1. ceo vol 6 no 10 200748
committed to
excellenceThe business processing outsourcing industry in
South Africa is booming, particularly the contact
centre part of that industry.
U
p until recently, the various regions in South Africa with
strengths in the contact centre environment, such as
KwaZulu Natal, the Cape and Gauteng, have been operating
independentlyofeachother,butthatisduetochange.“Overthepast
year, we have been involved in launching a collective called BPeSA –
Business Process enabling South Africa,”says William Goldstone, CEO
of KZNonSOURCE, a public-private partnership whose key objective
is to drive direct foreign investment into the KwaZulu Natal region
through the provision of contact centre and BPO services. “The
Department of Trade and Industry felt that there were certain areas
we needed to address as an industry, and so across the regions, we
have solidified our Memorandum of Understanding, and embraced
very clear objectives in terms of the dissolution of the regions into
one entity.”
Goldstone says that advantage of this move is that it brings the
contact centre industry in the country under one umbrella, allowing
it to speak with one voice, and presents a unified entity for customers
to deal with, as opposed to having to source information from
various regions.“Across the regions, BPO has grown in popularity, as
has people’s awareness of BPeSA,”he says. “The huge activity in this
industry can be seen through the various awards that have sprung
up in the regions, attracting sponsors as well as other stakeholders.
Importantly, BPeSA has also come up with industry standards
in terms of quality of training, quality of call centre and general
employee wellbeing, that players in the industry are being advised
to adhere to.”
Inasfarasattractingbusinessisconcerned,Goldstonehasalways
been a firm advocate of paying more attention to the domestic
market, for its potential for developing talent.“The biggest challenge
we are facing in this country is skills development, and although we
have government on board in terms of municipalities using contact
centres to improve their services, we need greater buy-in from the
private sector,”he says.
“What still remains an issue is how to engage across our entire
provinceforanaggressivetrainingprogrammethatbeginstoaddress
the skills shortage we have. It requires us to make a consolidated
effort, and to employ a strategy that will be sustainable over time,
and not just a once-off shot in the arm. There is also the question of
engaging more psychologists in the industry, to help devise training
that equips people to deal with the many pressures they face in this
industry. We are currently engaged in talks with the South African
MedicalandDentalAssociationinthisregard,todevelopprofessional
and scientific methods for dealing with these issues.”
Goldstone adds that KZNonSOURCE’s involvement with the
eThekwini Municipality, and their commitment to provide contact
centre training, has encouraged other municipalities to follow suit,
which is a positive sign.“The Monyetla Project is another DTI-initiated
project that is operational countrywide, and seeks to train people
from all provinces, with KwaZulu Natal benefiting through 2 000
trainees,”hesays.“Wehavebuiltonthatpremise,andstartedourown
programme whereby we take 500 learners from five schools in the
eThekwini district, and offer them introductory training in contact
centres.This will also help to boost the skills level in the industry, and
allow learners to be employable straight out of school.”
Looking forward, Goldstone says that he would like to see
KZNonSOURCE build upon the support of the private sector that
has been won over the past few years, encouraging other businesses
to see the advantage of operating from a Durban base. “We are
especially encouraging technological companies, as that is where
our strengths lie,” he says. “We already have centres of excellence
and development where companies like IBM, Microsoft and other
technology companies have based their training centres in Durban
because of the high number of technical skill available in the city. I
believe that other companies will shortly follow suit.”
The private sector is well represented at KZNonSOURCE, with
the development of a CEO Forum, where CEOs of all companies
concerned are committed to achieving certain goals within the
industry that would benefit all concerned. “These include driving
down attrition, maintaining salaries, not poaching staff or generating
churn, and maintaining high quality, low cost contact centres,” says
Goldstone.“The future looks bright for the contact centre industry in
SouthAfrica,andIwouldliketoappealtoallstakeholdersconcerned,
especially government and private business, to ensure that we talk
with one voice and work as one body. This is imperative if we are to
thrive, and continue to add value to our nation’s economy.”
case in POINT
William Goldstone, CEO: KZNonSOURCE
by Cheryl van der Merwe
ceo