The 4th Annual International ICT Awards Philippines 2010 recently gave recognition to the Philippine site of Sutherland Global Services, a leading New York-based multinational Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provider operating in the country since 2005, as the industry’s “Fastest Growing BPO Company of the Year.”

Sutherland was also one of the five finalists in the category ’BPO Company of the Year’.

Organized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines and Business Processing Association Philippines, the International ICT Awards recognizes outstanding performance and contribution by organizations and individuals within the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) community every year.

The award is seen as a recognition of Sutherland’s accelerated expansion in six sites across the country and its generation of sizeable local employment opportunities, benefitting more than 10,000 Filipinos in less than five years. Sutherland’s expansion in the Philippines has been fuelled by continued growth in the company’s existing outsourcing engagements as well as the addition of several new clients.

“Our company is truly humbled and grateful but this award really belongs to our Filipino workforce who continue to amaze us every day with their honest and hardworking ways,” said Craig Bauwens, Sutherland Vice President and Philippines Country Manager who received the award during the recently concluded awarding ceremonies held at Dusit Thani Hotel in Makati together with Emily Magtibay, Sutherland’s first employee in the Philippines.

Sutherland Chairman and CEO Dilip Vellodi in a press statement said that the company’s rapid growth in the Philippines can be attributed to “our relentless focus on offering the best in class integrated services to our global clients combined with delivering measurable results which have become the key differentiators for Sutherland. Since our launch in 2005, our operations in the Philippines have become a strategic component of our global service delivery model. The country’s favorable economic environment, business-friendly government policies and above all, the technically skilled and committed workforce have been the driving forces in our ability to rapidly scale our operations across several locations in the country.”

Business Processing Association of the Philippines CEO Oscar Sanez credits Sutherland with its strong quality processes that Sutherland has institutionalized across its global locations that has enabled the company to achieve this kind of rapid growth over a short period of time. We congratulate Sutherland on their achievement and it is our hope that the company will continue to expand their presence, providing more employment opportunities to the talented work force in the country.”

Previously, Sutherland has been presented with the Outstanding Employer Award by the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) headed by PEZA Director General Dr. Lilia B. de Lima for the breadth of Sutherland’s employee engagement initiatives, the level of technological innovation in its workplace and success in generating new employment opportunities in the country.

It also received, in the recent past, two awards from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). The Philippine Quality Award (PQA) for Commitment to Quality Management was presented by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo accompanied by then DTI Secretary Peter Favila at the Malacañang Palace during the 11th PQA conferment rites conducted annually by DTI. Sutherland is the first and only BPO in the last 10 years to have been given the prestigious award

The DTI through the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) and the Executive Committee of the 9th e-Services Global Outsourcing and Exhibition also recently awarded Sutherland Philippines “The Most Number of New Offices in the ‘Next Wave’ Cities for 2008.”

A global Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Technology Enabled Services Company, Sutherland Global Services offers an integrated set of front and back office services that support the entire customer life cycle. By combining  highly trained people with state-of-the-art technology and proven business methodologies, Sutherland collaborates with clients to help them excel in their industry while maximizing their customers’ lifetime value. Having started operations in 1986 in the United States, Sutherland now employs over 24,000 professionals offering Right Sourced seamlessly blended services from its 24 delivery centers in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Mexico, India, the Philippines, Bulgaria and Nicaragua. Sutherland is the largest independent pure-play BPO company with a strong commitment to a diverse workforce.