Sector-specific Dossier Contact Center and BPO Industry

Transcription

1 Sector-specific Dossier

2 SUMMARY The contact center and BPO industry is a large-output, dynamic activity in the Dominican Republic: As of today, 100 companies generate more than 30,000 direct jobs, with an estimate of 20,000 seats. 88 percent of contact centers installed in the Dominican Republic are located in Santo Domingo, while the remaining 12 percent operates in the country s Northern region mainly concentrated in Santiago (11 percent) and Puerto Plata (one percent). This industry has generated an estimated 2,806 jobs for provinces in the north and 28,000 positions for the Southern region. Approximately two thirds (64.5 percent) of all contact center activities are related to inbound calls; 23.5 percent deal with outbound calls; 10.9 percent pertain to Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and 1.2 percent to Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO). SECTOR GROWTH AND OTHER TRENDS Contact centers in the Dominican Republic provide services to a diversified portfolio of industrial sectors, notably those related to medical interpreting, telecom services, IT and trade. The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) area provides assistance to financial, human resources, energy, engineering and construction companies. Altogether, contact centers provide services to 10 different markets: Telecom (43.9 percent) and financial services (17.7 percent) lead the way with a combined total of 61.7 percent of all contact-center activity. Other key sectors represented are IT, health, government, manufacturing, services, energy and trade, among others. The contact center and BPO industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the Dominican Republic: In 2006, the country barely hosted 37 companies, for a total of

3 3,800 seats and 4,543 agents; eight years later, those numbers have quadrupled. In 2014 the Dominican Republic became home to approximately 100 contact centers, creating more than 30,000 jobs within the industry, with an estimate of 20,000 seats. According to a survey from the Office of Foreign Direct Investment Expansion, by 2015 the contact center industry will generate approximately 14,836 new jobs in the country, providing services in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese. 1 MAIN FOREIGN COMPANIES IN THE COUNTRY Teleperformance. The largest contact center company in the world has more than 150,000 employees in 62 countries, with more than 270 centers. Teleperformance provides outsourcing services in more than 63 languages and dialects. Convergys. The second largest contact center company in the world, with more than 125,000 employees worldwide. Convergys is present in more than 31 countries, and its 150 centers provide outsourcing services in more than 47 languages. Alorica LLC. Contact center with more than 20,000 employees worldwide, present in five countries with more than 40 locations. Xerox. One of the largest data processing and IT service providers for commercial and government clients. Xerox has DR-based facilities since 2001, and its three locations in the country account for 1,440 jobs. The company ranks on position 137 on the Fortune 500 list (2014). Nearshore Call Center Services. Top contact center in the Dominican Republic, with operations ranging from outsourcing services, technical support and client management for large companies in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Nearshore began operating in the country in 2006, and currently provides more than 1,000 jobs. Laurus International. Provides BPO services and IT solutions for global corporations, government agencies and international companies in more than 39 countries. Opened its DR-based outpost in 2010, which now provides 1,000 jobs. TESTIMONIALS Throughout the years, CEI-RD has proved very useful for the growth and expansion of Nearshore Call Center Services. The Center has supported us in promoting our company to potential clients, companies interested in a dependable solution for contact centers in the Dominican Republic. CEI-RD s staff is always willing to respond to our concerns, and they have always worked towards consolidating the call center sector in the country. As a company, we are happy and thoroughly satisfied with their work, and we certainly appreciate their efforts to promote our industry beyond local borders. Thomas Oronti, President of Nearshore Call Center Services 1 List of contact centers and BPOs, updated on December 16, 2014.

4 We have always received a great deal of support from the CEI-RD team, from the day we started our DR operation. It s a good thing, having an entity that is concerned about the call center industry and its clients; their initiatives throughout the years have certainly had a positive impact on the industry in the country. Jennifer Báez, Director of Operations and Human Resources at Convergys From the moment we started operating in the country, and today, with our new facility in Santo Domingo, we ve had a special regard for our relationship with the CEI-RD. I was quite impressed with the dedication of the Invest in the DR staff. Thanks to the quality of our product and CEI-RD s reach, we were able to position our facilities in the Dominican business map. What we saw was an utmost impressive display of teamwork, and I m looking forward to strengthening our relationship via Laurus third and fourth stages: two new centers that will account for 5,500 seats and approximately 8,500 jobs, with an infrastructure investment of $6 million by the end of Our global monthly expenses will increase from $800,000 per month to four million dollars per month. By then, we re planning to provide services in five languages. On top of those projects, we re studying the possibility of creating a specialized college, as well as installing technologies that will increase government efficiency in the areas of education, health, immigration and law enforcement. Overall, we re very happy with our results in the Dominican Republic, and we hope our operations keep expanding. Rudy Ganna, President and CEO of Laurus International LEGAL FRAMEWORK INCENTIVES Contact centers are formed under Law 8-90 for Free Trade Zones for Export, and operate as Special Free Trade Zones, given the tax exemption advantages within the special regime. The Dominican Republic also provides a Data Protection Law. Law 8-90 exonerates its beneficiaries from paying 100 percent of the following taxes: Income tax Tax on the Transfer of Industrialized Goods and Services (ITBIS) Import taxes, customs tariffs, customs duties and any other related charges over raw materials and transportation equipment Export and re-export taxes Patent tax over assets Municipal taxes Consular taxes Also, companies under this special regime benefit from a sector-specific minimum wage, specialized training programs (INFOTEP - Free Zones) and simplified customs processes via an exclusive Customs Office dedicated to free-zone logistics.

5 WHY THE DR? The Dominican Republic is considered one of the main destinations for contact centers in the Caribbean, since it holds a well-developed telecommunications infrastructure, a strategic geographic location and wide availability of human resources for this specific industry, a large number of motivated and flexible potential employees with a firm commitment towards excellence and quality. The last few years have seen the development of the country s educational system and the auxiliary support mechanisms that will ensure the continuous growth of our workforce, a feature that furthers our excellent investment conditions. The Dominican government, through the CEI-RD, has carried out several initiatives aimed at providing the industry the necessary assistance required for its development. Said initiatives range from the creation of four (4) job fairs in 2014, to assistance and support in presenting and acquiring new clients for this particular industry.