British outsourcing outfit moving to Ortigas; sets expansion

KNOWLEDGE PROCESS outsourcing (KPO) company NorthgateArinso said it would double its 235 seats to 400 by the end of the year, but a new office in Ortigas could still be expanded to 1,200 seats in five years.

NorthgateArinso Philippines country manager Mike Ellis told reporters the company has invested P80 million on the new facility, which will open this month.

"Our new building at the Eton Center in Ortigas has the capacity to easily double the 235 seats that we currently have. We are also looking into possibly expanding to more floors in that new facility," said Mr. Ellis.

He added the company would be expanding its base to 400 seats by the end of next year.

The company is a United Kingdom-based human resources (HR) business solutions provider. Its agents in countries like the Philippines, India, and Malaysia deal with the HR-related questions of employees in companies in Europe and the United States.

NorthgateArinso global chief executive officer Michael Ernest Ettling said the company has invested much in the Philippines and considers the foray into the Philippine KPO market as a "successful venture."

"Our biggest site is in the Philippines, which does full HR servicing for English-speaking customers and some Asian language businesses. Clients are comfortable sending their business to the Philippines basically because of the level of education in the country and the cultural affinity to the United States. That there are government incentives for outsour-cing companies is just the cherry on top," said Mr. Ettling.

He added that the work ethic in the country and the "deep ability of the culture" to build off-shoring should allow Northgate-Arinso to expand to 1,200 seats in five years.

Mr. Ellis said the company has been able to keep the attrition rate of workers to 5%, adding that NorthgateArinso had little trouble finding qualified agents. — Emilia Narni J. David

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