergence of a Global Business Culture based on the English language and American business models.

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There are so many forces for this move to outsource and analytics has moved to the top of everyone’s wish list of things to look globally for.

If you have been thinking about getting your feet wet in setting up a team in the Philippines, I can help. I have set up a dozen different teams of all shapes and sizes for various U.S. companies.

Adding a team in the Philippines will add a lot of value to your business, so connect with men and we can discuss a specific solution for you.

HR & Recruitment Analytics – The recruitment and retention of top talent is the biggest challenge facing just about every organization. You really have to Think Through The Box to come up with winning solutions to effectively attract, retain and manage talent in the Philippines today.

DMAIPH is a leading expert in empowering HR & Recruitment teams with analytics techniques to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn how to get more analytics in your HR & Recruitment process so you can rise to the top in the ever quickening demand for top talent.

The Secrets of Money Ball Recruiting

http://youtu.be/6MStL5QIyCw

“There are rich call centers, with big budgets and huge recruitment teams. There are poor call centers with small budgets and just a few people. Then there is 50 feet of crap. And there is us.”

I conducted a Recruitment Analytics Training yesterday and shared one of my methodologies. Based on the movie (and book) Moneyball, I talked about how to be successful you need to find undervalued candidates who other call centers have passed on.

“If we try and play like Convergys in here (with our recruitment efforts), we will lose to Convergys out there (on the streets looking for talent)”.

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So we need to boil down the recruitment process to the one thing most important for our business in every single employee.

Some of my points:

  1. We spend too much time looking for trainable skills like Good English, Good Communicators and Good Interview Takers.
  2. We need to stop hiring job hoppers and people looking to move up without having paid their dues.
  3. The one skill set we cannot teach, that we need to start making our top priority… is dependability.
  4. Will they show up on time every day for work is the single biggest need we have.

So that’s the one personality trait we are placing at the top of our recruitment process. We need to probe and dig and research, to find out will they be someone who will show up for their shift everyday.

That’s our “get’s on base” metric like in MoneyBall.  We can’t help the customer if we are not at work ready to help the customer.

HR & Recruitment Analytics – The recruitment and retention of top talent is the biggest challenge facing just about every organization. DMAIPH is a leading expert in empowering HR & Recruitment teams with analytics techniques to optimize their talent acquisition and management processes. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn how to get more analytics in your HR & Recruitment process so you can rise to the top in the ever quickening demand for top talent.

What Is Strategy?

http://bakerstreetpublishing.com/decisioncoaching/2015/02/12/what-are-the-strategic-decisions-we-face/

I came across this perfectly timed blog post on LinkedIn. Tomorrow we will be having our first real leadership planning session in a while and we have a lot of topics on the agenda.

However, before we get into the nitty gritty, I will spend the first part of the meeting talking about strategy. And these concepts will form the core of that conversation.

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“Every business must have three things to be successful: good leadership, good strategic decision making, and the ability to execute. “

  • Good Leadership: To me this means inspiring and empowering team members to take the initiative, to be bold in problem solving and being able to balance client, customer, business and team member needs.
  • Strategic Decision-Making: Taking a logical and data-driven approach to decision-making is the best way to map out your business plan.
  • The Ability to Execute: Good leaders know how to implement decisions quickly and efficiently because they work in a sound framework of empowerment and intelligence.

Looking at closely at the data is key part of this. Good leaders do much more than just manage, and it’s important to constantly remind ourselves of this.

Analytics Leadership – DMAIPH specializes in arming the Data-Driven Leader with the tools and techniques they need to build and empower an analytics centric organization. Analytics leadership requires a mastery of not just analytics skill, but also of nurturing an analytics culture. We have guided thousands of Filipino professionals to become better analytics leaders. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to discuss a uniquely tailored strategy to ensure you are the top of your game when it comes to Analytics Leadership.

What Makes DMAIPH a Successful Outsourcing Partner?

Updated on 10/31/16

Our top focus is keeping your customers happy! If an outsourcing company like DMAIPH is doing things right, its seamless. Your customers will get the exact same level of service if they talk to someone in your corporate office as they would if they talk with our team in the Philippines.

We are not just some vendor providing service… WE ARE YOUR COMPANY.

We have already proven this with an online auction site based in Boston, a pharmaceutical sales consulting business in Houston and a social media networking service from New Jersey among a half dozen others.

Here are some reasons to adopt an outsourcing partnership with DMAIPH:

  1. Lower costs: With no overhead, our partners save as much as 50% by outsourcing!
  2. Time savings in hiring and training staff: Hiring the wrong person can and will cost your company money in the long run. Let us take that risk away from you.
  3. Well trained workforce to handle customer needs and concerns. We train based on your requirements.
  4. No need to invest in and maintain high end infrastructure and technology. We got that covered.
  5. Feedback: You will get information from your outsourced contact center about where your programs have troubles. What’s working, what’s not? By being 6,000 miles away we have a different perspective then those in your own office.

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Contact us today for a free consultation. DMAIPH has been providing outsourcing solutions to U.S. based small and medium sized business for over 3 years.  Our offices in the Philippines are set up with state of the art technology and staffed with top local talent.

Analytics Outsourcing – DMAIPH has successful set up Filipino analytics teams for over a dozen U.S. based businesses. Offering both virtual and office based teams that specialize in problem solving using data, new technology and analytics techniques is our strength. Finding and empowering analytics talent is increasingly challenging, but we have it down to a science. Contact DMAIPH now at analytics@dmaiph.com or connect with me directly to learn more about how to set up an analytics-centric team in the Philippines.