TMCnet News
Link2Support contact center to open in Davao(Business World (Philippines) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Davao City - This city is gradually becoming a favored destination for contact centers establishing operations in Mindanao. Link2Support, a call center company that handles inbound technical support to clients from all over the world, is set to open here on Dec. 1. It will be the city's second fully operational contact center to date. "We chose Davao City as our second site in Mindanao because of its stable infrastructure, favorable business climate, and the depth of recruitment pool," Junar Amador, senior director for Link2Support said. Citing the city's huge potential in developing economic opportunities in the information technology sector, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 16 on Nov. 3, activating the information and communication technology (ICT) task force to study the possibility of creating a technology development plan. Link2Support initially established its office in Metro Manila in May 2002. With a growing number of customers and after experiencing cut-throat competition in the National Capital Region, it opened its second hub in Cagayan de Oro City on June 2005. The Davao office is its third contact center in the Philippines. Initially, some 250 seats are reserved for the Davao branch. "But the number could increase as Davao is a very promising site," he said. Even its 2,000-square meter office space is expandable to 4,000 square meters, in order to prepare for an operation upgrade. Barely two months after announcing its manpower need, the company has trained at least six batches of prospective employees, with each batch consisting of up to 40 individuals. Link2Support processes at least 50 applications daily. Mr. Amador said the company's absorption rate is pegged at about 4%, double the prevailing industry-wide rate. "Our comparative advantage to the others is that we do train and equip our staff to have the skills needed in doing their job which is mainly to help our clients install or troubleshoot their personal computer and other network peripherals. Anyone who's conversational in English may apply, as long as he or she is willing to learn. We do not do outbound telemarketing," explained Mr. Amador. Although information technology knowledge is a plus, he said applicants need not be a technology geek in order to be hired. Only 65% of the trainees have computer-related courses or degrees. Mr. Amador said Link2Support trains future employees on product and technical knowledge for a month. If interested, a hired employee may continue with the training for about one year in order to acquire a certification of membership from the Cisco or Microsoft network. Copyright 2006 BusinessWorld (Philippines). Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Asia Intelligence Wire. |