When outsourcing call center requirements to the Philippines, one of the most critical factors to get right is pricing. Organizations of various sizes, especially SMEs, consider partnering with a call center in the Philippines primarily for cost savings, but entrusting this important business process to the lowest-cost provider is a recipe for failure. In doing their due diligence, service buyers and decision-makers need to be aware of the entire breakdown of costs. The following represents the most accurate overview of current pricing structures for call centers in the Philippines.
A simple Google search reveals that much of the available information regarding call center pricing is simply outdated. Some data reflects rates from a decade or more ago. The fact is that the call center outsourcing industry has evolved considerably over the last decade and so too have the rates. One of the biggest contributing factors in pricing for call center outsourcing to the Philippines is agent salaries. “The Philippines became the dominant contact outsourcing destination in the world about a decade ago, and as a result, competition for the country’s top talent has ramped up significantly, leading to higher agent salaries and overall compensation packages,” says Ralf Ellspermann, CEO of PITON-Global, an award-winning call center in the Philippines.
Another factor that has affected call center pricing is the cost of commercial office space. With the Philippines’ meteoric rise in popularity for organizations looking to outsource their call center operations, demand for commercial real estate in places like Metro Manila has skyrocketed as well. This has resulted in considerable increases in commercial office rents over the years.
For the decision-makers trying to make sense of call center outsourcing costs, they’ll find that there can be a great discrepancy in price. The overriding factor to keep in mind here is that there’s inevitably always a very close correlation between the hourly rate a call center vendor charges and the quality of service that can be expected. This means a premium call center that charges an hourly rate of US$12-14 per hour will deliver a far superior performance across every metric than a vendor that charges US$6-8 per hour. “The premium provider costs slightly more because they reinvest capital into the best people, processes, technologies, infrastructure, and facilities. A low-cost vendor simply does not generate sufficient revenue to do this, and therefore can only compete on price alone,” says Ellspermann.
There are additional considerations to call center rates besides the vendor as well. To illustrate, consider the following breakdown of English-based voice and non-voice services. The most current rate being charged by call centers in the Philippines for voice-based in and outbound services ranges from US$8-18. This price range would include phone (voice-based) services such as customer service, tech support, or collections, for example. At the lower end of this pricing spectrum, a buyer could expect to partner with a small call center, possibly located in a provincial area and providing a basic service. The higher end of this pricing would be for a globally leading call center that is providing much more complex services.
Pricing for English-based non-voice or data-only services would fall into the range of US$5-14. These rates represent the cost of using platforms such as email, chat, or social media for functions ranging from order processing, content creation, or business analytics. The difference is, on the low end, pricing would be for the utilization of a low-cost vendor for simple, repetitive tasks such as data entry. In contrast, the higher price point would characterize the typical rate for working with a premium contact center for high-priority functions such as business analytics.
It’s clear that for more business-critical functions, the only real option is to partner with a premium call center outsourcing provider in the Philippines. For only a few dollars more per hour, a buyer can partner with a world-class call center that’s equipped with leading-edge technology, top talent, state-of-the-art facilities, experienced management, and well-established processes. With current call center rates in the US hovering around US$24-28 per hour, an organization would still realize the recommended cost savings of at least 40-50%. Moreover, they would dramatically reduce the likelihood of program failure, which can be as high as 90% when going the low-cost route. The key is to find that sweet spot between price and quality, where service excellence is delivered at an affordable price. “Call center outsourcing to the Philippines works, but the approach has to be right,” says Ellspermann.