Factors affecting employee morale in selected BPO Customer Service Agents in post-pandemic shift in NCR / Alonzo, Aaron Christian Y, Amores, Clarisse B., de Guzman, Jim Cymer O., Empeno, Romelyn A., Hife, Jehan N., Macapagal, Macriz C., Ocana, Jeshrick Renz F., Orpilla, Carleene Sophia A., Ramos, John Larry F., Reyes, Randolfh Alleen V. 6

Research Paper: (BSBA major in Human Resource Management) - Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, 2022. 56

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Introduction: In to day's time, Business Processing Outsourcing, also known as BPO, has been helping the citizens of the Philippines as it provides work for Filipinos. It is defined as a technique for outsourcing different business-related operations to outside vendors (Bloomenthal, 2022). On the other hand, Customer service agents assist clients by offering helpful information, responding to inquiries, and handling complaints. They serve as the clients' and customers' first point of contact and work to ensure they are happy with the goods, services, and features offered. (Betterteam, n.d.) As stated in the article from Outsource Accelerator, the BPO Sector is crucial to developing the country's emerging economy and accounts for over 11% of the GDP. With over 1.2 million workers across 700 outsourcing companies, it is the single largest sector in the Philippines (Outsource Accelerator, 2022). However, the rise of pandemic cases in the Philippines happened in January 2020, when the challenge began. Although a global pandemic has long been a potential threat, COVID-19 has surprised everyone. Many lives, including the workforce, became affected and challenging to all. The data security and the effect on productivity caused by either inadequate infrastructure at employees' homes or a lack of oversight are two significant issues that BPO businesses address. Other drawbacks include the inability to record calls remotely and the client's exposure to private staff information. In order to prevent the productivity of contact center workers from being negatively impacted by working remotely, organizations are taking several precautions. Regular touchpoints with employees, periodic updates, and daily team meetings to monitor the progress of work being carried out via tools such as MS Teams, Zoom, and Skype are a few of these approaches. However, these extra calls and follow-ups with WFH staff detract from productivity, hurting outcomes (Naudiyal, 2021). In this study, the researchers aim to discover if there is a significant relationship between employee retention factors and employee morale, including how they will improve and utilize the company's facing problems in post-pandemic shifts, specifically toward the customer service agents in BPO companies around Metro Manila.

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