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WHENEVER we think of the BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) industry, our thoughts conjure images of 1000seater call floors located in the plush business districts of Makati or Ortigas and sometimes, major cities around the country. More often than not, these contact centers occupy the entire building or at least several floors and are usually spread out all over the metropolis.
Stepping into Invisant, this is exactly the same impression one imagines. But you'll be surprised, Invisant is a quaint yet cozy little nook nestled in the heart of the Makati business district where most of the big call centers are. Equally amazing is that this contact center is the brainchild of Brian Hills, a 28-year-old young good-looking professional who also serves as its Director of Operations.
MAN OF ACTION
Hills can easily be mistaken for a foreigner touring Manila. His appearance, speech and overall demeanor make him stand out but he is pretty much a Pinoy as his mom is a Filipina. The only difference is that he grew up in L.A. County and took up Business Administration at the University of Southern California in downtown Los Angeles. Hills is the kind of person who can't sit still and who wants to see everything in motion. He eats very little. He can be up at any moment on any given day and can go almost a full day without any sleep. He can have a drink in one hand and a Blackberry on the other responding to e-mails. He likes to snowboard in the winter and ride a motorcycle throughout the rest of the year. "I like the risk knowing that my life is on the line without the seatbelt," Hills jestfully remarks. It is the same "gung-ho" attitude that put him where he is. Hills is so focused in whatever he does and that he can study for a midterm exam right in the middle of a busy mall if need be!
Long before he set up Invisant, Hills has already been in and out of the Philippines several times in the last five years mixing business with things he likes to do. He comes here mostly during the holidays or special occasions. "I have to have a reason other than work to come here," he says.
WHAT IS INVISANT? I
Short for International Virtual Assistant, Invisant is a 35-seat contact center which services five accounts which are mainly small businesses in the United States. Hills established Invisant at the insistence of a friend who wanted to seriously get into the BPO industry. Today, Invisant's services include: real estate, mortgage, debt settlement, and other real estate-related activities. It operates very much like the big call centers albeit on a very small scale. Funding for Invisant comes from Hills's own pocket since he does have his own mortgage company back home in the U.S. and although investors are very interested with the company, Hills is very selective. He wants people who are very much like himself who would put in the time and make the effort to get clients and close deals. "I don't want someone who'll put money on the table and expect to get a lot back," explains Hills in a very casual tone.
Invisant is such a small company and Hills is so "hands-on" when it comes to running the business and getting things done. He interviews potential employees himself and personally sees to the needs of all his agents. When he is out of the country, his second-in-command is his first cousin, Ziera Pagkalinawan, who is Director of Operations for the Philippine side.
Hills admits that the company is still pretty much in its "incubation stage" and he is still learning about the business from both ends but he is very comfortable in selling the idea to business owners back in the States. He lets customers try the service for a week-no contract, no fees. It all depends on whether the clients' products do sell or if they have a campaign that works. Hills believes in the idea of "micro outsourcing" and he finds it easier to deal with the business owners themselves. These are people he can talk directly to and people who can make decisions on the spot since most of them do not answer to an entire board of directors.
Most of the employees at Invisant came from different contact centers. Hills believes in getting the best person for the job but hates the idea of "cherry picking" from other companies. Hills admits, "We really don't do training. We like to find someone who's already been in the call center industry." He simply is on the lookout for people looking forward to something better or something different. Hills's common question to people, "What is your passion?" because he believes that those who are passionate at what they do usually work the hardest and stick with the company the longest. On the pay scale, Invisant is a little above the standard although Hills prefers employees who don’t need the extra thousand pesos to give the extra push.
Invisant has at least four employees who have stayed since its inception a little over a year ago. Hills doesn't believe in chaining a person to something he doesn't have the passion for and he will usually find something a person will be comfortable with. He believes everyone is good at something and that's exactly where he puts them.
Vision of the Future
Overall, Hills is impressed with the Filipino work ethic which is one of the reasons why he chose to set up a company here in the Philippines. He also sees a need for specialized skills on the web development and Internet marketing side. Hills also sees a future in Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which is probably r one of the biggest skills support Invisant is going to provide here in the Philippines in the next three years. A lot of people simply are not aware of how organic listings work sc Hills sees a gap that will definitely need to be filled. He is confident that sales will grow, the business will flourish, and everybody's happy
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