In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, Teleperformance stands out as a leader in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, particularly following its strategic acquisition of Majorel at the end of last year. This merger has not only fortified Teleperformance’s position but also catalyzed significant growth within its Romanian operations, which plays an important role in the broader Multilingual Hub framework.
In this interview with Augusto Martinez Reyes, President of Teleperformace’s Multilingual Hubs, we will explore the strategic importance of Teleperformance Romania, and discuss the specific services and capabilities that set Romania apart within the hub.
The acquisition process of Majorel, completed at the end of last year, played a pivotal role in strengthen the position of Teleperformance in the BPO industry. What is the strategic importance of Teleperformance Romania within the broader Multilingual Hub framework?
The merger of the two companies in Romania has resulted in a highly successful integration, creating a well-balanced and complementary organization. Teleperformance had a strong presence in the capital, Bucharest, while Majorel was more established in other regions of the country: Brasov, Sibiu, Cluj-Napoca. The integration of these two entities has led to a significantly larger and more robust organization, not only in terms of scale but also in overall strength and capabilities.
In Romania, now we have an operational team of nearly 4,000 employees, providing comprehensive support across various sectors, including airlines, travel and tourism, gaming, technology, and social media platforms. Our services span content moderation, sales, customer service, and technical support.
Romania’s strategic significance lies in its access to near-native speakers and cosmopolitan cities, where a diverse range of foreign languages is widely spoken. The country provides an ideal blend of Eastern and Western Europe, making it possible to support both Western and Eastern European languages. Romania combines a talented workforce capable of delivering high-quality service in key languages, alongside a competitive cost of living. Additionally, as a member of the European Union, Romania is well-positioned to meet the needs of clients requiring EU-based services, offering a highly competitive and attractive location for businesses today.
How do you strategize to navigate such growth in challenging times, balancing scalability with operational stability?
We are a robust organization capable of successfully managing and absorbing an integration of this scale. Additionally, when we acquire companies, we focus on both their financial strength and effective management. The integration of strong leadership from both Teleperformance and Majorel has enabled us to manage a large integration quickly and efficiently. Our guiding principle is to prioritize people, which in turn drives business success and delivers value to our shareholders. To maintain this momentum, we continuously seek the right balance between integration and performance, managing the process carefully to ensure stability for our organization and employees.
Navigating and harmonizing cultural differences can be complex, especially when managing operations across multiple countries with distinct cultural backgrounds. How do you encourage cultural cohesion and communication among different teams? Additionally, how do you address and integrate the unique cultural strengths of each region to enhance overall performance and collaboration?
Everyone brings something unique, which is one of the advantages of integrating such a large and diverse group of people. I don’t believe culture is imposed from the top down; rather, it emerges from the nuances of each country and group. The key is to allow individuals to express themselves and share the distinctiveness of their cultures.
To foster integration, it’s essential to identify commonalities rather than focus solely on differences. Once we recognize the connections among these diverse cultures, we establish a shared organizational culture that retains unique variations in each country.
Could you elaborate on the specific services and capabilities that Teleperformance Romania offers to the hub, and how they complement the operations in other regions?
In our Multilingual Hub, every country comes with its own unique strengths. For instance, in Spain, we excel in sales, requiring not only fluency in the language but also cultural insights from native speakers who understand the local market. Similarly, Greece specializes in providing high-skilled technical support. In Portugal, we have developed significant expertise in the healthcare sector and customer service. Romania, however, stands out as it effectively integrates these various strengths. It serves as a hub for back-office operations and offers robust language support for high-demand sectors such as travel, tourism, gambling, social media, and e-commerce – services that require quick adaptation.
Additionally, Romania complements our other multilingual hubs through local hiring, which significantly reduces both the recruitment process and onboarding time, enabling us to respond quickly to client needs compared to relocating staff from other countries, as we do in Portugal, Spain, and Greece. This local hiring approach enhances our ability to adapt swiftly to changing circumstances.
What have been some of the most notable achievements for Teleperformance Romania since its integration into the Multilingual Hub, and how do you see its role evolving within the Multilingual Hub in the coming years?
I believe that one of the most significant achievements in Romania has been the stabilization of our operations, a process that has unfolded over the past few months. This stabilization reflects our ability to streamline workflows, enhance communication, and create a unified working environment. As a result, we have improved efficiency and consistency in our services, enabling us to better meet client needs and adapt to market demands.
Currently, we are starting to see substantial growth in the country, driven by the stabilization of our operations and the high quality of service we provide to our clients. This growth is occurring at an accelerated pace, underscoring the need for us to maintain our focus on delivering exceptional results, attracting the right talent, and ensuring we offer effective solutions for our clients. This commitment is essential for our company’s success. I believe that achieving rapid growth while consistently delivering quality represents the highest level of success for both our organization and our clients.