BPO shifts to structured hiring channels

The Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector has shifted from informal social media channels to verified digital job platforms for the hiring of thousands in monthly openings across Makati, Quezon City, Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig, Pasig, and Alabang—-a transition driven by employer needs for efficiency and applicants’ demand for clarity.

Recruiters observed that structured platforms help streamline high-volume hiring while applicants prioritize transparency and status updates.

“Major BPO employers in Metro Manila are shifting high-volume hiring away from social media to verified digital platforms, driven by applicant demand for transparency and employer needs for efficiency. Internal data from a participating firm shows the structured approach can reduce median time-to-hire by approximately 40%, signaling a broad maturation of recruitment in the Philippines’ largest job market,” Akhil Ahluwalia, an experienced recruiter who worked on sourcing top talents across a variety of industries said in an email.

Large BPO employers with major Manila hubs—including industry leaders like Teleperformance, Concentrix, EXL, Foundever, Alorica, and Accenture—are increasingly visible on structured hiring channels. This trend comes in response to widespread applicant fatigue with the opacity of community Facebook groups and the inefficiency of walk-in systems, challenges echoed by recruitment professionals across the sector.

THE DECLINE OF THE INFORMAL CHANNEL

For years, Facebook groups brimming with unvetted job posts defined the BPO application process. Job seekers now report significant friction: duplicate or outdated posts, uncertainty over recruiter legitimacy, and a lack of application status updates.

“The noise on social media groups became counterproductive,” noted a Manila-based recruitment lead for a major BPO firm. “We saw qualified applicants missing genuine posts amid the clutter.”

THE STRUCTURED PLATFORM ADVANTAGE

To manage scale, employers are utilizing dedicated BPO hiring platforms that offer employer-verified posts and centralized communication. MyGlit, a Philippines-focused portal, exemplifies this shift.

MyGlit’s primary goal was to address the challenges and assist candidates in securing their dream jobs. It stands as a product that is genuinely crafted by recruiters, with candidates and clients in mind.

“We realized the technology applicant tracking system was out of the reach of many individual recruiters. It was in the luxury hands of either big recruitment firms who either had the technology to have in-house ATS or would buy the ATS which is very expensive. We wanted to democratize the entire ATS to support each and every recruiter in order to have their personal access to their own ATS for self-development and progress. Technology should be available to everyone in various departments and horizons and in the recruitment space it plays a vital role since technology can behave as normal as human touch and this is why this platform has been kept absolutely free for everyone,” MyGlit explained.

Internal pilot data from a Manila employer’s recruitment team indicated a reduction in median time-to-offer of approximately 40% for applications sourced through a structured portal versus traditional methods (Methodology: Internal analysis of a participating Manila BPO employer’s hiring data, Q4 2023. Trend analysis is based on recruitment practices observed across the sector.)

“When applicants come through a coordinated platform, the entire process is more predictable,” said a Talent Acquisition Manager at First Source Philippines. “It allows our teams to focus on interviewing, which improves the experience for everyone.”

APPLICANT PRIORITIES: TRANSPARENCY AND TRUST

For candidates, the appeal is straightforward. Clear information on the employer and a trackable process outweigh the sheer volume of social media options.

Anxious applicants narrated that they spent weeks applying through Facebook yet they were not sure if the application was seen. With this new portal, they observed that it showed the exact company and sent them updates.

This initiative signals that Metro Manila’s BPO hiring landscape has matured. As regulatory attention grows, the pivot to auditable digital channels appears poised to accelerate.

One independent analyst in the BPO sector observed that the scale of hiring in Metro Manila demands tools that bring order emphasizing that platforms that verify employers are becoming essential infrastructure.