Offshore BPO Confidence Index 2023

An assessment of first-hand confidence in the world's most popular BPO delivery points

Introduction

The year 2023 has seen tectonic shifts in the perspectives of business process outsourcing (BPO) executives and their clients regarding offshore and nearshore delivery locations.

With ongoing geopolitical uncertainty gripping many parts of the globe and the ever-growing climate crisis becoming more of a site selection consideration, outsourcing destinations face more scrutiny than ever.

The Offshore BPO Confidence Index 2023 seeks to provide clarity amidst this complexity, shedding light on the operational realities across some of the world's most pivotal outsourcing locations.

This report distills insights and experiences—both good and bad—from the front lines of third-party CX delivery, offering a clear-eyed assessment of 17 key outsourcing jurisdictions from those on the ground: BPO operational leaders and country managers.

While there's no set formula for becoming the premier outsourcing delivery destination, this year's research highlights several critical factors.

The stability of a country's political and economic environment is crucial, as is the robustness of its infrastructure. Countries that struggle with consistent transportation for workers or reliable utilities are subject to increased scrutiny from BPO operators and their clients.

Equally important is the ability to promote a destination positively, realistically, and transparently, as is the strength of the local outsourcing ecosystem. A unified voice among operators, BPO representative bodies, and governments has never been more vital.

And, of course, the strength of a country’s labor and property markets determine the presence (or lack of) opportunities for scalability and growth, which, while still a strong point for some countries, remains challenging for others.

With the significance of these operational factors growing every year, we hope these fresh insights provide some valuable context to your strategic planning in 2024.

-- Matt Kendall & Peter Ryan

Meet the Authors

Matt Kendall, Founder, Off Mute Media, author of the Offshore BPO Confidence Index 2023: Man with glasses and a dark blazer, hands in pockets, before a stone wall and metal fence

Matt Kendall

Founder, Off Mute Media

Matt Kendall builds and runs the digital systems behind media, research, and B2B publishing. Through Off Mute Media, he designed, built, and deployed this site, from the country pages and user experience to the database behind the survey results.

Matt is also Director of Digital Operations at Nearshore Americas and has been analyzing and consulting with members of the cross-border knowledge industry since 2018. He enjoys filmmaking and has a weakness for Galician octopus.

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Peter Ryan, Principal, Ryan Strategic Advisory, author of the Offshore BPO Confidence Index 2023: Man with folded arms and slight smile in pink shirt, in front of a coffee bar chalkboard

Peter Ryan

Principal, Ryan Strategic Advisory

Peter has worked in the CX analysis and advisory space since 2003 and has established a reputation as one of the most knowledgeable thought leaders in the global customer experience outsourcing sector.

Peter is an expert in vertical market penetration, service delivery, best practices in technology deployment, and offshore positioning. He’s also a great boxer and spars regularly in his home base of Montréal, Canada.

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Respondent Data

  • Total responses173
  • BPO companies153
  • BPO markets17

Years of Operation

  • <14%
  • 1-513.9%
  • 5-1021.4%
  • 10+60.7%

Number of Workstations

  • <506.4%
  • 50+10.4%
  • 100+23.1%
  • 500+18.5%
  • 1k+27.7%
  • 5k+10.4%
  • 10k+3.5%

Number of Employees

  • <505.8%
  • 50+12.7%
  • 100+22.5%
  • 500+13.3%
  • 1k+30.6%
  • 5k+8.7%
  • 10k+6.4%

Methodology

Between July and October 2023, we surveyed over 250 offshore and nearshore BPO leaders to gather first-hand insights on doing business in their respective countries. Only respondents who occupied an operational management or executive role within the country they were evaluating were included in the findings. The objective was to assess BPO leaders' confidence levels in their respective countries based on first-hand, on-the-ground experience. We asked respondents to quantify their confidence in several categories using this designated scale of one to five:

  • Zero confidence1
  • Low confidence2
  • Some confidence3
  • High confidence4
  • Full confidence5

Post-survey, we calculated the arithmetic average of the total points accumulated from each question before normalizing and converting the average scores into percentages.

  • Very low59%Or below
  • Low60%Or above
  • Moderate70%Or above
  • High80%Or above
  • Very high90%Or above
  • Full100%Max score

This resulting percentage score represents the “Confidence Rating” used across all categories in this index.

All results are the subjective opinions of participating country managers and do not represent the official views of their respective BPO organizations.

Overall Rankings 2023

Select a market to open its page

  1. 1India89.8%
  2. 2Dominican Republic85.5%
  3. 3Czech Republic83.8%
  4. 4Colombia82.6%
  5. 5Mexico82.2%
  6. 6Egypt82%
  7. 7Belize81.7%
  8. 8Guatemala81.2%
  9. 9Poland81.1%
  10. 10Serbia78.9%
  11. 11Romania78.6%
  12. 12Kosovo78.2%
  13. 13South Africa77.6%
  14. 14Kenya77.4%
  15. 15Philippines77.2%
  16. 16Jamaica76.7%
  17. 17Honduras73.1%

Compare Categories

  1. 1India89.8%
  2. 2Dominican Republic85.5%
  3. 3Czech Republic83.8%
  4. 4Colombia82.6%
  5. 5Mexico82.2%
  6. 6Egypt82%
  7. 7Belize81.7%
  8. 8Guatemala81.2%
  9. 9Poland81.1%
  10. 10Serbia78.9%
  11. 11Romania78.6%
  12. 12Kosovo78.2%
  13. 13South Africa77.6%
  14. 14Kenya77.4%
  15. 15Philippines77.2%
  16. 16Jamaica76.7%
  17. 17Honduras73.1%

How to navigate the Index

  1. Pick a market from the menu on the left (on a phone, tap Menu). Its page opens with its eight confidence ratings.
  2. Jump to a category from the list under the market in the menu, or by clicking any rating card.
  3. Compare markets with the Overall Rankings and Compare Categories on this page.

Thank you for reading

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