The inevitable reality of the Covid-19 pandemic is that some sectors and verticals have been declining while others are flourishing unexpectedly. In the customer-facing sphere, those experiencing brisk growth tend to have an expansive digital presence.
When looking at every touchpoint, the pandemic has changed the routes and behaviours of customers across the entire consumer journey. Today, consumers are more intelligent and educated, largely due to the volume of data that is readily available to them.
This is the macro-scale equivalent of what happened to many industries when the internet first appeared – such as the move from inperson to online purchases for air travel. As such, it is the role of companies to accompany their customers on this digital journey. The value of Egypt as a business process outsourcing (BPO) centre is undeniable. Its location in terms of time zones and the variety of languages available for services, along with low operating costs, make it competitive with other locations regionally and globally.
However, as the industry quickly grows, the challenge for any BPO destination is the talent pool, and in recent years the definition of soft skills has evolved. For example, 20 years ago we talked about time management, but now soft skills refer to learning capacity and adaptability.
To ensure scalability for Egypt, the continued development of human resources is vital to the sector’s long-term success. The current initiative, involving collaborative programmes sponsored by the government and key BPO players, has proved useful and should be sustained.
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