CEBU CITY -- eTelecare Global Solutions' belief in the potential of the Filipino worker helped the company win the Employer of the Year award from the Personnel Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP).
The award "validates our core belief that if we treat our people right, we will reap many rewards," Fred Ayala, chair of eTelecare, said Thursday in his acceptance speech at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.
"From day one, we have made our people our top priority, and made investing in human capital a fundamental part of our strategy," he said.
PMAP's Employer of the Year award is given to the organization that shows commitment to the development of its most-prized asset -- human resources.
The award gains more importance when one considers that eTelecare is a young company, just 5 years old, compared with other awardees, many of which are a century old, according to Ayala.
eTelecare, which started operations in 2000, now has more than 7,000 employees. Its annual revenue has grown from zero in 2000 to P6.9 billion last year.
Ayala said the award would enable eTelecare to correct misconceptions about jobs in the call center industry.
"Many people think that a call center job is a well-paying but dead-end job as a telephone operator. They do not realize how complex the work is. Our people are actually financial, technical and language specialists who happen to use a phone to communicate," Ayala said.
He attributed eTelecare's success to its strategy of empowering its employees.
The company invests heavily in talent development and retention, including a comprehensive leadership development program and supplemental training.
eTelecare also guarantees an hour of coaching for each agent on a weekly basis.
In addition, the company allows employees' participation in company decision-making, even in the design of new call centers.
"We have built day care centers, resting lounges, game rooms and a musical band room as a result of their suggestions. We hold weekly town hall meetings at every site where everyone has a chance to dialogue with the site director," Ayala said.
This strategy, he said, resulted in a strong sense of ownership among employees, better performance and productivity.
He cited the case of Arlene Acleta, a physical therapist who thought of working at eTelecare as an agent for just a year to get a break from her job.
To her surprise, Acleta said she realized that she wanted to stay on at the company.
In 2002, she was recognized as the best Call Center Agent in the world by Call Center Magazine, the largest trade publication worldwide, in its Customer Care Leadership Awards.
She won over 200 candidates, mostly from the United States, and was the only Asian to win this award, according to Ayala.
She has been promoted eight times over the past four years and her compensation has increased six-fold.
Acleta mentioned the fulfillment she felt when the people under her were promoted. "It is fulfilling to look at teammates go up the ladder."
Ayala said Acleta had since learned management skills and had just been promoted to operations manager in training, in charge of a complex program for a Fortune 100 company that will require 500 agents next year.
Benedict Hernandez, eTelecare vice president and general manager of Philippine operations, noted that the industry manpower requirement was quite high.
"The industry is hiring about 3,000 agents a month, at least 300 supervisors and 30 managers," Hernandez pointed out.
This rate of hiring could not be seen in any other industry, he said.
http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.ph...story_id=52136
eTelecare Global Solutions - Employer of the Year 2004
Originally Posted by Sparrow Unit
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