Costs and benefits

How much can I save by offshoring to the Philippines?

Outsourcing to the Philippines can result in cost-savings of up to 70%. These cost-savings are due to the exceptionally low living costs in the Philippines when compared to the locations such as the U.S and Australia.

Here at MicroSourcing, we offer a monthly fee to help reduce overheads and allow you to focus on scaling and growing your business. Included in this monthly fee is infrastructure, recruitment and training, security, staff benefits and management.

What are the benefits of outsourcing to the Philippines with MicroSourcing?

Here are five benefits you can get from outsourcing to the Philippines:

  • Cost savings
    Hiring staff in the Philippines means you can save up to 70% on employment costs as the cost of living is significantly lower than most western countries.
  • Employee satisfaction
    By outsourcing time-consuming and administrative tasks to the Philippines, your local teams are no longer working over capacity, leading to an increase in satisfaction across the board.
  • 24/7 operations
    Filipinos are happy to work whatever standard hours suits the client. You are able to increase your hours of operations and even hire staff to work while your onshore team rests.
  • Renewed focus on business strategy
    Your offshore team management is taken care of by your offshore executive team, allowing you to step back and focus on developing growth strategies.
  • Business growth
    Due to the savings associated with hiring offshore staff, companies are able to free up funds that can be reinvested back into the growth of the business.

Recruitment

What roles can I offshore with MicroSourcing?

Nearly anything your team does via a computer program or over the phone can be done remotely, by an offshore team. All they need is the right skills, training, support and software to do the job.

If you’re ready to start thinking about the tasks and positions you could offshore, take a look at what roles we commonly offshore in the "Build Your Team" tab at the top of this page. Roles well-suited to offshoring include customer service, programming/development, tech support, digital marketing and health information management just to name a few. Here at MicroSourcing, we have access to a talent pool of over 200,000 skilled applicants, which allows us to recruit team members in the Philippines that match your offshore role requirements.

Below are some of the common positions that can be easily outsourced to the Philippines.

How long does it take to set up an offshore team?

Your new team member(s) should be ready to begin work in as little as six to 10 weeks after you start the process – possibly even sooner.

We use your job descriptions to find and recruit suitable candidates from the local market and our database of more than 200,000 applicants. Once we’ve found the right people for your team, we set them up within our modern, state-of-the-art office facilities, including furniture, IT infrastructure, and support.

What is MicroSourcing’s recruitment process and do I get to speak or interview potential candidates before hiring?

The recruitment process is quite similar to hiring a local employee through a recruitment company. We take your brief and handle the search, shortlist and initial interviews for you, then once you’ve chosen the staff member/s you’d like to be in your team, we employ them, ready for you to onboard.

Here are the basic steps in the process:

  1. You provide job descriptions for each member of the team
  2. One of our recruiters will call you to discuss your needs further
  3. We advertise in all the major job boards in the Philippines and also go through our own carefully curated talent pool of over 200,000 applicants to find the right person for each of your roles
  4. We interview several people for each role, and present you with a shortlist of the most suitable candidates
  5. You conduct final interviews – either in person, here in the Philippines, or remotely, using video chat
  6. You choose your favorite candidates for each role
  7. We extend an offer of employment to each
  8. When they accept, we agree on their start date
  9. Upon commencement, we set them up in our offices, with a desk, computer, phone, internet connection, agreed software and anything else they need
  10. We conduct onsite inductions about our building and how things work
  11. You train the employee in any special requirements for their role.

You are as much involved in the recruitment process as if you were hiring a new team member onshore. We simply provide the resources, support and tools to allow you to hire quality candidates in the Philippines.

How can I ensure quality when hiring offshore employees in the Philippines with MicroSourcing?

MicroSourcing’s talent acquisition team works just as an in-house recruitment team would. They screen, interview and test candidates to ensure candidates meet the needs and requirements as illustrated in your job descriptions. With over 10 years of experience pioneering a new way of offshoring, MicroSourcing’s expertise is backed by being one of the largest and most experienced offshoring providers in the Philippines - so quality is not a concern.

With a dedicated management team on the ground, working one-on-one with your employees in the Philippines, MicroSourcing has 250 active staff in operations, including the executive team, VPs, managers, talent acquisition and more - who keep the communication between your business and your offshore team streamlined. We also have operational departments such as finance, HR, IT, facilities and client services that help your employees function efficiently and productively.

What training should I provide for my team?

MicroSourcing recruits the talent, our clients provide the training. Depending on the role you are outsourcing, MicroSourcing’s recruitment process may lead to candidates who have already got systems experience and relevant accreditations; reducing the amount of training necessary. This will become evident throughout the recruitment process as you will be communicating with our talent acquisition team regularly.

You should provide training on your company’s history, products, services, processes, special software, tone of voice and policies - as relevant. You’ll also need to communicate tasks and responsibilities to your remote team, check in on their progress and answer their questions. We recommend using project management systems and text-chat software. Daily communication helps everyone feel like part of a team and gets the best outcome for your business.

You’re also responsible for managing your team’s performance and reviews. It’s important to give plenty of feedback, especially in the early stages of working together.

Of course, your MicroSourcing account manager will proactively support your goals, throughout, including providing well documented processes for performance improvement and disciplinary actions. We also have a training department and a large training library for most disciplines.

Are there processes in place to accommodate for virtual inductions or training if circumstances don’t allow ‘in-person’ inductions?

Yes. Whether you perform your inductions on-site or online, your business will reap the same rewards either way. We work with our 24/7 IT support team to set up virtual training and inductions to accommodate for circumstances that may not allow you to visit your offshore team and vice versa. We use state-of-the-art video conferencing systems so that your offshore and onshore team communicate seamlessly throughout the course of their employment. From training and inducting new team members, to weekly catch-ups and performance management, we have online, face-to-face options to suit.

Can I change the number of staff I have?

We’re delighted to support you as your business grows. You can add new team members at any time, as your needs change. Simply contact your account manager, and we’ll find the right person for your team.

Can I hire part-time staff?

No, we generally recommend you work with full-time staff that are dedicated to your business to ensure consistency in the delivery of their tasks and responsibilities.

What hours do staff work?

Our staff are flexible and will work the hours your business requires them to. This is especially helpful for clients who work in different timezones to the Philippines. If you need them to work according to your onshore team’s business hours, we will accommodate and make sure they are online during those times - we can support whatever your requirements may be.

What happens if one of my offshore employees is not performing? How do I performance manage them and replace them if need be?

It depends on the situation. If it’s due to poor performance, we’ll provide you with a well-documented performance management framework, which includes fair warning, an evaluation period and an escalation process that can lead to termination. If you would like to dismiss a staff member for reasons not associated with performance, your account manager can provide guidance on whether there may be any additional costs at the time.

Will my offshore team have good English language skills?

Yes. the Philippines is the third-largest English-speaking country in the world, with approximately 75 million English speakers, and English is one of the country’s two official national languages (the other being Filipino). English is the main language used in their professional workplace.

The Philippines is a former U.S colony, so they were heavily influenced by American ethical values, traditions, customs and behaviors. The Philippines have a Business English Index of 7.95, next to Norway with 7.06 and Netherlands with 7.03. This study is designed to showcase global workers’ English competency in the workplace. Scores of 10.0 indicate equivalency with native English speakers, so the Philippines score of 7.95 is enough to provide your business with peace of mind when concerned with English competency skills.

Do staff work for multiple clients at a time or are they dedicated to my business?

No. Your staff member/s will be 100% dedicated to your business. They are just like one of your onshore team members. You wouldn’t have your onshore staff work for another business or a competitor while on your payroll, so neither do your offshore employees.

How do I pay my offshore staff?

Your offshore team’s salaries are all accounted for in your one off, all inclusive invoice that you will receive monthly from us.

What additional benefits can I give to my offshore team?

Feel free to speak to your account manager regarding the benefits currently included in your monthly fee, or to discuss additional ways you can further show your appreciation for a job well done.

Location and operations

What are MicroSourcing’s facilities like and how can I compare the quality of these facilities?

MicroSourcing has 7 state-of-the-art office facilities across the central business districts of Manila. Each has a dedicated cafe, a health clinic, locker rooms, server rooms, training rooms, an on-site tech support team, multiple internet connections from tier-1 providers, dedicated air-conditioning, backup power generators, fire detection and sprinkler systems, a 24/7 security system and roaming security guards. They range from 136 – 1300 seats and from 960 – 7000 sqm, and are all conveniently located close to food courts, restaurants, public transport, parks and retail shops.

Put simply, our offices are at least as good as any you’d find in a typical Australian or American CBD. See for yourself – take a virtual tour.

Which time zone are the MicroSourcing offices in?

MicroSourcing’s six offices are located in Manila in the Philippines, which is UTC+8, but you decide when you want your team to work. If you want them to work outside of Manila’s standard business hours so they’re available during business hours in your country, that’s what they’ll do.

(We also have a global office in Sydney, so if you’re in Australia you can talk to your preferred local sales team as you get your offshoring systems set up.)

Here’s how Manila time compares to a few major cities around the world:

Manila(PHT) California(PST) New York(EST) London(GMT) Paris(CET) Perth(AWST) Sydney / Melbourne / Brisbane(AEST)
9am
Tuesday
6pm
Monday
9pm
Monday
1am
Tuesday
2am
Tuesday
9am
Tuesday
11am
Tuesday
Will my clients know that my business calls are coming from the Philippines?

We offer VOIP services that can match area codes, private or tool free numbers of your choosing, this may incur an additional cost which we are happy to discuss with you as we set up your offshore team.

What’s the local culture like?

As a former US colony with a 90% Christian population, the Philippines has a very ‘westernized’ culture. Its cities, office buildings, malls and restaurants all feel very familiar to most Australians and Americans. And because there’s no language barrier, and no cultural differences in time management or sense of urgency in the workplace, working with Filipinos feels almost identical to working with Australians or Americans.

Business owners invest in Filipino teams due to their excellent work ethic, values, integrity, loyalty, service-oriented mindset, and the friendly working atmosphere they seem to foster in any organization’s culture. They value integrity just as much as they value time and show innate respect for individuals. Filipinos generally know what fun is without forgetting what responsibility entails and they place a high regard on professionalism.

Read this blog to find out more about the Filipino culture and how it can contribute to your offshoring success.

General

How will offshoring impact my existing local (onshore) staff?

If you plan to completely replace a local (onshore) team with an offshore team, then obviously your local team will be negatively impacted. But if you’re offshoring to free up your local team’s time, allowing them to focus on higher value tasks, then they’re sure to thank you for it. They’ll finally be able to action all those ‘one day’ tasks they’ve been putting off for months or even years.

Overall, offshoring is good for local employment. There’s a misconception that it means losing local jobs, but the reality is it strengthens your business and helps you compete long-term, which is excellent for local employees. The vast majority of MicroSourcing clients don’t reduce local staff numbers at all.

By offshoring, you can ensure the long-term sustainability of your business. By optimizing your costs and boosting your productivity, you’ll unlock the next phase of growth and profitability so you can compete on a global scale.

When I offshore, what do I look after vs what does MicroSourcing look after?

MicroSourcing sets up your overseas division of your company and handles:

  • Facilities (workstation, computer, internet, cafes, health clinics, pharmacies and amenities
  • IT support
  • Labor laws
  • Recruitment
  • Payroll & HR

We foster a great team culture by including birthday celebrations and after-hours social events.

You're responsible for training your offshore team in your systems and business processes as well as keeping up communication between your offshore and onshore employees. This is so that your outsourced team feels included and motivated towards achieving common business goals.

Some clients have dedicated offshore and onshore ‘champions’ who spearhead tasks and act as the 'point of contact' to streamline all communication and ensure both teams work together as one.

Simply put, we handle everything to do with the Philippines, while you handle your business.

How does I know that the information sent to my offshore employees is secure and protected?

Here at MicroSourcing, we take data security very seriously and have multiple levels of security in place to deliver peace of mind when sharing your data with your employees over in the Philippines.

Each of our clients are assigned their own VLAN. We can furthermore physically partition off parts of our network if needed. We have state-of-the-art firewalls and can implement any additional safeguards you want to put in place.

Can I outsource even if I am a small or medium-sized organization?

Yes, outsourcing is not just for the big companies with big budgets. Recent developments in technology has made outsourcing accessible to businesses of all sizes. If anything, outsourcing is a way small or medium companies looking for growth can scale their business more efficiently.

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Additional resources

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