Harte Hanks Open BPO Site in Mall of Asia

Harte Hanks (NYSE:HHS) praised the dedication and service-oriented culture of Filipino workers and called them the country’s main draw for foreign investors.

In a panel discussion, following the opening Thursday of the American marketing company’s new BPO-call center in the Mall of Asia (MOA) Complex, which was moderated by ANC Anchor Ron Cruz, executives of Harte Hanks and its local business said they decided to increase investment here because of the Philippines’ “very good” labor market.

“Filipinos possess a very strong work ethic and a culture of customer service,” said Benjamin Chacko, Harte Hanks’ Head of BPO Operations. “We have been always impressed by the skill and dedication of Filipinos who work for Harte Hanks. They have been an important factor in our success, and we look forward to sustaining our growth here.”

He added: “Our Filipino employees learn quickly, are customer-service minded and culturally aware of the United States, our primary service market.”

Chacko also attributed the steady growth of the country’s BPO industry to a highly-educated, English-speaking workforce.

Butch Valenzuela, treasurer of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines, who participated in the forum along with Jopat Lelay, project director of the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines, and Atty. Ray Glenn Agranzamendez, representing Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto, said the IT-BPO industry hired 1.2M workers in 2015 and would add another 100,000 this year to 1.3M.

The Pasay facility, situated at Five E-Com Center, consolidates both of Harte Hanks Philippines’ former primary and secondary locations and creates seats for hundreds of additional new employees.

The US-based firm’s Manila affiliate employs about 2,000 IT-BPO workers, majority of whom are assigned at its primary location in Fort Bonifacio, Global City.

Jonathan Bondoc, Site Director for Harte Hanks Philippines, said the company prides itself as a BPO with a low-attrition rate, or turnover of employees, focusing on in-house programs that engage, enable and retain personnel.

“Our employees generally stay for the culture and work environment we provide,” Bondoc stressed. “We pride ourselves in a culture that is inclusive and embraces diversity.”

He cited the company’s program dubbed Promise Based Management. “It is quite simply ‘Who will do What by When.’ We apply it to both our internal and external customers. Our commitments to our employees is updated through PBM boards across our sites. It outlines the promises we have accomplished and those that we are still working on.”

Harte Hanks began operating in the Philippines over a decade ago with a buy-operate-transfer partnership.

Harte Hanks Help Sony Regain Brand Loyalists

Sony is a global leader in electronics products, but the Japanese multinational conglomerate once lost this status as a premier brand, at least for the brand loyalists.

How did Sony, an iconic brand for Filipino consumers, regain that lofty position in the world market?

It took a marketing strategy mapped out by Harte Hanks (NYSE:HHS), who is known for driving growth for the world’s largest brands, to turn things around for Sony, one of the world’s largest television manufacturers.

With consumers having more options, how could Sony Corp. generate consumer buzz around its products, and then translate that into long-term loyalty that drives growth and profitability?

Harte Hanks, which will incidentally open on April 21 its BPO-call center at the Mall of Asia Complex, in Pasay City, and the Japanese company devised an integrated marketing campaign that leveraged the power of untapped data from Sony’s existing and prospective customer base. The idea was to keep them a step ahead of the customer.

“We deliver real interactions and measurable engagement results for brands the world over,” said the US-based marketing firm, who had established a main and two secondary locations in the Philippines more than a decade ago. The MOA facility will consolidate Harte Hanks Philippines’ BPO-call center operations in the country. 

The campaign included key elements like direct mail to drive traffic to Sony’s website and Email communications to deliver just the right product information at the right time.

Sony also implemented catalog drops and free standing inserts (FSI) that would engage the customer on a more frequent and relevant basis, resulting in a more engaging and profitable consumer experience, and enhancing loyalty across multiple products and devices.

The Harte Hanks’ strategy paid off as Sony’s sell-through and product registrations, cross sales and conversion rates, and customer satisfaction have all significantly improved.

The company registered a 41 percent growth in revenue and 100 percent increase in email open rates because of the successful marketing initiative.

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ABOUT HARTE HANKS

Harte Hanks partners with clients to deliver relevant, connected and quality customer interactions. Our approach starts with discovery and learning, which leads to customer journey mapping, creative and content development, analytics and data management, and ends with execution and support in a variety of digital and traditional channels. We do something powerful: we produce engaging and memorable customer interactions to drive business results for our clients, which is why Harte Hanks is famous for developing better customer relationships, experiences and defining interaction-led marketing. For more information, visit the Harte Hanks website at www.hartehanks.com, call 844-233-9281, email pr@hartehanks.com or follow us on Twitter @hartehanks or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HarteHanks.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about the company's leadership transition, services and clients. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from currently anticipated results. Additional important factors and information regarding Harte Hanks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, as filed with the SEC and available in the "Investors" section of our website under the heading "Financials & Filings." We specifically disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the future even if circumstances change and, therefore, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views after today.  

As used herein, "Harte Hanks" refers to Harte Hanks, Inc. and/or its applicable operating subsidiaries, as the context may require. Harte Hanks' logo and name are trademarks owned by Harte Hanks. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective owners. 

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US Firm to Open BPO - Call Center in MOA, Offer New Seats Harte Hanks Increases Its Philippines Investment

Harte Hanks (NYSE: HHS), a leader in customer engagement and interaction-led marketing, is consolidating its Manila operations and adding room for hundreds of new employees with the opening on April 21 of the company’s BPO-call center at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Complex, in Pasay City.

Harte Hanks Philippines, a subsidiary of the US-based marketing company currently employs about 2,000 people in its main and secondary locations in Metro Manila.

The move allows the company, which has established its presence in Asia-Pacific with the launching of its call center in the Philippines over a decade ago, to integrate the secondary locations with the Pasay facility.

“We have been always impressed by the skill and dedication of our employees in Manila and look forward to sustaining our growth here,” said Jonathan Bondoc Harte Hanks Manila-based Site Director, in a statement.

Among Harte Hanks’ clients are companies known worldwide in information technology, computer software, sports media, banking, mobile phone and health insurance industries.

Besides the Asia-Pacific, Harte Hanks has offices spread across North America, Europe and Latin America.

“The Philippines’ consistent support of innovative business models such as buy-operate-transfer model and investment in dependable infrastructure priorities are just two of the reasons we are expanding our investment here,” added Ben Chacko, head of operational planning and strategy for Harte Hanks.

The American outfit, whose call center business focuses on North American clients, started doing business in the Philippines with a buy-operate-transfer partnership in 2001.


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ABOUT HARTE HANKS

Harte Hanks partners with clients to deliver relevant, connected and quality customer interactions. Our approach starts with discovery and learning, which leads to customer journey mapping, creative and content development, analytics and data management, and ends with execution and support in a variety of digital and traditional channels. We do something powerful: we produce engaging and memorable customer interactions to drive business results for our clients, which is why Harte Hanks is famous for developing better customer relationships, experiences and defining interaction-led marketing. For more information, visit the Harte Hanks website at www.hartehanks.com, call 844-233-9281, email pr@hartehanks.com or follow us on Twitter @hartehanks or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/HarteHanks.

*This is Press Release