Mexican Call Centers
With a growing market of skilled workers and one of the largest economies in the world, Mexico has established itself as a business process outsourcing (BPO) destination for U.S. and Canadian call center operations.
Many leaders target Mexican call centers for their unparalleled accessibility from domestic offices, allowing managers quick and timely access to on-site visits in just a few hours. Others rely on the seamless cultural affinity that Mexico’s highly fluent, English-speaking agents can offer. With many agents being previous residents or frequent visitors to the United States, affable customer service is a huge strength of Mexico’s nearshore offerings.
Outsource call centers in cities like Tijuana offer many of the benefits of domestic ones, but being located just across the border allows them to offer considerably lower prices.
And all these benefits can be leveraged at a price point similar to that of more remote, offshore destinations that organizations may have previously relied on.
The Call Center Industry in Mexico
While Mexico has always focused on offering competitive wages for international businesses, with cost rates competitive with APAC markets, Mexico also leads the call center industry in incentive programs that fuel international investment and create stronger job markets to attract skilled workers.
With a stable economy and market conditions continuing to rise, Mexico’s infrastructure is familiar to U.S. businesses, with few obstacles between the two neighboring economies.
By securing the competitive advantages of call center outsourcing with the nearshore benefits of Mexico’s proximity, businesses are not forced to sacrifice anything to start earning back productivity and cost-reduction results.
The Call Center Workforce in Mexico
Mexico has nearly 60 million active workers, with an average median age of 26.1 Mexico’s workforce is consistently younger and more affordable than call center agents in the United States, but there is little difference in their cultural affinity or understanding of local norms and traditions.
Mexican citizens are known for their commitment to working hard and producing the best possible results. As a matter of fact, of 71 developed countries, Mexico places second-highest in hours worked annually per employee.2 These long hours are often due to the social concept that job dedication is shown through staying late or picking up hours.
Many Mexican call center agents speak both English and Spanish, making them a great option for companies in the United States. Although only one-eighth of Mexico’s population speaks English, the rates of fluency are higher in areas close to the border or popular with tourists, such as Tijuana and Cancun.3
Strong cultural ties bind U.S. and Mexico — as bordering nations often have no choice but to ease the working relationships between countries.
With so many workers having lived in or visited the United States, the Mexican talent pool is highly-suited to serve domestic customers and deliver multilingual service in both Spanish and English.
History of Call Centers in Mexico
Outsourcing from the United States to Mexico is nothing new, considering the two countries’ long history, but the country really began to stand out as a BPO destination in 2006. A list of global outsourcing locations released in 2003 by Business Week never mentioned Mexico, but just three years later, the country had gained a spot as an attractive outsourcing option.4 With this new media presence, Mexico’s BPO industry was off to the races.
The program Mexico First, launched in 2010, aimed at spurring the growth of the outsourcing industry.5 This act set out to certify 60,000 Mexican citizens with technical and other career-minded skills. Just one year later, Mexico was ranked 6th for global outsourcing according to A.T. Kearney’s 2011 Global Services Location Index based on financial attractiveness, people skills & availability, and business environment.6
Most recently, in 2019 the Mexican government made an investment into the country’s infrastructure of 44 billion dollars, which focused largely on telecommunications.7 Such a large investment will almost certainly help the country retain its status as a top BPO destination.
2006
Mexico is first mentioned as a viable outsourcing location in Business Week, having previously not been mentioned by the same outlet in 2003. This marked the beginning of huge growth in the call center industry.
2010
The Mexico First program launched, aiming to certify 60,000 citizens with technical and other career-minded skills.
2011
Mexico rose to the 6th rank for global outsourcing according to A.T. Kearney’s 2011 Global Services Location Index.
2019
The Mexican government made an investment into the country’s infrastructure of 44 billion dollars, which focused largely on telecommunications.
Quick Facts: Mexican Outsourcing
| Average Cost Savings | 50% |
|---|---|
| Market Maturity | Established |
| Regions | Nearshore |
| Population | 128,649,565 |
| Area | 758,449 sq. miles |
Major Outsourcing Cities in Mexico
| City | Current Local Time | Flight Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | Chicago | New York | ||
| Mexico City | 04h 16m | 03h 53m | 04h 40m | |
| Guadalajara | 03h 47m | 03h 57m | 04h 55m | |
| Tijuana | 01h 27m | 03h 58m | 05h 22m | |
Industry Experience
Our Mexican outsource call centers have direct experience in the following industries:
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