Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
The attrition rate or the number of agents resigning from call center firms in the country has been slowing down from a high of 36 percent in 2021 to 19 percent as of last year, largely attributed to the implementation of work from home arrangement, according to a study released by the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP).
Results of the 145-member organization’s annual Attrition and Retention Survey was released Monday, May 27, during a press conference. The survey conducted by data solutions firm Willis Towers Watson showed that voluntary attrition rate slowed to 31 percent in 2022 from 36 percent in 2021. The rate further slowed down to 19 percent as of the first half of 2023.
The top three reasons stated for employee resignation are better pay (69%), better growth opportunity (685), and health related reasons (46%).
In terms of involuntary attrition, the rate in 2022 was at 14.1 percent, while the rate of agents committing absence without leave (or unauthorized leave considered as work abandonment) was at 9.9 percent. About 1.9 percent of hired agents were ‘No Show’ or did not report to work on Day 1.
Overall, the industry’s total voluntary and involuntary attrition rate in 2022 was 45 percent.
Historically, the call center sector has among the highest employee attrition rates in the country. About 60 percent to 70 percent of agents had been leaving their companies until 2016, when the rate began to slow below 50 percent.
CCAP Board Director Haidee Enriquez attributed the decline in attrition rate to the implementation of work from home arrangements.
Enriquez said that the critical portion is the ability to “flex to the requirements of the employees because it’s a talent driven economy after all while protecting the business as well as the businesses of our clients.”
The hybrid work arrangement has also benefitted workers in the provinces, which have lower attrition rates.
The survey further showed that majority of agents (78 percent) in CCAP-member companies prefer the hybrid work arrangement, based on preliminary poll data in 2023. Interestingly, agents who prefer to work onsite comprised 47 percent of respondents, exceeding the 41 percent who like to do remote work.
Both Enriquez and CCAP Corporate Secretary Jamea Garcia estimated unfilled industry jobs of between 100,000 to 150,000. For Enriquez, her company has 300 vacancy positions while Garcia said that they have 3,000 available jobs.
CCAP members also identified some challenging roles to hire. These are positions for big data/data analytics/business intelligence, application development, accounting and finance, cyber security, and human resources.
When asked about their next plans after resignation, the survey results showed that about 64 percent of resigned agents said they are moving to other jobs within the Shared Service and Outsourcing. While those taking employment outside the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) industry account for 27 percent.
The top sources of new hires during recruitment are within Shared Service and Outsourcing (83 percent), outside the industry (44 percent), and freelancing (19 percent).
To ensure continued supply of talents, Enriquez reported that CCAP has completed the development of its own Philippine Skills Framework (PSF) specifically for Contact Center and Business Process (CCB). This is in line with the organization’s commitment to help the government, particularly the academic sector, in preparing students for more career options.
Despite the challenges, Enriquez said that the industry has grown and their projection “remains very bullish.”
In the IT-Business Process Management Roadmap, the entire industry is looking to increase revenue to $59 billion and 2.5 million employees over the next six years or by 2028.
Of this figure, the CCAP is expected to account for 83 percent and 89 percent of the projected employee generation. — Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
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