What binds Filipino CSRs and Spanish call centers together?

At first glance, the boom of the Spanish call center industry in the Philippines seems to be a surprise. These are two countries from different regions of the globe, and their people do not speak the same language.

History, however, has it that they have an affinity: the Philippines was colonized by Spain for more than three centuries. As such, everything in the Philippines seems to have Spain’s influence: from the names of the streets and dishes to common expressions and jargons the Filipinos use every day. Many words in the Filipino language itself are directly loaned from Spanish. In this case, what links both countries is the long-shared history between them.

Being a Filipino customer service representative who is adept in Spanish doesn’t only mean that one is capable of speaking the language. Growing up in a country where the culture is close to that of Spain, learning the ways of the Spanish would prove to be effortless. As such, cultural barriers will not hinder any transaction.

But what makes the Filipino support representative more than qualified to aid Spanish customers is their caring, helpful, and patient nature—traits that are inherently Filipino.

The Spanish call center industry in the Philippines

Although the English-speaking customer support representative remains a top voice-based outsourced job in the country, Spanish call centers continue to flourish and grow in number. In the Philippines, being able to converse, express, and be of assistance in Spanish is synonymous to having a lucrative career; they are well-compensated, as Spanish accounts offer double—triple even—to those who know the language well.

The industry is continuously growing, and it shows no stopping. What YaleGlobal online reported three years ago, that Filipinos are crowding different Spanish language-schools not just to learn the language, but to prepare themselves for a future career as a call center representative in a Spanish account.

Clearly, with the strong affinity between the two countries, the future of the Spanish call centers in the country shows blooming potential.
Open Access BPO, a leading provider of offshore solutions, also offers multi-lingual call center support.