Teleperformance Guyana complements Government’s telecommunication sector plan – says Minister Cathy Hughes

Jan 17, 2016 News

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The launch of Teleperformance is being dubbed a complement to Government’s plan to enhance the telecommunications sector by Minister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes.

Speaking at the launch on Friday last, Minister Hughes said that the ceremonial launch and the creation of 1500 jobs is “an exciting time for Guyana. It shows that we have the ability to compete in an international, very competitive industry.”
In her first official engagement as Minister of Telecommunication, Hughes added, “This is a huge US billion-dollar company and the fact that they have chosen Guyana to invest in, speaks volumes”.
Employment is a major factor and the company has created employment for a very unique youthful group of Guyanese that is internet and technologically savvy. Hughes commended the company leaders’ vision of “Transforming Guyana through Education and employment” and noted that the move is close to the current administration’s heart.
“We are convinced that the only effective way to do this, for the benefit of all our people is to ensure that we create a fully functioning information society and knowledge economy,  one in which we must fast track the use of Information Communications Technology (ICT) as the mechanism of transforming life in Guyana.”
By investing in the requisite infrastructure, it ensures that the latest technology, education and training can be acquired that will produce citizens that are equipped to become the new entrepreneurs and drivers in today’s fast moving digital world, Minister Hughes said.
“From the experiences of other countries we can transform the services we are able to provide in the public sector, and this will enhance competitiveness and growth among our private sector.”
She said Government’s vision is to ensure that all of Guyana is Internet ready – with main cities and towns becoming Internet hot spots which she believes can be achieved with the collaboration of established service providers.
Minister Hughes said that the government wants to ensure that students in Moruca or at the Bena Hill Institute in the Rupununi are given the same opportunity to learn and to succeed as the students at Queen’s College or The Bishops High School or St. Rose’s High.
The Minister said that Teleperformance has started on the road through the development and operation of the call centre with its many goals and objectives, Customer Service Representatives and employee development programmes, are very similar to the government’s own trajectory and objectives with respect to the growth of human resources, particularly the youth population.
“I was impressed when I learnt about the programmes that Dr. Dale A. Dan, Vice President of Operations, has espoused and which she intends to implement here to ensure that your employees are continuously trained; that their qualifications are consistently upgraded so that Teleperformance could retain your Number One global spot in this field of e-service.
“I commend you for this initiative and will not hesitate to encourage other companies and agencies in the public and private sectors to emulate it.”
Hughes said that the new enterprise encompasses customer care, technical support, debt collection programmes and business process operations for international clients.
Though it’s not new to Guyana the operations raise the bar very high and established a universal standard for the growth of the ICT sector in Guyana.
At present, Teleperformance employs 60 from more than 5000 applicants but promises that some 500 locals will be on staff by February 14, Valentine’s Day, to run the call centre, take calls, answer emails and manage chats.
The Executive Vice President of Operations, Mike Corrigan, said that the building will hold up to 1500 employees to complete the company’s 24-hours daily operations. Additionally, “Vacancy is always there and as we add clients we will expand upwards of 1500 employees. We will utilize the initial building and based on supply and demand from clients we may expand.”
The global company that focuses on skills development, customer service and enhancing of computer skills training for Teleperformance started as a company in Guyana in November of 2014 and hired its first employees in March of 2015 while its official production began in Oct of 2015.
Dr. Dale A. Dan said that the opening of the Teleperformance Centre, started with a 1984 promise to God and her mother to return to Guyana with education and jobs.
In 2011, she returned with new educational opportunities and USD $3.5M in scholarships through the Bakke Graduate University (BGU) resulting in today’s groups of graduates at the Masters and Doctoral levels.
Dr. Dan said it took years to find the right university and now the right company to bring jobs to Guyana … Teleperformance (TP).  “Both organizations are deeply rooted in the types of values that can result in national transformation for Guyana.
Through a marriage of TP & BGU, members of  TP-Guyana Family can experience a true Joy-at-Work (JAW) environment where they enjoy a home away from home and a desire to return to work the next day.
Dr. Dan said JAW is not just about being joyful in the workplace. “It is about taking time to understand each other and the organization. It is about not just getting the right people on the bus but also ensuring the right people are in the right seats on the bus for maximum performance purposes, based on their unique calling and gifting. It is about love, respect, commitment, teamwork and empowerment where everyone feels a sense of value and ownership through daily decision making.
“Each one is a leader – whether in the capacity of leading people or projects or both.”
Part of what is offered from these various leadership roles is assuring customers that they are the only focus on any given day, where each feels welcomed, loved, respected and well treated.  Dan noted that the location is one where no customer feels that they are standing in a line but is served immediately upon reaching out.
Reasons for choosing Guyana
The reasons for choosing Guyana were many, says Dr. Dan. These include the fact that  Guyana is the only native English-speaking country in South America; high literacy and proficiency rates and educated workforce; cost model comparable to the Philippines; high US cultural affinity and neutral English accents; ideal geographic and time zone location and accessibility to service US market; political and economic stability and growth and no major natural disaster risks; heavy government investment and support of technology, communications and education and close proximity to a multi-lingual South American region.
Through a partnership with The Language Institute in Guyana, we are able to provide authentic multi-lingual customer service agents who are endorsed as bilinguals through in-depth proficiency tests. (Mondale Smith)

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