Potential entrants to Latin America should consider the following:

Rather than a company-by country approach, companies should adopt a regional, networked approach. They need to capture the right skill in the right cities.
Differentiated advantages should encapsulate cultural similarities and the physical proximity part. These advantages should be promoted aggressively on how they can translate into real business value.
Berryman added, “You must remember this is not a domestic US location. There are many cultural and sociological similarities but they still don’t have the infrastructure of the typical U.S. location. So customers will not have the same experience they would with a US call center. Expectations have to be aligned to the uniqueness of the environment, similar to when we developed our presence in the Philippines or India.”

He added, “Agents and front line supervisors are the foundation of our business and Sitel always builds our operations from the ground up. We have an outstanding real estate group at Sitel, and they do a great job of analyzing these locations and markets. In some cases, we are looking at the quality of people, quality of education and the support in the call center. Other times, Sitel looks at the role of government to see if they are active in terms of subsidies, credits or opportunities for job training in preparation for positions in a new call center. Sitel believes it’s not just the quantity and quality of the people; it’s also the participation of the government on a local and national level that can elevate a destination’s capabilities.”

Focus on the services that are best provided in this region and also carve out new niches that may do well. Compete vigorously in the local market and the global service delivery playing fields to mitigate risk and enhance economic benefit.

Juan Diaz, consulting manager, Wipro Consulting Services, author of the recent report (by Wipro Consulting Services) titled Latin America- A New World Option for Offshoring stated, “I would recommend a company that is looking at setting up their operations is that they need to have local support. As they are the ones who are operating in this location, they are the ones who know the region and they are the ones who know which are the countries that bring the best benefit depending on what you want to do.”