The Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) expects to attrition rate in the sector to fall below 45 percent in 2024 with the continued adoption of hybrid and work-from-home arrangements.
The call center sector has among the highest employee attrition rates in the country, with about 60 percent to 70 percent of agents leaving their companies until 2016, when the rate began to slow below 50 percent.
Attrition rate refers to the percentage of employees leaving the company within a given timeframe.
Key findings from the CCAP Attrition and Retention Survey reveals that voluntary attrition has declined in the past 2 1/2 years to 36 percent in 2021, 36 percent in 2022 and 19 percent in the first half of 2023.
“Given the trajectory during the first half of 2023, we are expecting better numbers this year. The flexibility of work arrangements has helped a lot to maintaining talents. And many of us are quick to pivot to countryside expansion, where work is near where employees,” CCAP board director Haidee Enriquez said in a briefing Monday.
Increased adoption of hybrid and work-from-home arrangements is credited for a significant portion of the decline in attrition. A 2023 poll shows that 78 percent of agents in CCAP companies prefer a hybrid model, with surprisingly high interest in onsite work at 47 percent alongside remote work at 41 percent.
The positive trend comes amid a concerted effort by CCAP member companies to adapt to evolving employee needs and a changing work landscape.
CCAP highlighted investments in employee training as a major factor. The association has developed the Philippine Skills Framework (PSF) specifically for the Contact Center and Business Process (CCB) industry, aiming to bridge the gap between academic programs and industry needs.
While freelancing platforms present a challenge for retaining talent 19 percent of new hires come from freelance pools, CCAP also sees it as an opportunity to expand job creation beyond traditional hubs like PEZA zones.
“We’re moving away from programs that weren’t responsive to employee needs. By offering flexible work arrangements and collaborating with the government, we’re creating a more ideal work environment,” said CCAP corporate secretary Jamea Garcia.
When it comes to talent acquisition, CCAP-member firms identified the top five challenging roles for hiring agents—big data/ data analytics/ business intelligence, application development, accounting and finance, cyber security and human resources.
The top sources of new hires are within shared service and outsourcing at 83 percent, outside the industry at 44 percent and freelancing, 19 percent.
“The skills framework will be crucial as the industry evolves. We need to prepare the future workforce, with estimates suggesting 55 percent of new workers by 2028 will come from the countryside, and power and infrastructure sectors will hold more opportunities compared to traditional telco roles,” Enriquez said.