HR leaders to invest in people
On call: Ian Thompson, finance director of offshore and outsourcing for Harvey Nash. — VNS Photo
(VNS) UK-based Harvey Nash has signed an agreement with Japanese and Vietnamese partners to set up the largest call centre business in Viet Nam and promote software and business process outsourcing in the Japanese market.
Viet Nam News spoke to Ian Thompson, the group’s finance director of offshore and outsourcing.
Can you tell us about your group’s activities in Viet Nam?
Harvey Nash is a provider of global professional executive search and HR services and outsourcing services, and IT solutions and BPO services to a broad range of international clients.
We are partners to many of the world’s leading businesses, governments and institutions, and operate from 42 offices world-wide.
Since 2000, Harvey Nash Viet Nam has operated in HCM City and Ha Noi, with over 2,500 software professionals – the largest software development business in the region. Our local professionals pursue the highest levels of integrity and quality in providing a unique portfolio of three businesses.
The first one is software development and IT services. We have been helping businesses world-wide of all shapes and sizes to dramatically reduce the costs of managing and delivering IT services through software development and outsourcing.
The second one is business process outsourcing (BPO). Under our BPO operation, we have BPO, knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), and call centre services.
In BPO (mostly for foreign clients), we focus on efficient processes that result in cost reduction for clients. Our services include data entry, data and image processing, scanning, custom clearance and website testing. Some of our clients are Google, TradeTech, Hearst Corporation, SMI, the US consulate, and College Source Inc.
In KPO, we focus on high-end business rather than just process expertise. This adds high value to clients through our domain knowledge, analytical skills, and business expertise.
The third business is executive search and HR services. By combining global experience and local market knowledge, innovative use of technology, and passion for delivery, we have built an outstanding reputation for recruiting talent for a diverse range of clients world-wide that help them succeed in an increasingly competitive technology-driven world.
Challenge ahead: The demand of businesses to dramatically reduce the costs of managing and delivering IT services through software development and outsourcing is increasing.
Our services include finance transaction audit, contract analysis, market research and document control for world-wide clients like Profectus, Accruent and Exquando, Dun Bradstreet.
Could you elaborate on your call centre business in Viet Nam?
Our call centre service is a Vietnamese-speaking service (mostly for Vietnamese customers) that provides services like outbound telesales, telemarketing, market survey, lead generation, customer win-back, database verification, product launch promotion, customer relationship management, and inbound services, including helpdesk, hotline services, complaint handling, booking and order taking from clients world-wide like Prudential, ANZ Bank, Nestle, and Johnnie Walker with around 1,200 staff covering HCM City and Ha Noi.
Our differentiators are talent management, motivated staff and standardised processes supported by an innovative in-house CMR. The system allows us to store client database with highest security, perform and manage all call processes, and produce online management reporting. It enables the management to have timely reviews and proper actions to improve performance. It also provides clients with a transparent view of our daily operations.
Our commitment to reducing costs while increasing business value makes our clients more efficient, resourceful, and innovative businesses.
Can you tell us about the agreement signed with MOCAP Vietnam on Monday for a partnership to develop in-bound and out-bound call centre businesses in Viet Nam and to promote software and business process outsourcing in the Japanese market?
Under the partnership we will take a 15 per cent stake in MOCAP Viet Nam and transfer its call centre business to MOCAP Viet Nam, owned by Mitsui and Co Asia Pacific (100 per cent subsidiary of Mitsui and Co., Ltd.), Moshi Moshi Hotline, and Smart Media Joint Stock Company.
We will merge our call centre business with MOCAP’s to become the largest in Viet Nam with a staff of around 1,700 people for over 1,000 clients.
Our alliance will offer clients unrivalled productivity and efficiencies under the global standard security and compliance circumstances, and our business process outsourcing clients out-of-the-box and sophisticated services utilising state-of-the-art technologies in Viet Nam.
How do you promote software business processing outsourcing in Japan?
Through our partner in MOCAP, Mitsui, and Moshi Moshi and their customers, we can access the Japanese market. This is the first time we are trying to approach Japanese customers. Our current clients are mostly in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, the US, and Australia.
MOCAP Viet Nam’s access to the Japanese market will enable the partnership to win new contracts and significantly grow the Viet Nam-based businesses. Our group’s worldwide offices will introduce international clients and provide software and technology services.
Obviously, our group has a track record of 12 years delivering services to global customers. In the call centre industry, Moshi Moshi has 25,000 clients in Japan and Asia. We are two big global services.
Our global presence coupled with Viet Nam’s highly skilled workforce gives us the ability to exceed client expectations both in Viet Nam and throughout our international markets.
Why did you decide to access the Japanese market from Viet Nam?
In this deal, we bring together experienced BPO service providers and provide services in Viet Nam, and now we combine that with the group’s access to clients in the west and Mitsui and Moshi Moshi’s customers in the east.
For Japan, Viet Nam makes a compelling reason for outsourcing BPO services for geographical, proximity and political reasons.
Viet Nam is now very attractive for Japanese customers because they are cautious in doing business with China. They are looking for more partners in Asia, and with Viet Nam being economically strong, politically stable, and very close, it is a good option for Japanese customers.
Do you face difficulties in the recruiting business?
We are almost double our size last year and the recruitment business is going very well. We are now in the top five and will try to improve our position in the IT industry in Viet Nam.
Every year we provide scholarships for excellent IT students. Our 400 staff have been training and working at our company. In 2012 we achieved a global turnover of US$900 million, and in Viet Nam, the figure was $80 million.
What is your approach to customer value?
Our approach to customer value is focused on three key areas – culture, engagement, and delivery.
Culture: To create customer value we have engaged and empowered result-oriented employees. We make sure that the working culture not just encourages individuals but also gives them enough support, tools, and training for creating value.
Engagement: Our company has the flexibility to treat each customer differently by absorbing the patterns and characteristics of the customer organisation, industry, and geographic spread. The unique flexibility has resulted in innovative commercial models and account management programmes to make each relationship yield more business value.
Delivery: Customers attribute value to reliability, quality, security, and speed. Delivery calls for high levels of maturity and customer satisfaction. We use our service delivery framework, quality systems, and information security capability to meet the maturity levels required to deliver value to our clients.
In addition, we focuses on the following key areas: application development, migration and transformation, testing and quality assurance, product development and support, mobile applications services, and application management.
The key elements of our service delivery approach include proven low cost, low risk, high-quality partner, breadth and depth across industry and technologies, and lowest staff attrition rates in the industry. — VNS