The BPO/contact centre industry in the Western Cape experienced impressive levels of growth in 2012, with an estimated 4 500 jobs created in the province. In total, the industry grew from 33 500 to 38 000 jobs, contributing approximately R8-billion to the region’s annual GDP.
According to the BPeSA Western Cape Key Indicator Report, out of the 4 500 jobs created in 2012/13, an estimated 3 100 are from offshore investment, showcasing a market shift driven by international outsourcers.
“This industry is a key growth area for the province creating significant job opportunities for the regions youth, with over 80% of all customer service associate positions being filled by staff aged 18 to 30,” says Western Cape Minister of Finance Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde.
The UK continues to make up the majority of international outsourcing business in the Western Cape with 61% of the market, followed by Australia at 9%, a 5% increase from 2011/12.
The largest non-English market for the second year in a row is Germany at 7%. Within the offshore market, English continues to be the service language of choice with 82% of the market share, showing no change from 2011/12.
“South Africa is known as an English voice based location with foreign languages such as German, Dutch and French typically being offered as additional support languages,” says Gareth Pritchard, CEO of BPeSA Western Cape.
According to Andrew McNair, Head of Benchmarking Customer Interactive Solutions (Global) Dimension Data, South Africa is rapidly establishing itself as an alternative BPO offshore location. This is being driven primarily by the people, a world class infrastructure and an obvious cultural appetite for learning.
The 2012/13 research highlights that “omni channel usage” such as social media, Web chat, speech self-service and smart phone applications will play an increasingly prominent role in customer service, with companies becoming more customer-centric.
Results also point towards a shift in the job description of the contact centre customer service associate. It’s expected that these individuals will increasingly be required to cater for multiple service channels which could impact the level and depth of training required by operators.
The majority (58,6%) of customer service associates are between the ages of 26 and 30, this represents a 16,5% increase from 2011/12, while the number of employees aged 18 to 25 has decreased by 24,7%. This change could signify a development within the industry where experience is now seen as a prerequisite for employment and could result in more complex work being serviced from the region.
Overall attrition rates continue to be relatively low by global standards at 13,1%, a 3,5% increase from 2011/12. This could be due to a large captive market in the Western Cape, where progression is not limited to the contact centre environment. Attrition is highest among international outsourcers at 26%, a 4% improvement from 2011/12.
“The findings from this year’s report have helped showcase that the Western Cape is on par and in many instances ahead of other global customer service locations. This bodes well for the future of the industry and should result in growth among both local and international operators in 2013 and beyond,” says Pritchard.