Abrigo, Mikie Grace

Ampongol, Lee Ann Marie

Calay, Angeline
Caniedo, Victoria
Guevarra, Rafael
Panas, Lianne Trea

Chapter1

THE PROBLEM

Background of the Study 

Business process outsourcing (BPO) is critical to the

success of numerous business models. It enables businesses to

concentrate on key business activities in order to become more

efficient and competitive. The BPO (business process

outsourcing) industry plays an important role within the

emerging economy of the Philippines and contributes over 11%

to the GDP. It’s the one largest sector and employs over 1.2

million people, spread across some 700 outsourcing companies.

(Accelerator, 2022)

Despite starting only 25 years ago, the call centre is

now the one biggest contributor to the nation’s economic

activity, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. Every

year, outsourcing suppliers are putting in place, or expanding

their operations — as a results of the highly educated

population, close cultural alignment to the West, and

relatively low-salary environment. A BPO call centre is an

outsourcing service that processes incoming and outgoing

service user concerns other companies (Jackson, 2021). Today,

managers are all right alert to the very fact that customer
service and customer support are a vital a part of business

success. Call centers are one in every of the tools that

companies use to supply clients with a web. There are sorts of

call centres that help companies; these are inbound call

center, outbound centre and virtual call centre. (Cloudtalk,

2019)

The very first center was founded within the Philippines

back in 1992 and in mere over 20 years, has grown

exponentially, to become the economic lifeblood of the

country. The BPO industry has played a significant role in

providing jobs to thousands if not many thousands of

Filipinos. (Accelerator, 2022)

The Philippines is the world's third largest English-

speaking country, and it is well-known for its excellent

interaction and intercultural ability. With nearly 500,000

college graduates leaving our highly renowned tertiary

education system each year, there is always a steady stream of

talent to be tapped. Human resource concerns with employee

retention appear to be arising and increasing rapidly as BPO

continues to grow. Regardless of the competition of the salary

packages these corporations offer their employees, job hopping

has become frequent among employees.

One of the most typical scenarios in the BPO sector, both

international and regional, is a high incidence of employee

turnover, which occurs when an employee is terminated,

discharged, or abandons or leaves the organization. When an

employee departs a company, this is referred to as employee

turnover or attrition. Turnover, on the other hand, results

from a variety of activities such as discharge, termination,

resignation, or abandonment. Attrition occurs when an employee

retires or when the position is eliminated by the company.

Employee retention refers to a company's ability, tactics,

procedures, and techniques for retaining its staff.

2020 was a difficult year for the BPO business. Even a

worldwide health crisis, however, cannot halt its expansion.

It will continue to employ millions of people in leading

offshore locations like as India, the Philippines, and Vietnam

in the future years. (advisory, 2021)

The employee turnover rate is one of the most significant

difficulties in the BPO industry. Many employees leave their

positions in large numbers and within a short period of time

with the organization. Some grim turnover statistics: the

Philippines have a 50% turnover rate in the BPO sector, while

India has a 48% turnover rate. These percentages are greater

than the average turnover rate of US corporations, which is

20%. Vietnam is an outlier when compared to India and the

Philippines. Workplace loyalty is high in Vietnam, and

turnover rates are in the single digits. Employee turnover has

surged over the last three years, with improved compensation

and possibilities, rising from 10% three years ago to 24% this

year, according to Vietnam News. Vietnamese businesses are

working hard to reduce turnover, with a particular emphasis on

enhancing employee engagement, people development, and loyalty

(advisory, 2021)

Staff turnover is a global issue, but it is particularly

serious in India. For announced results, the average global

turnover rate for 2021 is 20.4 percent. While these publicly

announced data do not include India, we estimate the turnover

rate in India is significantly greater. Anecdotally, we hear

that company turnover rates in India range between 30% and

50%, which is significantly higher than in previous years (KS,

2021)

As for the Philippines, the Manila Bulletin reported in

August 2016 that fewer employees in the Philippines' business

process outsourcing (BPO) sector are apparently resigning due

to better working conditions. It has been reported that the

attrition rate in the IT-BPM sector has dropped from 70% to

50%. High personnel turnover is a major deterrent for

organizations looking to outsource to the Philippine BPO

sector. Many experts suggest that the Philippine BPO business

is implementing retention methods.

There are factors that affect the motivation of employees

of BPO industry in the Philippines, the reason why outsourced

personnel stay with their company – aside from training,

government backing, and continual education – is higher pay.

Employees in the BPO sector, unlike those in other sectors,

benefit from a remuneration package that includes a high level

of guaranteed compensation. BPO firms also budget for their

employees' health and well-being. The Towers Watson poll

indicated how well-cared-for individuals in this industry are

by their companies. Employees in the outsourcing industry are

typically given stress/risk assessment programs, health

screening, counseling, fitness competitions, and smoking

cessation programs as benefits. Another intriguing discovery

has been how young individuals are pursuing new career options

in the same industry. These are some factors that affect the

motivation of employees of BPO in the Philippines that leads

to more retention rate of employees. Many experts say that the

Philippine BPO business is implementing retention methods.

According to (Jadraque, 2020), one of the findings of his

study about BPO industry in the Philippines is that one of the

respondents said that the BPO company she’s been working with

offered three options to them. The first option is to "work

from home," which requires them to work from home while being

connected to the firm and being compensated. Second, they must

"report in" and have their salary doubled every day. Finally,

if there is no job, there is no money. This is why BPO firms

are a perfect working environment in this type of situation.

Unlike other organizations that have completely ceased

operations, it has enabled many people, particularly their

employees, to maintain a source of income. This help them keep

motivated to work even there’s Covid-19 outbreak that scares

people to go out their home.

 It is the HR department's responsibility to reduce the

amount of employees that quit the firm by ensuring that they

can provide the correct setup and environment in order to

generate a happier and loyal employee who can continue to work

alongside the company's growth. (Daly, 2019) The organizations

are working hard to reduce staff turnover while raising

retention rates. Based on the findings in the research of

(Jadraque, 2020) to be able to be motivated in working in BPO

industry is having a healthy heart, where it is stated as

essential for survival in the BPO industry. That being a BPO

employee does not necessitate much intelligence; rather, it is

important to have a healthy heart. “Working in the BPO

industry would expose you to a great deal of discrimination,

not just on the basis of gender, but also on the basis of

nationality. It is about dealing with racists from other

countries, such as the United States.”

Employees leave in a BPO sector because it is regarded as

one that causes stress, and despite offering competitive

salaries and flexible working hours, the industry is unable to

retain personnel. Furthermore, for many, the BPO sector is a

training ground rather than a full-fledged career. People

enter the BPO profession to make money till they can acquire a

better career; hence BPO is not a destination. Also, in the

reasons for the employee turnover in BPO industry, the most

reasons are lack of growth and salary limits. In which affects

the motivation of employees in working in BPO industries. It

is apparent that many are dissatisfied with their jobs in the

BPO industry. They merely exist to pass the time till they can

get a better job elsewhere (Dr. Amit K. Srivastav, 2019).

Other issues that haunts the BPO industries globally and

regional is health and wellness of employees. Employees of

contact centers report health issues as a result of their

working environment. Some of them have reported back and

shoulder pain as a result of the workstation and display

configuration. After accepting several calls in a day's work,

many agents develop throat irritation and hearing damage. Most

crucially, psychological health suffers as a result of the

agents' exposure to excessive levels of stress at work. In

addition, there are extrinsic stressors such as inconsistent

work schedules and a quick work tempo.

But when the COVID-19 occurs globally, the nationwide

operations of BPO companies were substantially impacted by the

destructive COVID-19 outbreak. Even when they were allowed to

operate during Enhanced Community Quarantine periods, they

lacked the typical staffing capacity. This also results to

affecting the motivation of employees of BPO industry, as they

are afraid about them working on site because of the COVID-19

outbreak. Some of these firms adapted to a work-from-home

model as a temporary solution. However, because some families

have inadequate technological resources and internet access,

businesses were required to deliver necessary IT equipment to

employees. Others provided on-site accommodations so that

staff could continue to work despite the constraints. Sleeping

on desks and sharing hotel rooms are examples of this. COVID-

19 is extremely damaging; nonetheless, BPO industries continue

to operate. Because the Philippines are quarantined owing to

Covid-19, the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry has

had to adapt to new working styles and shifts in demand. In

addition, the World Health Organization-mandated practices are

being followed. As a result, the industry is still able to

carry out its operations. This simply implies that new modern

services (IT, BPO, the Internet, and others) must be

prioritized and used to revitalize the delivery of both new

and classic services. (Jadraque, 2020)

Despite the risks and challenges confronting the industry,

as well as the shift in the working environment, BPO firms

remain optimistic about future growth. The sector also

anticipates that the worldwide scene will grow more

competitive in terms of meeting the needs and requirements of

clients.

The demand on constantly adapting and acquiring new skills

will have a serious impact on how future companies work with

learning, talent acquisition and retention of the workforce.

As a result, working with these aspects are essential to stay

competitive within the market. A vital aspect of learning and

employee retention is motivation. Therefore, working with

motivation within the organization will play a serious role to

remain competitive and winning the war in talent acquisition.

According to (Puyod, 2020), in the findings of the study, call

center agents with a higher level of mindfulness have lower

levels of emotional tiredness.

Every successful firm has a devoted staff base, which is

the result of motivation and job satisfaction. Employees are

motivated by energy to achieve company goals. Without

commitment, the organization would be unable to generate

performance. To get a competitive advantage, organizations

must have competitive employee policies and procedures.

Motivation is an important stimulus that influences human

behavior. Because no two people have the same attitude or

conduct, organizations must develop methods that will please

the group as a whole rather than simply an individual (Varma,

2018).

In a corporation, it's important to create the staff valued

and appreciated, thanks to which they get motivated and that

they work harder and be more loyal toward the organization.

Reports say that despite the exponential growth of the

industry in terms of FTE and revenues, it fails to truly fill-

up the vacancies, especially involved centers, because of

skills mismatch (Ariola, 2017).

Despite the looming challenges which will come its way, the

Philippines' centre sector are predicted to stay as among the

strongest segments that contribute to the financial set-up.

Many observers attribute the sector's long-term health and

growth potential to the resilience and exceptional coping

mechanisms of local contact centers. And yet, the rapid climb

of the decision center activities within the Philippines comes

with challenges that are experienced by employees. BPO

industries in Baguio like Sitel Group Baguio, Teleperformance

and Concentrix have problems that exist. One in all the issues

is that the high rate in turnover. Giving us the reason for

choosing this issue to investigate and develop methods to

boost employee engagement and retention. It is vital that

we've a thought about the BPO center industry challenges that

are happening today. This way, we are able to properly

strategize the way to address these issues and make a more

sustainable source of living for Filipinos. While the eye of

motivation has increased some aspects don't seem to be yet

understood, due to the dearth in instruments for measuring the

extent of motivation.

This study aims to research the motivation level of

employees within the BPO industry in Baguio like Sitel,

Teleperformance, and Concentrix supported the five levels of

motivation, in step with Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which

includes physiological necessities, safety, love and

belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. And also the

influence of motivation to the retention of call centre

agents. Lastly, this study aims to know the current problems

of employees of BPO industry in Baguio City in their

motivation. These issues are especially significant within the

call centre environment, including call centers in Baguio City

like Sitel, Teleperformance and Concentrix and other BPO

industry within the Philippines which is a crucial business

within the global world. Findings also show that

organizational support moderates the link between work-life

conflict and intent to depart. The results also reveal the

context-specific sources of labor-life conflict: physical and

psychological impact of work schedule, social isolation and

lack of social support. Also, in step with the research of

(Delle-Vergini, 2018) Five managers felt that the migration

was successful. Many of the problems faced by employees

engaging from home revealed during the interviews were

discovered within the literature, like distractions from

family and friends, isolation, and computer hardware/software

malfunctions (Delle-Vergini, 2018)

The study's goal is to investigate and expound on how

employees' motivational elements influence their intention to

leave a call center. It aims to get the interplay between

their different motivational factors and to facilitate the

factors so as to enhance retention. This study also explores

the influence of motivation to call centre agents and the way

it affects the retention. The study was designed to know

important motivational aspects of the decision center agents'

job, from their point of view, and to form ways on the way to

increase motivation among employees. It’s important that we've

got a concept about the call center industry challenges that

are happening today. This way, we will properly strategize a

way to address these issues and make a more sustainable source

of living for Filipinos. The scope used is fundamental

motivational literature which is Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of

Needs which can be discussed on the theoretical framework a

part of the paper.

Call centers is, as previously stated, a up to date

business highly effected by turnover and this thesis will

therefore examine turnover intention from a call centre

perspective since the impact of turnover is both common and

elevated during this reasonably environment and can therefore

improve the likelihood to receive useful data. There are two

different types Call centers, inbound calls or outgoing. Since

outgoing calls is extremely provision oriented and have a

tendency to focus lots more on sales than quality its better

suited to assess Call centers with inbound calls. A call

center with inbound calls would provide a much greater context

for comprehending the complexities of the many chores, as well

as a potentially more long-term strategy to retention.

This research is to be conducted in response to the

concerns about the retention rate among the worker in BPO

industries like the Sitel, Teleperformance, and Concentrix in

Baguio city. In line with (Agarwaletal, 2019), “BPO industry

is taken into account to be an industry that provides stress

and have also even after having lucrative salary and versatile

timings the industry isn't able to retain the employees” (p.

356). Employee retention may be a challenging concern in a

corporation especially in BPO industries. Furthermore, the

high employee turnover encompasses a negative impact on the

business which is that the low employee productivity,

interruption on customer service, the value of turnover, and

etc. The findings of the study meant to profit the companies

considering that employee motivation plays a significant role

in retaining valued and skilled employees in a corporation.

The greater demand of valued and skilled employees in a

company like BPO industries justifies the requirement of more

practical motivational practices. For the researchers, this

study will help them as a guide to research and explore such

areas like management regarding the worker retention and

motivation of a corporation.

The researchers wanted to seem into the businesses Sitel,

Teleperformace, and Concentrix, all of which are under the BPO

industry, to work out and explain the hidden aspects that

aren't well understood by some. One in every of the items the

researchers wanted to appear into is how motivation influence

the workers to remain in a company. It’s not a secret that one

among the largest call centre problems is turnover. With such

a high workload and sometimes very tedious work, it’s not the

sort of job that each person can handle. Even with modern

automation to assist lighten the load, burnout is common and

turnover can happen to the most effective of facilities. The

study is vital to the researchers as BPO is one among the most

important industries that the majority applicants apply to.

Without a doubt, one amongst the advantage of outsourcing to

Philippines is that the pricing itself, which successively is

that the biggest reason behind why companies outsource.

This research would be extremely beneficial to fellow

students who might want to hitch a call centre someday, so

they'll understand how motivation is very important in a

workplace. Also, this can also benefit BPO industry in which

they will more understand the different motivation factors and

its influence to the retention of their employees. BPO

organizations will understand the challenges that are creating

employee turnover and demotivation. Human Resources will be

able to develop improved programs to assist maintain employee

morale.

Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

In the middle of the 20th century, Abraham Maslow

promoted the hierarchy of needs theory and has played a major

role in the research about motivation (Saeednia, 2011, p.

3085) the theory looks at needs of humans as a pyramid where

you have to satisfy the basic needs first before you can move

on reaching for the next step of the pyramid.

Physiological Needs. These are generally obvious because

they are required for survival. The body cannot operate if the

prerequisites are not met. In this paper, physiological needs

refer to the most basic needs of employees in a working place.

These basic needs include salary, incentives, work schedule,

and meals breaks. It assists in determining what essential

elements they require while working in order for employees to

feel inspired and stay with the organization. Employees needs

an access to the essential services of the organization and

comfortable working environment which is provided by the

company to make the employees feel satisfied that their basic

needs are being met.

Safety Needs. Once physical needs are satisfied,

individual safety takes precedence. Safety needs are also

required for the survival of an employee in an organization.

In every business, the safety and security of the employees

comes first before everything else which should be valued and

prioritized. In this paper, safety and security needs are

about keeping employees secured and safe from the expected

dangers and illnesses while at work by providing a personal

security, working conditions, staff policy, and financial

security. It also refers to the health, medical and retirement

benefits that the employees can attain when they are injured

while working. The purpose of the health, a medical and

retirement benefit is to help the employees pay for the bills

if they are harmed and it also serves as a support when they

retire from their job.

Love and Belongingness. After physiological and safety

needs are fulfilled, the third layer of human needs is

interpersonal. Neglect, shunning, ostracism, and other forms

of interpersonal neglect can have a negative impact on an

individual's ability to create and maintain emotionally

significant relationships in general, such as friendship,

intimacy, and family. In our paper, the love and belonging are

perceived as an emotional and physiological bond that the

employees feel towards their co-workers which involves

feelings of belongingness. If an employee thinks that he/she

doesn’t belong and fit within a workplace, there is a high

possibility that he/she resign after a few days or months. The

reason for that, it’s hard to work in an environment where

employees don’t feel a sense of belonging and that employee

may not feel engaged and motivated in working as well.

Employees need to feel a sense of belonging and to have a good

relationship with coworkers. Without these connections, many

people become susceptible to loneliness, social anxiety, and

clinical depression. This drive to belong can occasionally

outweigh physiological and security requirements.

Self-Esteem. Esteem is defined as a confidence and

satisfaction in one’s worth and abilities at work. Employees

need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an

activity or activities that give the person a sense of

contribution, to feel self-valued and self-respected. In this

paper, esteem represents the employees desire to be recognized

and valued by organization through their own hard-work and

contributions to the goal of the company. This may include a

need for status, recognition, and attention from the

coworkers, superiors, and organization. It is crucial to

employees to believe in their self and skills to have

confidence and be recognized by the organization. The

appreciation and recognition of the organization to the

employees results to positive impact on the motivation and

confidence of the employees. Employees with low self-esteem

will not be able to improve their view of themselves simply by

receiving respect, and glory externally, but must first accept

themselves internally.

Self-actualization. This level of need is concerned with a

person's full potential and its realization. Maslow defines

this level as the desire to achieve all possible, to become

the best that one can be. In this paper, self-actualization

translates to increasing potential at work. It also refers to

the career opportunities and advancement of employee in an

organization that allows them to succeed, which make them feel

motivated at work. This variable helps the employees improve

their skills or abilities and bring out their best at work

without forcing them. Maslow believed that to understand this

level of need, the employees must not only achieve the

previous needs, but master them.

Figure 1

Research Paradigm

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

1. What is the level of Analysis of Identified

motivation of responses through
employees of BPO the adapted survey 2. 1. What is the level
industry in Baguio questionnaires. of motivation of
City along: employees of BPO
a. physiological industry in Baguio
needs; City along:
b. Safety needs; a. physiological
c. Love and needs;
belongingness b. Safety needs;
d. Self-esteem & c. Love and
e. Self- belongingness;
actualization? d. Self-esteem &
e. self-
2. What is the level actualization?
of influence of the
following 2. What is the level
motivational factors of influence of the
to the retention of following
employees of BPO motivational factors
industry in Baguio to the retention of
City along: employees of BPO
a. physiological industry in Baguio
needs; City along:
b. safety needs; a. physiological
c. love and needs;
belongingness; b. safety needs;
d. Self-esteem; c. love and
e. self- belongingness;
actualization? d. Self-esteem;
e. self-
3. What are the actualization?
problems currently
being experienced by 3. What are the
employees of BPO problems currently
industry in their being experienced by
motivation? employees of BPO
industry in their
motivation?

EXPECTED OUTCOME
Proposed strategies
to motivate call
center agents in the
BPO industry in
Baguio City.

Statements of the Problem

This paper was made to determine the influence of

motivation among call center agents in the BPO industry in

Baguio City. Specifically, it tried to identify the answer for

the following questions:

1. What is the level of motivation of employees of BPO

industry in Baguio City along:

A. physiological needs;

B. safety needs;

C. love and belongingness;

D. self-esteem; and

E. self-actualization?

2. What is the level of influence of the following

motivational factors to the retention of employees of BPO

industry in Baguio City along:

A. physiological needs;
 B. safety needs;

C. love and belongingness;

D. self-esteem; and

E. self-actualization?

3. What are the problems currently being experienced by

employees of BPO industry in their motivation?