CEO Insights Magazine

Today in the consistently evolving business times, where organizations are challenged to work through changing trends and evolutions the BPO industry plays a vital role in the emerging economy of nations. In the Philippines too, BPO is contributing over 11 percent to the GDP. Founded in 1987 and headquartered in Manila, Philippines, DBP SERVICE CORPORATION (DBPSC) is an extensive business processes outsourcing services company, under the leadership of Raul Luis Manaligod, President & CEO, DBPSC. Having four decades of professional experience in different fields and industries, from banking, schools & colleges, community-based, non-governmental, management consultancy, and scientific research to business process outsourcing, he has been known as a ‘turn-around’ person, turning around the operational and financial condition of any company he handled, from a fledging company or agency to a viable and sustainable organization.

Recently, CEO Insights ASIA engaged in an exclusive interview with Raul Luis Manaligod to know more about him and his professional endeavors. Let’s read through!

Mention some of the most critical milestones in your journey so far.
Well, there are numerous. First was when in 1992, I was working as the Head of a church-based organization in Pamplona, Cagayan, Philippines, we helped the church organization recover from a debt of two million pesos on account of the rehabilitation of an old church and completed it too by paying the entire amount and completing the rehabilitation efforts. Next, was in 1993, when as the Chairman & Executive Director of The Sanctuary Movement, we were able to build bunker houses for the internal refugees, provide informal and formal education, health and nutrition care, livelihood, and communitybased enterprises, and a sense of security. Later, it was also when as a President, the Divine Word College of Laoag started in 1993, a full-blown school with almost ten thousand students and five hundred administrators, teachers, and staff, I reformed the system recognizing the administration defaulters and rebuilt the confidence in the school and boosted enrollment.

After graduating from the Asian Institute of Management, I was hired as a Professional Manager to become the Administrator of the Manila Observatory at the Ateneo De Manila University and we restructured the administrative systems to turn around the financial condition of the science and research institute. In 2015, I was invited to work as the First Senior Vice President of the DBP Service Corporation, in charge of the Operations Sector of the firm. Soon after, I was promoted to the rank of Executive Vice President. And at the start of the COVID 2 Pandemic in 2020, I was designated Acting President. Eventually, in 2021, I was appointed President of DBP Service Corporation and concurrently President of DBPSC Security Services, Inc., DBPSC Insurance, Inc, DBPS-MCI, and the DBPSC Foundation. I sit on the Board of these companies as well.

Tell us about your inspiration to join DBPSC. How has it been in terms of organizational and professional growth?
When I joined DBPSC, it had a staff complement of almost 8000 employees nationwide spread in about 80 clients. It wanted badly to lead in a highly competitive industry by finding an edge over the others. Although DBPSC was created in 1987, it was inching its way as more and more competitors entered the field and government regulations became stiffer. With my background in Business Management and Human Resources, I spearheaded DBPSC to obtain the ISO 9001:2015 certification, certified by the London-based Bureau Veritas. It is because of our quality standards and status, we have become a company of choice for both the Philippines government and private corporations.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, when companies started to fold up one by one, our company saw modest growth in revenues, with the latest marking at P 3.8 Billion in Gross Revenues in 2022 alone, as DBPSC was consistent in responding adequately to the needs of our clients and our employees who have been exposed to the field. Over the years, we have increased consistently, from about 8000 employees in 2016 to 12,000 to date. Striving to continue finding our niche in the market, DBPSC would like to shift completely from providing mere staffing services to provisions of diverse business processes among companies, learning from all sorts of experiences.

Tell us about your leadership approach.
I am a strategic person, who’d rather look at the bigger picture. So, I need people who can handle the day-to-day operations of the company. I believe that no single person has a monopoly on ideas. Hence, promoting participative and collaborative leadership is necessary, i.e., servant leadership. It starts with empowering people with basic information, education, and constant communication with my officers and staff. Our company’s motto has always been, ‘We value our people and our true value comes from them’.

I also ascribe to Theory Y of Mc Gregor’s; I believe in the innate ability and good work attitude of workers. It’s important, however, to provide them with a working environment that is inclusive and safe for everyone. And, DBPSC efficiently excels in it.

How would you define DBPSC as an organization?
The DBPSC is an outsourcing firm that provides the front and backroom business processes that clients need to serve best their market. These business processes are run by a workforce that is trained to provide quality, timely, and efficient services.

A happy workforce leads to a productive workplace. We assure our clients that we provide the best processes managed by a happy and productive workforce. After we received our ISO 9001:2015 accreditation in 2017, several companies in the same industry are now preparing for certification. As a leader in the industry, DBPSC will continue to innovate, this time towards the direction of digital technology.

Any advice to budding leaders in the outsourcing industry? 
Listen, Learn, Innovate, and Lead.
Listen to what the market needs and what it may need shortly. Also, keep your co-workers in the loop as they know best the processes they are in. Learn from your experiences, both good and bad. Constantly read and subscribe to magazines and articles on the latest management trends. Retool and reinvent yourself from time to time. Find ways to innovate by improving your services and continuously adding value to your people and business processes. Lead by heart, example, and don’t micromanage people & processes, but continuously clarify the values and purposes of the organization.

Raul Luis Manaligod, President & CEO, DBP Service Corporation Philippines
Possessing 40+ years of professional experience in different fields and industries, from banking, schools and colleges, community-based, non-governmental, consultancy, and scientific research to business process outsourcing, Raul is a strong and dynamic professional leading DBPSC now.