Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies, in a way, are usually exempt from the issues that affect the country of operations. Clients are often based overseas and do not get affected by national emergencies or crises. But COVID-19 is a global crisis. And, the BPO industry, much like every other industry, is starting to feel the pinch.
A start-up BPO company that opened up shop at the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles, Pampanga in the middle of last year, has been very aggressive in its expansion. In less than a year, the company has doubled the number of employees and was putting up plans to recruit more agents in December.
Then news of the COVID-19 outbreak came out, and just last week, the company has announced that it will be reducing its current workforce by 70%. The explanation — their overseas client, has also been affected, and business has started to slow down. They will not be able to sustain their BPO subscription if the outbreak escalates further.
Such a situation is not an isolated case. Businesses across all industries are beginning to collapse. And the sad reality is that — there is no end in sight to this global crisis.
Now, the biggest challenge to the private sector is how to adapt and sustain operations amidst a continuing lockdown across all geopolitical systems.
Of course, there is no standard answer to this. Each company will have to make tough decisions, and these decisions would have to be implemented as soon as possible.
Our suggestion — start brainstorming now. Your journey to bouncing back better should start today.
