itel international Expands to 11 Sites & 4,000 Employees in Under a Decade

itel international, a Caribbean company, has expanded into nine countries in less than a decade. When this Customer Experience (CX) company was launched in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 2012, it was a team of only 7 employees. Today the company has 11 sites in nine countries (Jamaica, The Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Guyana, Mexico, Honduras, Colombia, USA, Canada), and employs 4,000 people. Truly an international business, itel is now the largest Caribbean-born Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company.

itel very recently acquired a BPO in Guyana & Honduras. This strategic acquisition added 700 new staff members across operations in those locations, along with a work-at-home network in the U.S. “This acquisition takes us into two more Geos that we’ve had on our radar for a few years now,” says Yoni Epstein, itel’s Founding Chairman & CEO. “It also further entrenches our geo-diversity in the region and offers our clients many diverse options.” 

Last year, during the height of the pandemic, itel expanded in Saint Lucia. The talented labor pool, and the demand from clients for outsourcing out of Saint Lucia has continued to exceed the company’s expectations. They have already built two sites and have two more in development. “You have to diversify locations and vendors,” Epstein explains. “Therefore, our existing clients have asked us to put some of their business in Saint Lucia, in order to diversify.” 

Meanwhile,  itel is also building out a 90,000 square foot space in Kingston, Jamaica, and they expect to add additional facilities in the future. 

The company attributes much of its success to being a Caribbean-born BPO with a diverse, multicultural team. The innate understanding of the region and its team’s diversity gives them the knowledge to navigate the different Caribbean & Latin American markets, understand the cultures of the countries where they work, and better manage people within those cultures and economies.

In addition to understanding the region better than any other provider, itel’s leadership team maintains close ties to Government and Private sector leaders, so they are able to influence positive change in the industry on a macrolevel and coordinate well with the various organizations and ministries on the ground. 

These strategic advantages enable itel to offer companies of all sizes a diversified customer experience delivery platform with multiple options, greater flexibility and the ability to scale. However, itel credits most of its success to the people they hire.  “With a long legacy in tourism and hospitality, the Caribbean workforce understands how to deliver exceptional customer experience with strong cultural alignment to North American brands,” says Melissa von Frankenberg, CMO. “The Caribbean culture is naturally warm and hospitable and when combined with the strong education and skill level, Caribbean contact center agents are probably the best in the world.” 

In addition to the advantages mentioned above, itel’s executives say that the region has a solid business infrastructure and a conducive business climate. von Frankenberg  concludes, “At the end of the day, it comes down to Quality, Culture and Cost. Companies achieve cost savings by going offshore, yet staying closer to home.”

For more information contact itel International on the web: https://itelinternational.com/contact-us/ or email: info@itelinternational.com