By Larry Claasen
THE rise of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector has changed thousands of lives of young people in the Western Cape. The sector, which services outbound call centres, employs about 50 000 people in the province. This is up from about 4000 jobs 20 years ago.
CapeBPO CEO Clayton Williams says getting young people who might just have a matric employed has not only changed their lives but that of their families and that of the broader community.
“Very often they are the only breadwinner in the house,” says Williams.
If they demonstrate some talent, they can easily work their way up the ladder, and get promoted into senior jobs.
Though the overall economy has been sluggish, the BPO sector has been growing from strength to strength. In the year to end March 2024 a record 10 000 new jobs were created in the province.
What has enabled South Africa, and the Western Cape in particular to attract offshore BPO companies to set up shop in the region?
I feel your pain
A lot has been said about the “neutral” accents South Africans have, but for Williams the competitive advantage is something more innate – empathy.
In South Africa, young people have to deal with a lot of difficult issues, which makes them sympathetic to people dealing with problems they can’t solve.
“It’s connecting with customers, which I think is giving us a global advantage. And I think that’s got a lot to do with our history and, you know, the diversity that exists within South Africa.
You know, we’ve had a difficult past, and, you know, socioeconomic challenges that we face have allowed South Africans to be resilient.”
Williams says this empathy for the callers often sees call centre agents go off script and focus on how to best solve their problem.
“If there’s anything I can kind of pick out as a golden thread, it’s customer experience and our ability as South Africans and Capetonians to connect with customers, to make them feel valued. And irrespective of whether there’s a resolution at the end of that engagement, the customer walks away saying that, you know, I’ve had a meaningful conversation with somebody that cares.”
Working together
Aside from this trait, the industry has also benefited from the support for the sector from local, provincial and national governments.
He gives the example of all three spheres of government and the industry has supported training initiatives. CapeBPO’s training budget is only about R1,2-million, but the collective support for skills development has boosted it to R800-million a year.
The US operators are on the way
The sector is enjoying a good run but the interest of US BPO companies could boost its prospects even more.
“So, we’ve seen a massive influx of US clients. And the primary difference between UK and US clients is that US clients’ pilots are tenfold in terms of size compared to the UK. Now, UK clients will typically do pilots of, you know, 30 to 50, whereas US clients will do pilots of 300 to 500.”
Williams says this could be a game changer for the sector.
“I think we’re on the precipice of exponential growth because of US market penetration.”
Demand from the US could actually see South Africa reach its ambitious targets for the sector.
The government wants the BPO sector in South Africa to generate 500 000 jobs by 3030.
The Western Cape is no less ambitious.
I think by 2030, the Western Cape should get to or could get to around 200 000 as a headcount contributor in terms of our market share and our size, our scale.”
