Today, the Philippines is the most sought after site for contact center clients due to its affinity with Western culture and its customer-centric approach, according to Convergys Corp. Vice President and Country Manager Marife Zamora.

“The customer experience with Filipino agents is unparalleled. Customers love it,” acquiesced Clark D. Handy, Senior Vice President, Human Resources. So much so, that the company has already exceeded its target this year for client satisfaction.

“We have already delivered 4.02 out of our Philippine target of 4 on a scale of 1-5,” Zamora observed. “Most clients are reluctant to give a 5, the perfect score, but the Philippines consistently ranked higher than all other geographics. Among other things, clients say that when they listen to Filipino call center agents, they can actually hear the smile.”

Convergys, the country’s biggest contact center, has over 30 percent or, 18,000 employees, of its more than 70,000 workforce across the globe, residing in the Philippines.

“This is our biggest site worldwide,” she noted. The company opened recently its newest site in Glorietta 5 at the Ayala Center in Makati City, the first time a Convergys facility was attached to a shopping complex.

Within 5 years, Convergys grew from zero to its current workforce across Metro Manila, Cebu, Bacolod and Sta. Rosa Laguna. Last year, the company announced plans to establish 5 local facilities and todate, has built all but one. Its U.P. Technohub facility will have 300 additional seats and another facility in San Lazaro, Manila will have another 300 when it opens in January, 2010.

Despite the economic climate, Convergys sees growth and development, the two executives confirmed. The company is the biggest in terms of the customer management sphere. “The Philippines is the leader in customer management,” Zamora reiterated.

“We continue to see strong demand from our clients to have their customer management services housed here,” she explained. “To meet this, we work with the local government to ensure that the country remains a rich source of talent and growth. Providing top quality service to our clients and their customers ensure that Convergys continues to retain established business and win new business for all the regions in which we operate.”

The hit rate for recruits is 7 per cent out of 100. Once hired, a personnel has opportunities to develop and train. “We build from within,” Handy remarked. “Beyond pay, our competitive advantage lies in the career and earning growth opportunity provided to our people. Also 95 per cent of our leadership teams come from within.”

Convergys agents handle around 1.7 million inbound calls daily for clients of 27 firms in the Fortune 50 list, in a wide array of industries, from financial services, telecommunications, information technology, pharmaceuticals, retail to e-commerce and direct response. Agents provide support via telephone, web-chat and email.

Recently, Convergys was named one of America’s Most Admired Companies in the Diversified Outsourcing category for the 9th consecutive year. The survey, conducted by management consultant Hay Group, asked executives, directors and analysts to rate 1,400 firms across Fortune’s 9 key attributes of reputation.

The attributes include innovation, people management, use of corporate assets, social responsibility, quality of management, financial soundness, long-term investment, quality of products and services plus global competitiveness.