Jamila, 24, works as a pre-audit analyst for IBM Business Services (IBS) and is a part of a team that handles the processing of travel and disbursement claims for IBM's employees in France. She graduated with a degree in European Languages -- major in French -- from UP Diliman but, unlike an agent working for a call center, her job entails a lot more skill than her language background.
'Language becomes secondary to the job,' said Anna Maria Roqueza, human resources (HR) country manager for IBM Philippines, referring to the more than 400 employees of IBS who do internal back-office HR and accounting work for the IT company's global operations, particularly in North America (Canada) and Europe.
Established in January 2004 and located at the Eastwood complex in Libis, Quezon City, IBS also performs HR services for Procter and Gamble's operations in Asia Pacific and Europe as part of the global 10-year US$400 million outsourcing deal between the two companies.
Aside from tasks like processing payroll and benefits administration, IBS also does expatriate relocation services for IBM and P&G employees all over the world. 'This covers the time they're moving into a particular country until they get sent to another country. This involves tasks like looking for schools for the kids, house hunting, and even scouting for social organizations their wives can join,' Roqueza explained, along with some employees at IBS in an interview with Computerworld Philippines.
Immersion
Depending on the nature of the job their people handle, IBM sends employees abroad for training. The idea is to not only allow them to see first-hand how company processes are being handled in that particular country they serve but also to immerse themselves in foreign culture.
Jamila is part of a five-member team who got sent to Bordeaux, France for two weeks of training last March. Likewise, Philipp Rothmund, 25, team leader for the travel and pre-audit expense team for Germany and Switzerland, went to Germany for training.
'While in Germany, we see how people there buy tickets, what kinds of receipts don't get taxed. While we can read about it, we learn a lot more things than by simply reading manuals,' said Rothmund, a half-Swiss, half-Filipino who grew up and studied in Switzerland.
Aside from sending employees abroad, IBM also makes use of its internal IBM Global Campus portal that not only provides ready information on each country IBM serves (tax legislation, currently exchange rates, etc.) but is also an e-learning venue. 'They get access to courses that can help them gain certain skills that complement their jobs,' Roqueza added.
Aging workforce
One factor that makes outsourcing a logical business strategy not just for Europe but for regions like North America and Japan is the aging workforce in these geographical areas. Over the next ten years, 'baby boomers,' generally referring to people born after the Second World War, are expected to go into retirement.
According to data presented by IBM, over the next seven years, over 33 million people in Japan -- or 26 percent of the entire population -- are expected to be over 65 years old. In Italy, meanwhile, there are more people receiving pension (22 million) than people working (21 million).
The reverse is true for developing nations like India, Brazil, China, and the Philippines that produce annually huge numbers of young graduates with a rich background in IT.
Also, according to a global study of 300 chief human resources by IBM, more than 60 percent are struggling to identify and develop the workforce skills required to sustain growth and remain competitive. This finding indirectly supports the rise of outsourcing. And as technology develops, outsourcing is slowly displacing corporate tasks that otherwise become more costly to run internally.
Outsourcing benefits emerging countries like India and the Philippines that have more than enough highly skilled workers to take on these tasks. The Philippines has always been touted to have the advantage because of language fluency and overall service orientation.
While it is more expensive to send employees abroad than bring their counterparts from overseas to mentor the Manila delivery center, the goal is to simply let Filipino employees see for themselves how their counterparts do the work they would be doing in the Philippines.
Both Jamila and Philipp said they were trained abroad by IBM employees who are twice their age.
Philipp, who previously worked in the call center industry, is a firm believer that the kind of work they do at IBM is a big step for the Philippines to move up the so-called value chain in the global outsourcing milieu.
Like IBM itself, he also believes there is a lot more room for growth for outsourcing in Europe, where he spent almost half of his life. 'European companies are changing their business strategies. The continent isn't really service-oriented,' he noted.