By Justine Irish D. Tabile, Reporter
THE quality of the workforce remains the main source of the Philippines鈥 competitive edge in the information technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry, according to US outsourcer company TaskUs, Inc.
鈥淭he Philippines has always been special, but what makes it attractive is the talent that the Philippines possesses 鈥 it鈥檚 the employee, the makeup of the employee,鈥 Dean Van Ormer, senior vice president for Southeast Asia at TaskUs, told 大象传媒.
鈥淥bviously, the literacy rate in English is part of it, but I would also say it is the work ethic, intelligence, resiliency, education, and affinity to Western culture. 鈥淭here are a lot of different things,鈥 he added.
鈥淲e look at where we set up our buildings, how we go out and advertise, and what people think about us in the industry. It鈥檚 always a focus of ours just having an incredibly strong reputation as an employer,鈥 he said.
鈥淚 am not saying it is a challenge for us, but it is always at the top of mind because your employer brand is everything,鈥 he added.
He said the company sees artificial intelligence (AI) as a means of empowering its agents to tackle more complex call types.
鈥淲e are utilizing it. We are looking at how AI makes you better to the clients that you are supporting through faster tools, better knowledge bases, and better efficiencies,鈥 he said.
鈥淭he other way we are looking at it is how we can train our employees constantly, educating and training our employees to handle more complex types of transactions,鈥 he added.
Al Sese, vice president of operations at TaskUs, said that AI not only helps employees to become more impactful within the clients they work for but also helps managers make better decisions.
鈥淔rom a leadership standpoint, our tools are integrated towards AI, so that makes us more efficient because it frees us from all of these other things that we need to spend time on to make the right decisions,鈥 he said.
鈥淓verything is within reach because of AI. The way we get the data and the way we look at the insights becomes quicker, which frees us to spend more time with our teammates,鈥 he added.
Earlier this month, TaskUs opened its 11th site in the Philippines in Las Pi帽as City, for which it plans to hire 1,500 employees by year鈥檚 end.
According to the company, it opted to open the Hiraya site in the city to bring the company closer to its employees, as 80% of the company鈥檚 workforce in Alabang resides in Las Pi帽as.
The Philippines remains the company鈥檚 largest operating base, accounting for more than 35,000 teammates.
