BPO firms in the Philippines turn to technology for quick, credible hiring decisions 

Philippines, 15 July 2022 – Business process outsourcing companies are finding it difficult to fill roles, with high attrition rates of between 30 to 40% this year1. To help BPO firms make data-backed hiring decisions quickly and reliably, Mercer | Mettl, a global leader in talent assessment and remote proctoring solutions, launched SpeechX – a new communication assessment tool powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

The introduction of SpeechX in the Philippines plugs a critical gap for evaluators to swiftly assess the quality and clarity of a candidate’s speech to map the entire evaluation journey, using insights from seasoned BPO practitioners, voice and accent trainers and the industry’s subject matter experts. The tool also uses AI-based remote proctoring to calculate an integrity score for each candidate which ensures control against cheating and misconduct during the evaluation process.

The Philippines is one of the biggest BPO markets globally, particularly in the voice business process management (BPM) segment. The country’s IT-BPM and BPO sectors that employ more than 1.35 million employees, are significant contributors to its economy. As many as 50,000 employees were hired last year, proving the industry’s resilience despite cost-cutting measures taken during the pandemic.

With the launch to select Mercer clients last week, Anirban Barman Roy, CRO, Mercer | Mettl, said, "We are excited to announce the launch of SpeechX that combines the best of human and AI assessment abilities. Philippines is one of the largest English-speaking nations in the world with 70% of the population being able to converse in English. In the age of digital economies, this will be a great asset for companies that want to assess the communication skills of all candidates, allowing recruitment managers to speed up the hiring process.”

As employers move permanently into a hybrid state of work, SpeechX provides them with both the flexibility and the advantages of remote hiring, enabling quick and credible hiring decisions backed by more than 20 years of communication and language research.

Teng Alday, Mercer’s CEO in the Philippines, said, “By leveraging the power of machine learning and data, SpeechX is an example of how technology can be used to cater to the specific hiring needs of the industry. We are delighted to offer this solution to clients to make their recruiting faster and more effective, and to ensure that they hire the right talent consistently.”

The online assessment platform was launched in 2010 and has since then partnered with 4000+ corporates, 31 sector skill councils/government departments, and 500+ educational institutions across 80+ countries. It enables organizations to build winning teams by making credible people decisions across two key areas — Acquisition and Development.

Mercer | Mettl’s research-backed assessments, efficient cloud platform, and in-depth analytics help them deliver transformative results for their clients and employees. The company creates customized assessments across the employee lifecycle, including pre-hiring screening, candidate skills assessment, training, and development programs for employees/students, certification exams, contests and beyond.

Mercer believes in building brighter futures by redefining the world of work, reshaping retirement and investment outcomes, and unlocking real health and well-being. Mercer’s approximately 25,000 employees are based in 43 countries and the firm operates in 130 countries. Mercer is a business of Marsh McLennan (NYSE: MMC), the world’s leading professional services firm in the areas of risk, strategy and people, with 83,000 colleagues and annual revenue of over $20 billion. Through its market-leading businesses including Marsh, Guy Carpenter and Oliver Wyman, Marsh McLennan helps clients navigate an increasingly dynamic and complex environment. For more information, visit mercer.com. Follow Mercer on LinkedIn and Twitter.

_{¹ IT & Business Process Association (IBPAP), Philippines, March 2022}