One of the things that I love about working in contact center services is watching the evolution of this business. Having spent a great deal of time working with clients requiring nearshore support, I have come to appreciate the quality that can be found in Jamaica when it comes to handling American consumers. As an entrepreneur that has been familiar with Jamaica for some time, I have been delighted to see the island emerge as one of the most diverse contact center delivery points in the hemisphere. As it stands, I have no doubt that this is likely to continue.
The interesting thing about Jamaica as a BPO delivery location is how different it is today relative to when I first visited fifteen years ago. When I started travelling to Jamaica in the early part of the 2000s, I found a country that had great raw talent, but an industry that was truly nascent. There were a small number of local outsourcers, for the most part doing debt collection; the country’s infrastructure supporting contact centers needed upgrading and the skills required to deliver high-value customer experience were not readily found.
What a difference a decade and a half makes!
Today, Jamaica is transformed in the context of contact center delivery. Over the past decade, the government has engaged with the industry as a source of job creation, making the right investments in education, connectivity and transportation. Nowhere has this been more apparent than Montego Bay, where Golden Gate BPO is proud to house its Jamaican operations.
We entered the market in January of 2016 with NICE Global, a 350-workstation deployment in Montego Bay (or Mo’ Bay as it is called by locals) that has been running for over 3 years, and continues to go strong. We have found several advantages in operating our contact center there. One of the most important facets of our success in servicing clients from that city is the proactive customer service approach among the young workforce, which is heavily influenced by the local tourism industry. This has been a major contributor to the excellent interactions with our clients’ end-users, which drive loyalty and repeat business. Additionally, the superb air links between Montego Bay and the continental US cannot be underestimated. Being able to access our site in less than four hours from the northeast coast is an advantage for time-pressed clients, who don’t want to spend days traveling to Asia or South Africa.
One aspect of Montego Bay that Golden Gate BPO has been able to leverage is technical support. This may sound unusual for a country that tends to be associated with outbound sales; however, at Golden Gate BPO we have recruited many enthusiastic graduates who are eager to kick start a career in an aspect of service that they apply their passion for all things technology. This shows the growing diversity of services that can be delivered from Jamaica.
Jamaica, and more specifically Montego Bay, have proven to be great for Golden Gate BPO, as well as for our clients. Moving forward, we can’t wait to help develop the local talent pool and contribute to the local economy with high-value employment opportunities.
Written by Stephen B. Ferber
