Q/A: Inside the Teleperformance Investment in Colombia and if Guatemala is the Next Stop
January 13th, 2010
Just last week Teleperformance joined the parade of outsourcing players who see strong upside in the Colombian market. We followed up with Juan Rodrigo Hurtado, president of Teleperformance of Colombia, to talk about the strategic importance of having a presence in Colombia.
Why is Teleperformance making the move now to acquire Teledatos?
By acquiring Teledatos, the Teleperformance Group seeks to enlarge its Global footprint in the region. Teleperformance’s interest in Teledatos is based on the ample experience that the company has within the colombian market, the quality in its contact outsourcing processes, managerial human team’s professionalism and grade of specialization when it comes to working with highly satisfied clients, these aspects coincide with Teleperformance business philosophy. The group took into account as well the competitive advantages that Colombia offers for the Contact Center and BPO Industry
The acquisition strengthens the global footprint that the group has nowadays in the Iberico-LatAm world, where is a major business partner for clients in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Mexico, Portugal and Spain.
Teleperformance Invests in Colombia with Take-over of Teledatos
January 5th, 2010Teleperformance, a major player in the outsourced contact center market, has announced acquisition of Colombia-based Teledatos. (See our related story on Mexico’s BPO market where Teleperformance is a major player.)
Teledatos, with expected 2009 revenues of approximately US $75 million, manages its operations in Bogota and Medellin utilizing more than 6,000 customer representatives. Teledatos serves major clients in various industry sectors, including telecommunicAdd New Post ‹ Nearshore Americas | Independent reporting on outsourcing in the Americas — WordPressations, transportation, tourism, utilities, retail, health and social protection.
The company, managed by Chief Executive Officer Mr. Juan Rodrigo Hurtado – a civil engineer with certificates in administration and finance from Harvard University – serves the local Colombian …
How to Stop Culture from Killing Your Offshore Deals
October 20th, 2009Steve Rudderham, VP, Client Engagement, Capgemini: “Problems culminate when customers and providers don’t spend enough time with each other”
Julia Santos, Director, Worldwide Strategic Outsourcing, Johnson & Johnson: “My way of communication and dealing with providers in India and LatAm is different. Because of the culture in Asia – it’s hard to just say no.”
Maurizio Velasquez, Commercial and BDVP Teledatos S.A., based in Colombia: “From a Latin perspective –we like to have the human approach.”
When people talk about “culture” in offshoring, what are they really getting at? It’s a question I’ve been thinking a lot about lately as I listen to people talk about culture as a fundamentally critical issue that has to be managed, watched over and in the most direct way – overcome.
Culture can, let’s face it, really screw up an offshoring deal. When I lived in Japan several years ago, I had my own taste of cultural “adjustment” learning quickly that if you’re out on the street and lost – people would rather give you bad directions than deliver the embarrassing news that the place you were trying to get to is far, far away.
Take that example, enlarge it and install it into a business environment, where both providers and customers may rely on increasingly sophisticated processes and modern technology tools to conduct business, but the sum result of that collaboration is intended to be something the client values and the provider understands thoroughly.
How Widespread are Cultural Breakdowns?
Research released recently by Boston-based Vantage Partners shows that culture is an issue that has to be reckoned with head on. The expanding gap between client expectation and provider service delivery – often referred to as “scope creep” – is at the heart of many deals that go bad.
Colombia Shows Signs of Becoming a Major Outsourcing Hub; Officials Condemn “Risky” Label
July 9th, 2009By Karina E. Cuevas
Bogota employs over 30,000 people in the contact center industry
Plenty of heads shook with dismay across Latin America, and particularly in Colombia, when Bogota was labeled as the riskiest outsourcing destination in the world for 2009, according to publishers of the Black Book on Outsourcing.
Lots of rankings come out annually about outsourcing providers, specialty areas, regions and cities – but this particular announcement seemed to be so at odds with reality that it triggered a slew of condemnations across the Internet and raised serious questions about the methods used by authors Scott Wilson and Doug Brown. (For further opinion, see Nearshore Americas’ reaction here.)
Modern City on the Rise
A city that generates over $250 million annually in the call center/outsourcing industry can hardly be called a dangerous investment option. “It [Bogota] has a big and modern economy with over 500,000 college students, a major international airport and the advantage of moving more cargo in Latin America [than any other country],” says Vladimir Ramirez, Managing Director of International Development Group, a management consulting firm with operations in Colombia, New York and Chicago. “It was number one in foreign investments last year (in LATAM) making it the first port of entry in Latin America and having both Colombian and international Spanish call centers located in Bogota.”
With facts like these, it’s hard to believe the negative comments on Bogota, but Black Book of Outsourcing doesn’t stop there. It places Bogota under the radar as a dirty and polluted city with an immature legal system. When contact about the report, authors Scott Wilson and Doug Brown did not respond to questions.
“Many people know very little about Latin America and nothing about Colombia, so I don’t know if those people have ever been here or where they get their data,” says Ramirez. “Colombia, within its political context, has never had a coup d’état, it has only entered in a recession once at the end of the last century and from a public order point of view it is no more corrupt than India, Indonesia and other countries in Latin America.”
Teleaccion: Training Plays a Key Role
Colombia counts on the expertise of a consulting and training company, unique to Latin America, called Teleaccion.
It’s a 21-employee institution specialized in improving technology and BPO management within the country and nine other nations around Latin America.
It has focused on three primary countries of growth for the call center market, including Colombia, Peru and Venezuela.
“We have trained around 23,000 people within 157 contact centers in Latin America,” says Patricia Alzate, General Manager of Teleaccion. “We work for Latin American reality, not for American or European cultures. Our method is a practical and simple one that has showed great results.”
According to Ramirez, Colombia is a market waiting to be discovered by the international community. Currently there are around 120,000 employees within the call center industry. The largest call centers are located in Bogota which employs around 30,000 people. The country, with seven distinct regions, offers over 12 cities in which to base a company. In five years, the call center/outsourcing industry is expected to generate $2.5 billion in revenue for the country.
