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Jamaica, as well as other countries in the region, is working to promote and attract foreign investment.What would you say is Jamaica’s competitive advantage compared to other countries in the region?
As a leading global business process outsourcing company, employees’ at all operational facilities in 14 countries provide outstanding customer service on behalf of our clients to people in various regions around the world. For the vast majority of customer that our professionals in Jamaica engage with, English is their primary language. Therefore, the fact that Jamaica is the largest English speaking Island in the Caribbean, is the country’s greatest competitive advantage for our business. Not only do we speak English well but it is the language that we are taught formally in school therefore accent neutralization is not an issue.
Since English is the main language taught in Jamaican schools, companies will get strong English skills from the majority of the workforce. In certain countries, I have found that approximately 10% of the population has great English skills but the deeper you get, the more compromised the English becomes.
Jamaica’s close proximity to the Americas is often an important factor for companies coming to Jamaica. What does this mean for Sutherland Global Services?
Historically, the primary reason for outsourcing was to identify labor that is cheaper than what exists on domestic soil. In the past, that labor was found in destinations that were offshore and days away from an airline travel perspective. We have approached clients who have said, “I’m not interested in going to the Asia Pacific (APAC) region, but Jamaica is a much shorter flight or two away.” For example, Jamaica is just an hour-and-a-half from a major airport hub in the US, Miami. Since we are located within close proximity to the Americas, there’s both easy geographic access for our clients and time zone adaptability because our time zones are so close to those in the Americas.
Additionally, we have a close affinity to the North American and European media and culture so we are familiar with the products and services consumed and this works to our advantage when engaging customers from the region.
Another advantage is that Jamaica is both a vacation and business destination.
That’s correct. I have had clients expressing interest in locating within the Montego Bay region based on these reasons.
Some other factors include our high unemployment rate.
This means that we have a lot of qualified and skilled persons who are either underemployed or unemployed. In fact, currently we have 3,000 persons who have successfully completed most of our preliminary assessments and are waiting to be hired. There are not many other companies that can make that claim.
Jamaicans are also very ambitious and proud so you will find that we typically have several employees at the entry level who have first degrees and master’s degrees. It is not required; however, based on our culture, our people strive for self-actualization. Considering the caliber of talent, availability of personnel and their determination to achieve their goals, we find that we outperform our competitors and other locations offering the same level of service.
As you know, President Obama just became the first US President to visit Jamaica in 33 years. How do you think Jamaica will benefit from his short yet historic visit?
It is difficult to say and having not been involved in the objective of his visit, I am not in a position to gauge the impact. I can, however, state how I would want Jamaica to benefit from the visit. I would want to see us optimize the existing trade agreements with the US and establish new ones that will allow us to better leverage our products and services in the market.
The ICT/BPO sector is the fastest growing sector in the Jamaican economy. Many overseas companies are now looking at Jamaica as a destination for outsourcing non-core business processes. What would you say has triggered this sectorial growth? How has Sutherland Global played a part in this?
In my opinion, a driving force behind the growth is the fact that entities that have been outsourcing for the last decade have exhausted the resources in other nations. Jamaica offers many advantages (as we touched on above) including untapped potential from a BPO perspective because there is so much amazing talent available at a competitive cost. Additionally, from a disaster recovery perspective it is not optimal to ‘’put too many of your eggs in one basket’’. A strong Business Continuity Plan (BCP) will utilize multiple geographies on multiple hemispheres. With BPO being so prevalent in APAC for the last decade, the other side of the world is an ideal location from a BCP perspective.
Labor cost is another factor. A decade ago APAC could not be competed with as it pertains to labor costs. Demand and supply have resulted in increases in outsourcing and labor cost is now more on par with near-shore countries such as Jamaica.
In just two years, Sutherland Global Services has grown to more than 2,000 professionals in Jamaica and this number is expected to increase to 3,000 in the next 12 months. We have played a part in the growth of the ICT/BPO sector here through job creation, which has resulted in increased revenue for the government and impacted the unemployment numbers positively.
The unique Sutherland University Model has made tertiary education possible for many students who could not have afforded it without our assistance. For Sutherland, Jamaica adds to our global footprint and gives us the advantage of having an option that contrasts with our offshore offerings for those clients who have the need for our services.
Sutherland is a leader in every sense of the word and we moved to Jamaica at the right time and with the right strategy. We believe that our success has served as an inspiration for other BPO entities. We not only created success out of a BPO model that was new to the world in the way it was executed, but we are also known to launch into un-tapped territories such as Jamaica.
You have an operational center on the campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). How did this decision come about and how has it worked in the company’s favor?
When Sutherland entered the Jamaican landscape the recommendation was to go to Montego Bay because there was available BPO space there. However, based on information shared with me, we did not like what we saw and it was not what we expected. Then JAMPRO presented an alternative location in Kingston. This recommendation took us to the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus.
The UWI had taken a strategic approach to reducing its drop-out rate and increasing the application rate by constructing a BPO facility on campus. The university had done its due diligence and the building, for the most part, was built with the specification of a typical BPO facility. The university was now looking for a partner to execute this concept. For us at Sutherland, it was a “no-brainer”, hence the decision was made to move forward. As this was a BPO model that had never been tried, we anticipated that there would be challenges. However, we were confident in our abilities based on Sutherland’s reputation in the market, for taking on and successfully executing projects that others find difficult or impossible to implement.
The outcome has been favorable from a Sutherland perspective. The partnership sees us hiring close to 800 students at UWI, Mona who are highly qualified and skilled. Because they are in the early learning stages of their lives, they are very receptive to our rigorous training. This process has provided us with some of the most qualified personnel in the industry and we have seen the benefits of this in our performance numbers. From a social responsibility perspective, we are able to offer educational opportunities to many who could not afford an education on their own. We have an in-house talent pool to recruit from and we also benefit from a part-time professional work force that allows us to better manage our clients’ needs.
Jamaica’s ICT/BPO sector is expanding and an increasing number of companies are looking at Jamaica as a destination for BPO. What differentiates Sutherland Jamaica from other BPO providers?
I can think of a wide array of differentiators but let me highlight a few:
For Sutherland, the above is the norm in every geography where we operate and we believe this sets us apart from the competition.
Are there any other competitive advantages that you would like to mention?
Certainly. We have low attrition, which is unusual in the industry because we take care of our human resources. The outcome is that our performance is consistently at the highest levels as client knowledge that is generally lost due to attrition is at a minimum.
There is also a positive association with the Jamaican accent that allows the customers we interact with to have a more positive experience. I have listened to interactions where customers realized our Consultants were Jamaicans and would ask questions like, “do you know Usain Bolt”? Or they would say, “I honeymooned in Negril, how far is that from you? This type of conversation has the ability to change the tone of a disgruntled customer to one who is now more reasonable due to the positive association with the accent and destination.
Also, we have a team within Sutherland that focuses solely on transition and transformation. This is unique based on my experience in the industry. In the past when I worked as an Account Manager for another BPO, I also led new business transition. This work can be very demanding and takes away the attention from the day-to-day running of the business. At Sutherland, we have support arms for all functions that results in a higher level of focus from individuals who are experts at what they do. For example, a Project Manager will transition projects and an Account Manager manages day-to-day operations -- that is the Sutherland difference. Our clients have commended us on our flawless transitions, especially in times when they themselves thought it was impossible.
How does Sutherland innovate to ensure it can fulfill all of its clients’ needs?
We innovate by focusing on continuous process improvement and we are constantly re-evaluating processes as needed. We are known to invest in our technology infrastructure to regularly provide technology enhancements to our clients.
We credit ourselves for staying ahead of the curve with the use of our analytics and due diligence teams. Through these efforts, we take what we learn and develop solutions that are ahead of the curve.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a means of giving back to the communities in which you work as well as your hard working personnel. What CSR projects is Sutherland Jamaica involved in?
By virtue of being on the University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona campus, the main achievement is that we hire students and give them the opportunity to benefit from tertiary education that otherwise would not have been affordable. For us, this is a huge way to give back since so many are in need.
Another initiative is our Community Technology Center (CTC) Program. On September 5, 2014, Sutherland Jamaica launched the CTC program with the objective of providing computer literacy skills to the marginalized sector, sharing its training expertise with the underserved who want to learn basic computer skills and acquire literacy in Microsoft Programs. Since the launch, the CTC in Jamaica has trained 465 individuals ranging from school students, teenage mothers, physically challenged, high school drop outs, unemployed and unattached youth, and bridging a demographic divide of people from 13 to 25 years of age. Of these beneficiaries, 431 or 93% have been awarded with Microsoft Digital Literacy Certificates and over 10% have been hired by Sutherland as part of an on-going commitment to create economic empowerment by providing jobs or apprenticeship training for some of the graduates.
Another initiative is Sutherland Cares. Each quarter our professionals choose a charity to contribute to by participating in a survey. At the end of the quarter we match the amount raised by our professionals through various initiatives and give it to the charity of their choice.
We are also in the process of adopting a primary school that is located in one of the most marginalized and violent communities in Kingston, Jamaica.
We understand the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility so we will continue to look for opportunities that we can contribute in a meaningful way.
What would you say is the future of ICT/BPO in Jamaica? And how does Sutherland Jamaica’s 5-year vision tie in with this?
We see a bright future. There’s one particular telecom company based in North America that outsources 100,000 jobs globally. If Jamaica gets only 10% of that, that’s 10,000 additional jobs. That is just one entity and there are many other big players who have similar numbers so there is more than enough business out there for Jamaica to pursue.
It is for us to capitalize on the opportunities and bring the business here. Our ministers of government understand the importance of this industry and they are putting things in place to facilitate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Jamaica Investment Promotions (JAMPRO), which is the arm of the government responsible for promotions around FDI, knows and understands what needs to be done and is developing strategies to capitalize on the opportunities.
The Business Process Industry Association of Jamaica (BPIAJ) is up and running as the private sector organization supporting the BPO industry. The BPIAJ plays a key role in show casting Jamaican’s capabilities from a BPO perspective and works with the BPO entities to optimize on their offerings. The association also represents the industry in a united front and lobbies the government on matters that are important to the industry’s viability. Considering the employment potential, the government’s support of the industry, JAMPRO promoting our offerings, and the BPIAJ protecting our industries interest, we have the ideal structure in place to grow Jamaica to 100,000 jobs within the next five years.
These initiatives tie nicely into the Sutherland Jamaica’s vision which is to operate from at least three (3) locations in Jamaica and to grow to 3,000 jobs in the short-term. We see the potential to double this number, contingent on market factors remaining constant or improving.
Personally, as a Vice President on the BPIAJ board, I intend to play a key role in growing the BPO sector in Jamaica. I am optimistic that “the sky is the limit” for Sutherland as it pertains to headcount in Jamaica but why set limits where limits do not have to exist?
At 18 you had a baby and by 25 you were Vice President of what is now Xerox. If you could put your rapid promotion and success down to one factor what would it be?
I would say it is my passion for people and the satisfaction that comes from seeing them achieve their objectives. I consider myself to be very selfless and wanted to be affiliated professionally with an industry that would give me the ability to impact lives positively in large numbers. So BPO was not coincidental for me and the only way I could impact a great number of lives was to propel myself to the top. The satisfaction that comes from hiring someone at the entry level and in a few years seeing them rise to become Managers and Directors, improving their standard of living, and creating opportunities for others is unparalleled.
I attribute my success to the people I worked with over the years and the mutual respect we shared. I remember a time when I was planning to leave a former employer for an opportunity with a high-end hotel chain. The employees that worked for my unit threatened industrial action, which convinced me to stay—a decision that helped to propel my career.
It is this same passion for people that helped me to win the trust and loyalty of industry experts and leaders when I took on the challenge to launch Sutherland in Jamaica. People resigned jobs they had for many years with respected entities to join Sutherland, which was a new company in Jamaica, with no location and one employee on the island, me. These individuals are familiar with my passion for people and felt comfortable taking on this risk.
I must say however that while the factor that saw my career progressing so quickly is my passion for people, the birth of my son was the “why.” Everyone needs a good “why,” which is the driving force that will make the impossible things possible. My son was and is still the driving force behind most of my accomplishments.
The readers of Harvard Business Review include many of the world’s most powerful influential businessmen/women. What message would you like to send them?
Most BPOs are capable of meeting KPIs (Key Performance Metrics) and operating in an efficient manner but only Sutherland will do all of that plus identify and implement solutions that will increase your revenue and optimize your operations, as a true partner; only Sutherland will launch your new processes effectively, without issues. We have one of the lowest attrition in the industry globally and have experience delivering to high profile clients with 40% of our revenue base coming from Fortune 50 companies. The confidence to explore new models and launch new operations in untapped geographies is in Sutherland’s DNA. We do it so well that we have received awards and accolades from the renowned Financial Times and the esteemed United Nations.
It is the best country in the Caribbean to do business, the tax incentives for FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) is unmatched and labor costs are 50% - 70% less than North America for similar qualification. It is within 1-2 hours flying time from the major market, it operates on a similar time zone, the accent is neutral and the official language is English.
The exposure to your culture and affinity for your products is unparalleled. The tele-density rate is 105%, the people are brilliant, committed and ambitious, the government is always determined by a democratic process and never by force. The labor laws are designed to facilitate part-time and full-time workforces.
Beyond the foregoing, you can have fun in the sun all year round. Sounds like the “heaven” for business operations - it is the unique and special island nation of Jamaica.
Now, merge all the above benefits and Sutherland Jamaica is easily the answer to your outsourcing needs, generally, and specifically to those needs that require a near shore solution.
