Man of the people: Rainerio ‘Bong’ Borja

As anyone running a people-centric business will tell you, the pay-off for investing properly in human capital is a positive workplace culture. Happy, engaged employees are the most productive employees. For Rainerio ‘Bong’ Borja, Asia President for global business process outsourcing (BPO) company Alorica, this has always been the key.

"I love working closely with my people. I try to remain relatable and open to them," he says. "I want people to be happy and to maintain a high level of professionalism, while always aspiring toward further growth."Bong fosters this attitude by empowering all his employees with the appropriate training opportunities and resources. He realises that in a company specialising in outsourced customer service, engagement and motivation is crucial to success. "I hope that in return that will motivate staff to give their best at their jobs and stay in the company," he says.

Workplace culture — or more precisely, the coming-together of 2 separate workplace cultures — was a decisive factor early in 2016 when California-based BPO Alorica completed its acquisition of Expert Global Solutions (EGS), the company in which Bong ran the regional arm from his Filipino base. Already, the move has proved to be a success, shoring up Alorica’s financial and market positions, and offering it great scope for global growth.

Unsurprisingly, it turns out Alorica–EGS is a seamless cultural fit. "In a company like ours, which is primarily a people business, that becomes a key consideration when acquiring and merging companies," Bong says. "A key reason why EGS was so attractive to Alorica, apart from the business and financial benefits, was that it was culturally compatible. The values of the owners, the values of the leadership team, and the culture of the people were similar across both organisations. We have it easy, in that respect, because we only have to be what we already were, and build upon it."

Alorica entered into a stock-purchase agreement to acquire EGS and form a new global customer experience organisation, still known as EGS for now, but operating under the Alorica umbrella. This newly combined operation is expected to be more than the sum of its parts, which are considerable considering the 2 businesses generated approximately $US2.3 billion in aggregate revenue for 2015. This new company is being staffed by 91,000 workers globally, 34,000 of them based at 17 contact centres across the Philippines and being led by Bong.

"A key reason why EGS was so attractive to Alorica, apart from the business and financial benefits, was that it was culturally compatible." – Rainerio Borja

There’s no doubt he’s up to the challenge. Bong is one of the founding fathers of the dynamic BPO sector in the Philippines and has played a leading role in making that sector a cornerstone of the regional economy. He has served in senior management positions at EGS since 2012 and prior to that led numerous BPO companies to success around the world. This is a man who knows his business backwards. 

Bong joined EGS in 2012 and now that it has been absorbed by Alorica, he will continue to run its operations out of the Philippines. "The acquisition opens doors for growth because there is minimal client overlap and ample cross-selling possibilities," he says.

The EGS acquisition brings greater balance to Alorica’s interests and offerings. Its healthcare bracket rises to 14% of its overall business (up from 9%) while its communications bracket, previously 28%, will be somewhat lower. 

"The primary benefit for EGS is that we now have the power of scale," Bong says. "In very competitive BPO environments like the Philippines, obviously the bigger you are, the more clout you have in terms of attracting talent; people want to work for very stable and large companies. It also provides more comfort and stability for clients."

Alorica’s current focus is its Asian expansion, with plans to set up new sites in South Korea and Japan, and further raise its profile in China. But Bong will always keep his focus on his people; fostering a happy workplace culture, no matter how large the business grows. "Our people are the ones that interact directly with clients — and at the end of the day it’s not all about numbers, you have to be aware that you are dealing with people. That is the balance you have to create."