6 Reasons to Launch a Call Center in Costa Rica

It may come as a surprise that the call center industry in Costa Rica is booming. Right now, there are 5 million residents of Costa Rica, and 35,000 of those residents work in call centers. 

The reason?

The Costa Rican government puts a lot of emphasis on training the population to be bilingual as well as offering incentives for foreign investors who want to expand to the Central American country, whose capital, San José, has been nicknamed “Silicon Valley of Latin America.” 

Here’s a look inside Costa Rica’s booming call center industries, and 5 reasons why companies choose to expand their business to the country in this market. 

What companies have call centers in Costa Rica? 

More than 150 companies have built call centers in Costa Rica, including some top Fortune 500 companies, with the number growing each month.

Companies that have customer service for inbound and outbound calls, telemarketing, customer support experience, and back-office operations in Costa Rica include:

• Amazon

• HP

• Dell

• Intel

• Major retailers 

These companies, among others, have established call center services in Costa Rica to take advantage of the country's highly skilled and educated workforce, favorable business environment, and low employer costs. 

Many of these companies provide customer support services for clients in North America and other parts of the world, taking advantage of Costa Rica's geographic and time zone advantages.

Additionally, companies with call centers in Costa Rica have reported high levels of employee satisfaction and low turnover rates, which have contributed to the overall success of the call center industry in Costa Rica.

What roles are companies hiring in Costa Rica?

Companies like Amazon have a wide range of positions available right now in Costa Rica for the following roles:

• Implementation specialist 

• Pricing specialists 

• Sales associate 

• Trilingual associates that speak Portuguese, Spanish, and English

• Account managers

Other common call center jobs that are available in the country include:

• Customer service representatives 

• Call center agents

• Management

Many other tech companies are hiring for call center associates and team leaders in Costa Rica, including: 

• Veeam Software

• IBM 

• Equifax

• Accenture

• Concentrix 

The tech market in Costa Rica is beginning to expand, and many startups and larger companies especially in the US are setting up nearshore call centers and hiring workers. 

6 reasons why companies set up call centers in Costa Rica

1. Access to a highly skilled and educated workforce

Costa Rica has high literacy rates and a well-educated population. 

The government has implemented English language education at every level in the curriculum for students in the country and will have a leading generation and bi- and even trilingual speakers. For those who are already out of school but want to learn English, the government offers bonus English language courses at little to no cost. 

2. Geographical and time zone advantages:

Costa Rica is located in the Central Time Zone, which makes it an ideal location for companies that need to provide customer support during North American business hours.

The country is also close to the United States and has easy access to major markets in North and South America. For companies based in Asian and European countries, having access to the Central Time Zone will give businesses a wider range of availability to help support their growing customer base. 

Companies that sell digital products and services need to have as much time zone coverage as possible in order to answer customer support questions at any time throughout the day. Someone who bought your product in California may need a question answered right away, which can be tricky if your company headquarters is in Paris or London.

3. Government incentives for foreign investors

The Costa Rican government offers a number of incentives to attract foreign investment, including tax breaks & exemptions, streamlined business processes, and a favorable legal and regulatory environment.

 A bill was just recently approved that gives investors the following incentives:  

• Only needing $150,000 in real estate investments in Costa Rica for temporary residence 

• 20% tax exemption of total tax transfer, if the beneficiary is registered as an owner of real estate. 

• Tax exemption from import taxes on household goods 

• Exemption from import, customs and value-added taxes (VAT) for up to 2 land, air, or sea transportation vehicles

• Tax exemption for 20% of the total transfer tax, if the beneficiary is registered as the owner of the real estate acquired while the law is in effect

• An exemption from import taxes for materials for professional or scientific practice if an individual can demonstrate to the Ministry of Finance that the materials are required to develop the individual's trade or business

There are a number of laws that make setting up businesses in Costa Rica a lot easier than other global countries. 

4. Political and economic stability

Costa Rica has a long history of political stability and a strong democracy, which makes it an attractive destination for foreign investors who want to minimize political risk.

If you choose to open a call center in Costa Rica, you shouldn’t have to worry about any political distractions in both your business operations and your employees' day-to-day lives. 

5. Cost savings 

Right now, setting up a call center in Costa Rica is 40-60% of the price it would cost to establish a similar call center in the United States.

Costa Rica has a lower cost of living and lower labor costs compared to many other countries in North America, which makes it an attractive location for companies that want to reduce their operating expenses while still offering competitive compensation packages and maintaining high-quality customer support.

6. Gain a foothold in the US, Canadian, and Latin American markets 

Historically, Costa Rica has been a meeting point for trade between North and South America, thanks to its geographical proximity to the United States, Canada and other Latin American countries.

Costa Rica’s robust free trade regime has made it a key player in international exports and imports, most notably medical supplies.

Partnering with an EOR to launch your call center in Costa Rica 

A great, low-risk option for testing out the market and hiring full-time employees in Costa Rica is to partner with an EOR service like Via. Your business builds and recruits your team in Costa Rica. Via's EOR solution enables you to start onboarding workers in as little as 1-2 business days.

Why companies partner with Via 

Via offers end-to-end solutions for businesses who want to establish operations in Costa Rica but want to skip the lengthy process of entity setup. 

With our easy-to-use platform and payment tools, Via helps you manage local HR processes for direct employment such as work visas & permits, employee data privacy compliance, benefits, global payroll solutions, background checks, and other legal products. Our team of local labor lawyers and on-the-ground experts ensure that your company remains compliant while expanding abroad. As your employer-of-record/entity abroad, Via assumes responsibility for employment liability, so that you can focus on what matters: recruiting and managing your team. 

With Via’s transparent pricing, you can pay full-time employees or contractors across borders with no hidden set-up fees, no foreign exchange or transaction fees, and no minimums–start with 1 employee and scale up at your own pace. 

For companies looking to hire 20-100+ workers in one country with the full menu of local features, including best-in-class benefits, Via is the way to go.