Caribbean Call Center Report 2005: A CRM Market
Caribbean – Nearshore – agent positions doubles and projected to reach 50,000 by December 2006 – US$2 billion in annual regional economic impact created

Coral Gables – Miami, Florida 17 January 2005 - With approximately eighty percent of contracts driving the explosive growth in Caribbean – nearshore call center outsourcing coming from Fortune 500 companies and large U.S corporations, American companies have become both catalyst and partners in more than doubling the region’s call center agent positions from just over 11,000 in 2002 to almost 25,000 as of the end of 2004, reports the Zagada Institute in its updated “ Caribbean Call Center Report 2005: A CRM Market” . The report will be published on January 30th 2005 and will be available for purchase through Global Information, Inc, a well - established information distributor. Orders received by January 30th will receive a 30 per cent discount.

Despite non – competitive tele-communication costs in some markets, the hospitality only dominated perception of the region which projects a deficient IT and customer relations management (CRM) capability, and zero Caribbean outsourcing related coverage from national media outlets, the report finds that regional contact center operators and economic development agency promoters are successfully using their thee Ps advantages of proximity (nearshore), proficiency (English and Spanish) and preparedness(education and U.S cultural alignment) to buttress these challenges as the region emerge into a competitive nearshore CRM provider to U.S corporate buyers.

While agent positions have doubled, the report also shows that the number of contact centers operating in the region has also grown impressively, almost doubling from 48 to 85 call centers within the same 24 months time period studied. The report indicates that contact centers operating in the region are reporting higher, “stick ratios”, which suggests an increasing level of U.S customer satisfaction with agents capabilities resulting in extended and expanded contract assignments.

The study validates that the 13,000 plus growth in new agent capacity, results in an additional US$1 billion annual regional economic impact. The Zagada Institute’s first ground – breaking Caribbean Call Center Report published in November, 2002, established metrics showing that every 1,000 new agent positions results in approximately US$65 million of regional economic impact. The islands’ total agent positions now account for over US$ 2 billion of overall annual economic impact. While the seasoned tourism industry generates US$40 billion in annual regional economic impact, the Zagada Institute forecasts that the region’s 50% annual growth rate in agent capacity will be sustained as the region continues to diversify its economy. This accelerated growth will result in agent positions reaching a magical 50,000 forecasted threshold by the end of 2006.

The report’s findings demonstrates that U.S corporate buyers are increasingly finding sustained value by including Caribbean nearshore contact center operators as part of their global sourcing selection mix inclusive of Asia, Europe, Canada, and Latin America. The report’s finding indicates parallel growth levels in both the Spanish and English markets, reflecting the growing success that both English and bi-lingual operators are having with U.S multinationals outsourcing projects into the region. Jamaica and Barbados have shown the best growth in the English speaking markets, while the Dominican Republic leads in the Spanish markets. Jamaica has registered the highest growth rates in agent positions based on contracts originating from the U.S mainland with the Dominican Republic following with a close second place finish.

Based on regional trends, the Zagada Institute asserts that a definite call center industry is developing in several markets predicated by the both growth in agent positions and call center operator density. These markets include: Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Barbados and Puerto Rico. Contact center operators in these markets and across the region on a whole are also reporting increased operational success aided by low attrition rates, negligible wage inflation and better productivity per agent. While the Zagada Institute believes the report will be valuable to vendors such as Nortel Networks, Cisco Systems, Avaya and other companies selling call center products and solutions to regional operators, the report primarily benefits U.S companies seeking detail vendor sourcing contacts, site selection evaluation assistance, and best practices information and decision support handlers.

The report also case study’s the leadership branding success played by the Sphaero Alliance (www.sphaeroalliance.com) and its regional best – in - class members in extending the Caribbean’s nearshore success facilitated through its sourcing platform.

While the national media has been addictively focused on the Asian outsourcing phenomenon, with little or no mention of the stealth Caribbean outsourcing success story, the Zagada Institute sites that certain regional press, industry specific publication and media, conference organizers as well as academic institutions have played a supportive role in regional growth. Some key entities acknowledged in the report include, Summit Circuit, Site Selection Magazine, Call Center Magazine, the Sun Sentinel, South Florida Business Journal, Jamaica Observer, the Jamaica Gleaner, the Atlanta Journal, Harvard University and Wharton Business School (Knowledge@Wharton).

The report also gives particularly high site selection, operational and business development best practices marks to the economic development agencies of Jamaica (JAMPRO), St. Lucia (SLDC), Barbados (BIDC) and Puerto Rico (PRIDCO).