Teleperformance

Key figures

Company revenue totaled €3,649 billion (4.050 billion USD) in 2016. Their services are operated in over 265 languages and dialects on behalf of companies in various industries. As of April 2016, the company’s market cap stood at 4.577 billion USD with an AGR rating of 94.

Governance

Daniel Julien is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Paulo Cesar Salles Vasques was appointed Chief Executive Officer on May 30, 2013.

1978–1990

Daniel Julien created Teleperformance in Paris in 1978. In 1986, Teleperformance established its first international subsidiaries in Belgium and Italy. Two years later, Teleperformance launched subsidiaries in other European markets: Spain, Germany, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In 1989, Daniel Julien and Jacques Berrebi joined forces at the head of Rochefortaise Communication, the parent company of Teleperformance International listed on the Paris Stock Exchange. Ten years later, Rochefortaise Communication and Teleperformance International merged to form SR. Teleperformance. This company became Teleperformance in 2006.

In 1990, Teleperformance launched the first outsourced customer loyalty centers and carried out the first customer satisfaction surveys.

1991–2002

In 1993, Teleperformance USA was established, beginning its contact center operations in the United States. In 1996, Asia-Pacific contact centers were developed, with operations set up in the Philippines and Singapore. The Group was significantly expanded in Europe through numerous acquisitions and company start-ups in Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Greece, Spain, the Netherlands and Finland.

From 1998 through 2002, the Teleperformance network expanded throughout the Americas, into Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.

2003-2013

In 2003, Teleperformance became the world’s second largest contact center outsourcer in terms of revenue. The company offered offshore centers and automated services to companies faced with cost pressures. Teleperformance launched business transformation solutions aimed at in-house contact centers.

In 2004, the Group continued to expand by moving into Eastern Europe: Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, and two years later, Russia.

In 2005, Teleperformance’s revenues exceeded 1 billion EUR for the first time. In 2006, they acquired Teleperformance Russia.

In 2006 Teleperformance USA purchased AOL’s 400-employee call center in Ogden, Utah. This purchase was the 23rd call center which the company purchased until this time.

In 2007, Teleperformance acquired 100% interest in Twenty4help, the European technical support leader; AllianceOne, a leading US accounts receivable management company; and Hispanic Teleservices, a contact center service provider with operations based in Mexico. In parallel, Teleperformance acquired the company TPH Services Telecoms, and several SFR sites.

In 2008, the group’s operations and strategy were centralized for management under the responsibility of Daniel Julien and Jacques Berrebi. Teleperformance acquired The Answer Group, a provider of high-level technical support to the US market.

Jacques Berrebi announced his plans to retire in January, 2008. He ended all his operational duties as of January 5, 2009, but retained a relationship with the Teleperformance Group Inc. as “Special Consultant” for the Group’s activities in the Americas and the Asian-Pacific markets.

In 2009, the company launched Teleperformance Platinum, a strategy to provide improved customer service and experience.

In 2010, Teleperformance acquired Scottish rival outsourcing call center 'beCogent' for £35 million.

In 2012, Jacques Berrebi, Co-founder with Daniel Julien of Teleperformance Group, retired at the age of 70. The board named him "Chairman Emeritus." That year, Teleperformance opened 5 multilingual, multi-cultural hubs to serve Europe and other markets. By 2013 Teleperformance had six contact centers in Tunisia. In 2013, Teleperformance acquired full control of TLS Contact. Paulo César Salles Vasques was announced as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Group and Daniel Julien remained as the Chairman of the Board.

2014-2016

In 2014, Teleperformance acquired Aegis USA Inc., a major outsourcing and technology company in the United States, the Philippines and Costa Rica. The transaction was approved by regulatory authorities.

From 2014 to 2016, Teleperformance created and/or opened fifteen new centers worldwide. These included centers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Guyana, Portugal, Colombia, Surinam, Dubai, Albania, Egypt, Australia and Lithuania.

In March 2015 the company announced the opening of a new offshore facility in Paramaribo, Surinam. The multichannel contact center offers support to Benelux clients in Dutch.

In May 2016 Teleperformance announced the opening of a contact center in Australia. The center has 300 workstations and is located in Burwood, Victoria, about 16 kilometers outside of Melbourne.

The company announced in July 2016 its plans to expand to Bristol, Tennessee in the United States, creating 500 jobs within the coming five years.

In August 2016 Teleperformance purchased California-based LanguageLine Solutions LLC for $1.52 billion from a US-based private equity firm, Abry Partners.

Certifications

Teleperformance was recognized by the 2015 Aon Hewitt Best Employers™ Program. The company achieved certification in ten countries around the world, including China, India, Portugal, Albania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Chile, Egypt and Lebanon.

On April 14, 2016 Teleperformance earned the Enterprise-Wide Certification by Verego. All of Teleperformance’s global sites met the requirements of the Verego Social Responsibility Standard (Verego SRS) for full certification in Leadership, Ethics, People, Community, & Environment.

Awards and recognition

In 2015 Teleperformance was recognized as one of the best companies to work for in Brazil, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, India, Mexico and Portugal.

Teleperformance was among the 50 companies with the largest market capitalization recognized by Forbes in 2016 as Western Europe’s most trustworthy companies.

The company was honored with the 2015 Frost & Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy Innovation and Leadership in Europe.

The company was ranked fourth among India’s “Best Workplaces” in 2016.

In June 2016 was recognized by the Great Place to Work Institute as one of 25 of the Best Companies to work for in Latin America.

Corporate culture

The For Fun Festival is one of several projects resulting from CEO Vasques’ monthly meetings with a group of 500 employees called “Chat with the President.” FFF is a type of talent show in which employees of Teleperformance can show-off their more artistic abilities. Since it was first introduced, the FFF turned into a global festival which met in the Philippines in 2010 and in Brazil in 2011.

Social responsibility

In Lisbon, Portugal, in July 2016, Teleperformance held an event to promote and support young Portuguese athletes.

Teleperformance Philippines, in partnership with its CSR arm, the Citizen of the World Foundation, (COTW), helped to relocate victims of the 2009 Ondoy typhoon flood, establishing the Teleperformance Gawad Kalinga Village in 2010. By August 2013 the new neighborhood had 50 homes and a SIBOL Day Care Center, an IT Learning Center, and more. The 3rd Anniversary of the relocation took place on August 17, and was led by Teleperformance Asia Pacific President David Rizzo, and others. By December 2014 the company completed the construction of new homes for 100 displaced families in the village in Tanay, Rizal.

At the end of 2015 Teleperformance USA partnered with Delete Blood Cancer DKMS offering bone marrow donor registration to employees. As a result, close to 1,400 employees joined the national bone marrow registry.

On November 24, 2014 Teleperformance, together with Feed the Children, distributed enough food and other necessities to assist 400 needy families in the Fairborn, Ohio area.

In May 2016 the company committed all their Mexico sites to obtain 100 percent of their power needs from solar photovoltaic. This move will eventually reduce the Mexican sites’ carbon footprint by over 80 percent, and worldwide by 9 percent.

Technology

In 2016 the company developed the e-Performance Hub, a technology that allows the company to better meet the demands of its omnichannel strategy.

Teleperformance was awarded a US patent on May 5, 2015, for “securely and efficiently processing telephone orders” through a new technology called ESP™. ESP™ accelerates the entry speed of confidential consumer data, while simultaneously securing the information capture process.

In February 2015 Teleperformance announced the opening of the first virtual contact center in the Middle East and Africa. Located in Dubai’s Internet City, the facility will be a virtual contact center connecting UAE-based regional and other international clients with Teleperformance Egypt’s contact center in Cairo.

Teleperformance was a commercial partner in the “Sensei Project” which was developed in 2016 to predict the outcome of the “Brexit” vote in the UK using data-mining of social media chatter.

Labor dispute and settlement

In 2008 a class action lawsuit was filed against Salt Lake City-based Teleperformance USA seeking unpaid wages for employees, alleging a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. On May 19, 2010, a settlement was reached for approximately $2 million to be paid to 15,862 workers in 10 US states.