Teleperformance is not only the global market leader in facility customer contact, the company is also one of the largest BPO players in Suriname. With more than 1.500 employees, a large group of customers is served. During a tour in Paramaribo, Ziptone spoke with Ylona Schroevers, director of operations for TP Suriname and Ferruci Sam-Sin, operational manager at TP Suriname.

 

The Teleperformance branch on Klipstenenstraat in Paramaribo is located in the city centre. That means a lot of hustle and bustle outside. Anyone who wants to enter the building has to pass an armed guard and the reception with electronic access gates: the latter is standard at TP. That TP standard is also reflected in the rest of the building, which can be seen as a high-rise by Surinamese standards.

During the tour of the building it is clear that a lot has been invested in the decoration. Where one floor is clearly recognizable by the branding, the other floor looks anonymous. The similarity is always: without a badge you cannot enter the floor. The branch on the Klipstenenstraat is a serious office location and with four other locations like this in the city, it is immediately clear what size TP has in Paramaribo.

Hypergrowth

“TP has experienced hypergrowth in Suriname,” says Schroevers. She has been on board at TP for two years and previously worked for companies including Sitel and vidaXL. “Seven years ago, we had a maximum of 40 employees here. We experienced the strongest growth in 2022 and 2023; now we have five branches here with a total of more than 1.500 employees. Our total size varies per month, because there is quite a bit of dynamics in our customers' forecasts.”

 

It is estimated that almost 6.000 people now work in customer contact. Is the bottom of the pond already in sight?

“We notice that there are more and more BPO players on the market. The turnover was almost zero a few years ago, and that has increased somewhat now. The fact that we are a large and established name works to our advantage. Recruitment is still going well, but candidates have more choice of employers.”

 

What are reasons for leaving?

"That varies. There are many young people who go abroad - often the Netherlands - because of better economic prospects. Sometimes people also go to TP Greece, for example. And of course there is a group that goes to see our competitors."

 

What sets you apart as an employer from the other two major players?

“We are one of the first to grow very quickly here. We have our name with us: when I walk to the supermarket with my badge on, people address me. Our approach is very solid, we have invested a lot in Suriname and built up a good reputation. I think we are also strong in people-oriented: we make sure that people feel at home here, we call that the TP Family, and we offer opportunities for growth.”

Economies of scale: advantage or disadvantage?

What emerges from conversations that Ziptone had with Surinamese agents is that the scale of TP is also experienced as a disadvantage: large departments, relatively few supervisors and a lot of competition if you want to grow.

That feedback surprises Schroevers. The span of control differs per account, according to Schroevers, and the presence of supervisors also depends on opening hours, contractual agreements with the customer and delivery. The standard is 1 in 15. “We always have vacancies for supervisors and operations managers. We do have high standards. We focus on internal growth and have talent programs for different roles, including managers.”

Ferruci Sam-Sin recognizes this and says that he himself is a product of it. He explains that you are really “pushed” when your talent is seen and you also express your ambition. “I was born and raised in Suriname, but started in the Netherlands at Teleperformance, once as an agent. In six years I have had five functions. I now manage multiple projects and work closely with teams consisting of business managers, supervisors and trafficers.”

 

The salary is decisive for the right to exist of the BPO sector, because the wage cost advantage is a decisive argument to choose Suriname. Where do you stand in the benchmark in terms of conditions?

Schroevers: “That is determined at management level. Where we are located, that is in a earlier article made visible on Ziptone.”

 

For agents starting out in the labor market, it would be complicated to get a good picture of what they will eventually keep after a month of work: salary, allowances, travel expenses, health insurance, pension. How do you make the employment conditions known and transparent?

“We are very transparent: our employment conditions are simply stated in the vacancy texts. In addition, we provide explanations to employees in personal conversations, focus groups, webinars and at our own TP Home, including the legally required components of the employment conditions package,” Schoevers explains. “We find it very important that colleagues understand what the employment conditions package looks like.”

 

Many employers in this sector do their best to add something to the Surinamese society. What do you think is the best way to do that?

Schroevers: “I don’t think there is one best way. Supporting an orphanage is just as valuable as providing study agreements to colleagues. That means that employees can follow a higher vocational education through TP alongside their work. Our local IT manager graduated this way. But we also sponsor the Gay Pride in Suriname, for example.”

Sam-Sin: “We also put this question to employees. They also take initiatives themselves. For example, in the past, food parcels have been distributed by employees via Foundation 1 for 12, we help schools by providing computers and air conditioners and, in collaboration with the SU Aid foundation, we have worked for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and the Kidney Foundation, among others.”

The three use cases of GenAI

TP's Surinamese branches offer clients more than just a wage cost advantage. They also simply benefit from the AI-based innovations that TP develops, Sam-Sin explains. So far, this mainly concerns agent assist, automated summaries and predicting solutions. Schroevers adds: "Our clients expect us to think along with them about cost reduction - understandable, because they all want both a good market position and a good customer experience."

 

What are the best tips for those who want to outsource to Suriname?

Schroevers: “There is a difference between moving an already outsourced customer contact operation from the Netherlands to Suriname or ‘outsourcing for the first time’. We have a proven formula that we apply in every country, but expectation management is essential. Come and have a look anyway, because without having been here, it is more difficult to understand everything.”

“In addition, we are completely transparent about the advantages and disadvantages of Suriname. Flexibility, for example, is less easy to organize in employment contracts here – it quickly leads to loss of income security, which in turn is a risk of turnover. So we work a lot with full-timers. Furthermore, the learning curve here is about 10 percent longer, partly because we pay a lot of attention to language and culture training. Speed ​​is important for many companies, but I would not advise anyone to go live with 500 FTE in a month, for example, if it is not necessary. That entails risks – but those apply to every offshore destination, by the way.”

 

Earlier this year, Teleperformance customers shared their insights and experiences with offshoring customer contact to Suriname. Read the article

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