IBM BPO looks to address aging workers

Jamila Esmael knows what it’s like to travel in France. In fact, she knows how much it costs to commute by bus or tram because she gets to see digital copies of actual receipts.

Jamila, 24, works as a pre-audit analyst for IBM Business Services (IBS) and is a part of a team that handles the processing of travel and disbursement claims for IBM’s employees in France. She graduated with a degree in European Languages — major in French — from UP Diliman but, unlike an agent working for a call center, her job entails a lot more skill than her language background.

“Language becomes secondary to the job,” said Anna Maria Roqueza, human resources (HR) country manager for IBM Philippines, referring to the more than 400 employees of IBS who do internal back-office HR and accounting work for the IT company’s global operations, particularly in North America (Canada) and Europe.

Established in January 2004 and located at the Eastwood complex in Libis, Quezon City, IBS also performs HR services for Procter and Gamble’s operations in Asia Pacific and Europe as part of the global 10-year $400 million outsourcing deal between the two companies.

Aside from tasks like processing payroll and benefits administration, IBS also does expatriate relocation services for IBM and P&G employees all over the world. “This covers the time they’re moving into a particular country until they get sent to another country. This involves tasks like looking for schools for the kids, house hunting, and even scouting for social organizations their wives can join,” Roqueza explained, along with some employees at IBS in an interview with Computerworld Philippines.