Awarded 'Best Employer of the Year' in 2005 by the Personnel Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP), eTelecare, currently with almost 5,000 employees, will continue to expand and hire more people this year, said Hernandez. The company is looking at easily reaching over 6,000 employees this year, he said, especially as it will be building another site in another city, which is yet to be disclosed.

Hernandez shared that winning the PMAP award somehow served to correct some misconceptions that a contact center career is a no-brainer and that there is no room for growth in such a career, since PMAP saw that a contact center company like them does invest in career pathing and developing the potentials of their employee base.

'It's not an impossible feat to continue having the manpower that you need, it's just a matter of being creative as a company,' said PeopleSupport's Lamzon.

Describing the industry as transitioning between maturity and infancy already, Lamzon said that there is still a lot of potential for the industry to grow. 'By just being ready and anticipating the problems so we can avoid them, we can reach the industry's potential for greater growth, by also learning from other countries that have started ahead and just keeping our eyes open for opportunities as well,' she said.

According to the Frost & Sullivan analysis, although cost is still the top reason for companies to offshore and outsource in the region, the quality of service is the central factor that makes any country the foremost choice for contact center outsourcing.