How to build a high–performing offshore team in the Philippines.

You’ve decided to outsource or have already added dedicated remote talent in the Philippines to your team. But how do you build ‘one team’ that’s a genuine extension of your Australian or UK business? We’re sharing what works well for our clients and what we’ve learned over the last ten years so you can successfully integrate your teams. It’s a mix of hiring well, treating local and offshore teams in the same ways, training, effective communications, and shared operational frameworks.

Offshore team hiring tips – get involved.

We’ll be with you at every step of the way as you add dedicated IT or accounting talent in the Philippines to your local Australian or UK team.

We’ll help you create a job description, we’ll find and shortlist talent plus validate their skills. Then it’s time for you to interview the candidates.

Clients that ‘recruit well’ look for these things:

Does the candidate have the technical skills we need?
Do we believe they will ‘fit’ our business culture?
Does the candidate have a stable work history?
Do they have the appropriate communication skills?
Do we believe they have an aptitude for learning?

Technical skills…obvious. Culture? Not so. It’s worth listing what matters to your business and team. For example, do you have ways of working where there’s a tacit expectation of covering each other when someone is away or busy? Are team members expected to speak up or just get the job done? How do you engage with your customers?

Communication skills. Will your offshore team be engaging with your customers? If so, how? Spoken? Written? How does your internal team collaborate? Which tools? Do candidates need to know how to use them?

Aptitude for learning. Most Yempo Solutions clients are growing SMEs. What they need from their outsourced team in the Philippines changes over time as their business evolves. It’s well worth checking that candidates have a history of learning new things / using fresh solutions / adding skills. Candidates that approach training with enthusiasm are also easier and faster to onboard.

Offshore team onboarding steps

Create a ‘one team’ working environment.

Imagine a scenario where your Australia or UK-based team has one set of pay, benefits, and conditions; your outsourced team in the Philippines has another. While this might deliver ‘lowest possible’ costs, it won’t deliver ‘best possible’ performance. Your local team is likely to feel uncomfortable with the disparity. Your team in the Philippines may feel undervalued. This disparity may not reflect well on your brand.

Significant cost of living differences between Australia or UK and the Philippines makes it realistic to provide effectively matched rewards packages across territories and still save 60-70% on salaries (vs. hiring in Australia or the UK).

We provide a comprehensive pay and benefits package for everyone who’s engaged by Yempo Solutions. You can ask us to add additional benefits required to align your local and remote teams. We can make this happen for you.

Allocate a staff member in your home team to train the remote hires.

Just as you would in your own office, you onboard new hires via video conference, using our robust infrastructure.

You might want to even consider traveling to the Philippines to meet your offshore team. Many of our clients do this and we can help with arrangements. Alternatively, you can invite your remote team members to visit your offices in Australia or the UK.

HR, contracts, pay, benefits, performance management, holiday booking, parental leave etc.

Our goal is that you are free to focus on the growth of your business, so we take care of these things for you. And we’re always available to help you should you wish.

‘Peace of mind. A one stop shop from job spec to ad, interview, employment, admin, tech, payroll.’ – Peter J, Yempo client

Offshore team communication tools

An upside of 2020’s pandemic is that it improved and proved the value of remote working communication tools that we now accept as ‘just normal’ ways of doing business:

Comms: Zoom, Teams, Google Meet etc.
Collaboration: Slack, SharePoint, Jira etc.

These globally adopted tools make it simple for your Australia, UK, and Philippines-based teams to work together.

Most of our clients also have widely accepted platforms that they use for accounting or IT or business support tasks. Xero in the Philippines is the same as Xero in Australia or the UK. Octiga for managing Office 365 is the same in Australia or the UK and the Philippines. Shared screens enable shared work.

Our clients tell us that they also invite their Philippines-based team members to the same internal meetings as their local employees. This good practice helps stop any ‘us’ and ‘them’ gaps from opening.

Data security – offshore teams

The outsourcing sector leads in data security. Cybersecurity excellence underpins clients’ confidence in the sector. Without this, the sector could not exist.

Our clients trust us to protect their data and their brands. Getting this right is a two-way conversation. You tell us your technical specifications; we give your new team members the right kit. We ensure secure networks. Your new team members log in to your systems in the same way as a local team member who’s working from home.

‘Yempo really does give you your own quality employees. You select and work with them while Michelle and team manage everything else – HR, contracts, IT, recruitment.’ – Peter H, Yempo client.

Offshore quality control

Quality starts with selecting the right outsourcing partner for you. What do you care about?

Lowest possible price?
A consistent team? No ‘switcheroos?’
The best talent or cheapest talent?
A respectful culture with exacting standards and values that match your own?
Compliance with labour laws?
Support from a provider throughout the end-to-end process?
Support if something should go wrong / a team member doesn’t perform?
The right tech, not any tech?
All in pricing that’s guaranteed or a ‘base’ price that can vary by month?
Specialists who ‘get’ your sector? Or a ‘generalist’ partner that serves everyone?

You’ll know that there are many Philippines outsourcers competing for your business. The unwary can be ‘pulled in’ by ‘better than anyone else’ big number savings. This scenario rarely ends well. Everyone has to make a profit, so corners get cut. Our recent blog outlining the pitfalls that arise by using price as your primary buying criteria is well worth a read! It may save you a world of pain. In it we outline dodgy outsourcer tricks including:

Hidden costs
Staff churn
Inexperienced staff and coached candidates
Poor experiences for your clients
Reputation damage, reduced sales.
Poor IT – slow, lack of adequate security
Lack of support when things go wrong.
Poor working conditions
Negative impact on local team(s)
Increased management overheads

Listing outcomes you care about to create a ‘score sheet’ against which to judge potential partners is a great way to manage offshore quality control – right from the start.

Managing individuals

The processes you apply to manage the quality of local team members’ output can be applied to your offshore teams. No change required. The only difference is that we’re alongside you to advise on local HR compliance. We step –in should performance management be required. In this way, you’re able to focus on doing business, not running HR.

‘Yempo reduces our costs. Their complete recruitment, HR and regulation service protects our business from risk.’ – Lizzie R, Yempo client

Outsourcing common challenges.

Most common outsourcing challenges are covered in the blog we linked above that dives into the perils of super low-cost providers. Instead, let’s focus on positive steps business leaders can take to avoid outsourcing’s common challenges.

Over the last decade we’ve learned what works for our clients and what doesn’t. Our top-tips are summarised in this quick read blog. In it, Michelle lists actions you can take to ensure you gain the outcomes that matter for you and your business.

Maintaining control over offshore teams.

It’s your business, your team. This is why anyone who we recruit for you is dedicated to your business alone. You work with them in the same way as with your local employees.

‘You don’t just get given people – we recruit for our own team even though, technically, team members work for Yempo.’ – Andrea H, Yempo client

You select who works for you. You train once, not many times (because of talent switches that other providers may implement at short notice). They work your hours. They work using your systems. We only step in when you have questions.

Many of our clients choose to visit their teams in the Philippines. We can arrange this for you.

Get started.

Engaging the remote employees you need via Yempo means that you can move forward with confidence.

Start exploring your options today.

Book a quick chat with Michelle today, to know more about our best practices in providing offshore accounting and IT staff from the Philippines – or shoot us an email at [email protected]. We are happy to answer your questions!

Learn more:

Read more helpful information about outsourcing from Australia or the UK to the Philippines:

5 Huge Financial Advantages of Outsourcing Australian Accountancy Functions

5 Huge Financial Advantages of Outsourcing Australian IT Development Functions

Top 8 industry sectors that most frequently outsource to the Philippines

Outsourcing to the Philippines: Ensuring Fair Pay, Benefits, and Conditions

Fair Work and Offshore Hiring: Philippines Compliance