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HOW JOBSDB SERVICES THE PHILIPPINES’ TOP CALL CENTERS

“We don’t interrogate our call center applicants, but invite them to a friendly meeting where we can interact and build up their confidence.”

This recruitment strategy, summed up by JobsDB Phils, Inc. Placement Manager Patrick Ledonio, keeps his office busy as a beehive everyday where a daily average of two hundred applicants are screened, assessed, and evaluated for a possible job in the booming call center industry. Most agencies and in-house call center recruiters revert to either one of two decisions – accept for training or reject. Meanwhile, Ledonio’s staff has a third option: if possible, indicate points for improvement, build up confidence, identify and encourage strengths, and then provide the applicant tips and exercises he or she can develop at home. Based on JobsDB’s track record, the formerly intimidated and discouraged applicant will take the homework seriously and come back for another screening with greater chances of getting hired by Ledonio’s call center clients.

JobsDB.com is Asia’s leading recruitment network, based in Hong Kong, with regional branches in Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the USA, and of course, the Philippines.

Established in 1999, JobsDB Phils, Inc. (www.jobsdb.com.ph) has evolved from its origins as a job posting board to staffing, placement, executive search, and software recruitment solutions.

Its global database of 3.6 million resumes, most of whom are college degree holders from their early 20’s to their mid-30’s, is one resource that Ledonoio taps to fill in the personnel requirements of the call center industry. His company services top players in the industryincluding Convergys Philippines, People Support, and Client Logic.

While other sectors are coping with retrenchment and the absence of growth, call centers based in the Philippines face a different predicament – demand for manpower surpasses supply. US companies outsourcing their telephoning, I.T. helpdesk, customer service and other business processing functions prefer to base their operations in the country mainly due to our English-proficient workforce.

According to a presentation made by the Electronics and ICT Division of the Department of Trade and Industry, conducted in a conference for call center leaders hosted by JobsDB Phils, Inc. last year, investments have soared from P566 million in 2000 to P6,520 million in 2003. Other studies by JobsDB project a potential of 1.6 million jobs from the US alone by 2007.

Yet, the Philippine call center industry has barely scratched the tip of this huge iceberg. Attrition rate and turn-overs rate a very high 11-13 percent. Standards for prospective call center agents remain equally stringent, with a premium placed on competencies such as English fluency especially in conversation, analytical thinking, listening skills, and a genuine desire to assist people.

Ledonio says that, if all these skills are present in an applicant, the only reasons that would make him fail a call center screening are a lack of confidence and a lack of awareness of his own strengths and weaknesses. His proven tactic: boost up that confidence and point out the skills that can be used or improved by positive coaching. Ledonio’s consultants encourage an applicant to come out of his emotional shell, engage him in pleasant conversation, and slowly but steadily make him realize his capacity to meet the call center standards. They also give him pointers on self-improvement such as the proper job interview wardrobe and conversational styles as well as prepare him on what to expect in the actual screening.

A team of experts oversees the screening of an applicant from the resume assessment phase prior to the actual interview all the way to the actual hiring. A researcher continually searches for qualified candidates from the JobsDB database and other offline resources. Meanwhile, a recruitment specialist tracks down the progress of said applicants. Several consultants handle the coaching.

Ledonio points out, “Ultimately, it is the call center who decides on whether to accept or turn away certain applicants. But we do everything we can to make sure that those applicants are equipped and confident by the time they make it to the interview.”


WANT TO WORK IN A CALL CENTER COMPANY? Then click here.

OR IF YOU ARE AN HR MANAGER OF A CALL CENTER AND YOU NEED QUALIFIED CANDIDATES, call 683-0151 or email feedback@jobsdb.com.ph.

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