Chile positions itself as an attractive Call Center destination in Latin AmericaPublished: October 6, 2008
A sizable number of international call centers have made Chile their center of operations in the past two years due to the country's stability, economic growth, modern infrastructure and high quality human resources, all of which have resulted in its quick positioning as an investment platform.
The Latin American call center industry is currently experiencing a period of strong growth and expansion. Companies initially focused on meeting the needs of their respective countries, providing services mainly to the telecommunications, financial, retail and public sectors. However, the region's low costs have resulted in an increasing tendency to export these services to international markets, especially Europe and the United States. Given that the latter country has the third largest Latin community in the world, with nearly 44 million Hispanics, it involves a huge business opportunity for Latin America that could generate billions of dollars over the mid and long terms.
Many Central American countries have recognized this opportunity and have capitalized on the availability of low-cost operators in order to break into the US English-speaking market. One particularly important example is Mexico; a country almost totally devoted to serve this market with an 80 percent share in the industry.
Similarly, a growing level of specialization is apparent among some countries in the region. Costa Rica, for example, has developed a strong presence in the service and technology industries. Peru and Colombia, on the other hand, have focused on telephone soliciting, while Argentina has developed higher value-added areas such as customer service and technical support. Nevertheless, this specialization is only just beginning, as proven by the wide array of services offered by main players in the region.
This industry is growing faster in Latin America than in any other area of the world, with a 20 percent annual increase in call centers and over 15 percent growth in job positions. Nearly 11,900 call centers are projected for 2008, which translates into 730,000 jobs in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia. The largest growth is taking place in Chile, where the number of call centers has increased at an average annual rate of 25 percent.
Where are the opportunities?The increasing export of bilingual services to the United States will generate a large amount of resources for Latin America, which will be captured by those countries who successfully bring together key factors such as well-established and competitive telecommunications infrastructure, advanced English speakers at competitive costs and stable macroeconomic indicators. Clients usually outsource these services with local and international third-party providers resulting in a direct opportunity for firms already in business.
Meanwhile in Europe, Latin America's second most important destination for theses exports, it has been Spanish firms who have established offshore operations, driven by large European customers. In doing so they have managed to significantly cut costs without compromising service quality. Latin America's common language and cultural affinity with Spain have made it an obvious choice for these operations.
Chile, a new regional playerWithin this context, Chile has emerged as an attractive country due to its socio-political stability, adequate legal framework, high transparency, labor policies and modern telecommunications infrastructure.
One important factor behind this rise is that Chile is considered the most stable country in the region, giving it valuable credibility and international trust. Chile's low risk profile is another factor that positions the country as one of the best points of entry into the region , despite relatively high costs in comparison with its neighbors.
According to Pablo Cruzat, Director of the Chilean Association of Call Center Companies, at present Chile has a well-established industry with close to 50 companies and approximately US$300 million in annual sales. Of this, internal demand accounts for US$270 million while exports represent US$30 million, up dramatically from US$10 million in 2005. The main inbound and outbound services offered include telemarketing, collections, customer service and technical support. Almost 8,000 employees serve mainly Spain, as well as the United States and Latin America.
Chile also has low barriers to entry for these firms. "We haven't run into any large problems aside from having to adapt culturally to a market with different customs", comments Julio Pérez, Sitel Chile's CEO.
Several international firms have already discovered these advantages, including Emergia, Konecta, Sitel, Transcom, Atento, Unisono and Teleperformance. Driven by telecommunications clients in Spain, these companies have established call centers in Chile offering quality services mainly to the European market. Pedro Fonseca, CEO at Transcom Chile, explains that "The country was a sure bet for the first step. Even though it has somewhat higher costs than other locations, it's the gateway to the region. Its high quality human resources have also been key."
The Chilean-based French operator Teleperformance has focused its strategy on offering bilingual services to the United States. Its team of 250 bilingual agents has been highly successful, capturing requirements that used to be served exclusively from India.
Most of these firms have received support from the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CORFO) through its Invest Chile program, which offers investors country-specific information and several associated services and matching funds to set up technological projects that export international services from Chile.
Chile's challengesAlthough Chile is without a doubt an attractive platform for business development in this area, the Government is committed to constantly improving some of its weaknesses. This includes strengthening national data protection regulations and honing the English skills of professionals and technicians that work in the industry.
New players in Chile| Name | Sitel |
| Place of origin | Canada |
| Start-up date | 2006 |
| Location | One center in Santiago |
| Employees | 1.000 |
| Serves | Spain |
| Expansion Plans | Currently hiring technical support / customer service agents |
| Operations in Latin America | Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Brazil and Argentina |
| Name | Transcom |
| Place of origin | Sweden |
| Start-up date | 2006 |
| Location | Two centers in southern Chile (Concepción and Valdivia) |
| Employees | 550 |
| Serves | Spain |
| Expansion Plans | To serve the local market and other Latin American countries |
| Operations in Latin America | Only Chile |
| Name | Unisono |
| Place of origin | Spain |
| Start-up date | 2006 |
| Location | Two centers in Santiago |
| Employees | 850 |
| Serves | Spain |
| Expansion Plans | To serve the local market and launch operations in Colombia |
| Operations in Latin America | Only Chile |
| Name | Teleperformance |
| Place of origin | France |
| Start-up date | 2006 |
| Location | One center in Santiago |
| Employees | 1,200 (250 bilingual) |
| Serves | Spain and USA |
| Operations in Latin America | Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, El Salvador and Dominican Republic |
| Name | Konecta |
| Place of origin | Spain |
| Start-up date | 2006 |
| Location | Two centers in Santiago |
| Employees | 1,486 |
| Serves | Chile and local market |
| Expansion Plans | New centers in Brazil and Colombia |
| Operations in Latin America | Argentina |
| Name | Atento |
| Place of origin | Spain |
| Start-up date | 1999 |
| Location | Four centers in Santiago |
| Employees | 7,600 |
| Serves | Chile |
| Expansion Plans | To serve the united States and Spain from Chile |
| Operations in Latin America | Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Mexico, Puerto Rico |