With the competition getting tighter and the costs higher, businesses must look for ways to continue providing quality products and services to their customers. Offshore outsourcing to the Philippines offers a great alternative for business owners.
When you hear the word ‘outsourcing’ or ‘offshoring’, the first thing that probably comes to your mind is India. After all, India has cornered the market on offshore outsourcing. However, we’re not going to talk about India today.
We are actually going to talk about the Philippines, as well as, everything you need to know about this offshore outsourcing hub in Southeast Asia.
Let’s get started.
This deals with your business’ operational functions like accounting, payroll, inventory, and customer service.
This is contracting someone or an outside company to do research or content writing. Basically any information-related tasks is KPO.
ITO services include web development, software and application development, network administration, and a bunch of other things related to information technology.
This list gives you an idea of what tasks are normally outsourced to the Philippines. The BPO industry is already flourishing in the country, while KPO and ITO services are slowly making progress.
The outsourcing industry is a major factor in the Philippines’ recent economic growth. It continues to provide millions of jobs to Filipino workers. In 2017, the BPO sector alone raked in 23 billion dollars in revenue.
Multinational companies, medium-sized, and even start-up businesses have already seized the opportunity to outsource to Filipino BPO professionals. If you are still reading this, you’re probably considering this idea too.
I’m telling you, it’s worth a shot.
The Philippines is now a major player in offshore outsourcing and here are ten reasons why.
Since the cost of living in the Philippines is relatively low, you can save a lot on your employees’ salaries and benefits as well as reduce your overhead expenses (office rental, utilities, telephones, computers and other supplies).
You can save around 80% of your operational costs and payroll. You can then put the money you’ve saved into growing your business.
Also, you won’t need to worry about compromising quality over cost because Filipino workers are reliable and highly skilled.
The Philippines is home to 90 million people who speak English as a second language, making it the 4th largest English-speaking country in the world.
They are excellent in oral and written communications so language isn’t an issue (like it can be in India) when working with them.
Many Filipino’s are college graduates and a lot of them even have their Master’s degree.
The literacy rate of the country is 97.5%. That’s the same level as Canada, UK, and USA. Around 90% of the population are professionals under the age of 50.
The Philippines can offer a wide selection of services to different businesses. Outsourcing firms in the country cater to various industries such as communications, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, technology, transportation and a whole lot more.
The Philippines used to be an American colony for almost 50 years. Before that, the country was colonized by Spain. This makes Filipinos comfortable with western cultures.
They are particularly fond of the US culture. They listen to the same kinds of music, watch Hollywood films and TV series (without subtitles), eat burgers and fries and love NBA.
Sharing these commonalities makes working with Filipinos a lot better, don’t you think so? When they understand your culture, it makes hiring a virtual employee seamless. They automatically fit right in.
Filipinos are famous for their customer service. They are both accommodating and friendly. These traits are invaluable since they may be interacting and coordinating with your clients.
Filipino professionals are also resourceful, innovative, and passionate. That is something you need from your workforce to keep your business growing.
Thanks to the large investments from the BPO sector, the Philippine economy is steadily growing. Because of this, the local government has enacted several laws to support outsourcing companies and encourage more investors to work with Filipinos.
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The Philippines is strategically located for international trade. It is only a few hours away from major economies like China, Singapore and Japan. It is accessible to shipping lines as well as airlines.
Outsourcing provides the workforce you need at a fraction of the price. They can handle the different processes of your business with ease. You are guaranteed to get excellent service from Filipino workers.
When you get things done effectively and efficiently, you can maximize your time to ensure your business’ success and growth.
You can outsource HR-related tasks to minimize the workload of your managers. Your outsourcing firm will monitor and develop your staff’s performance to ensure their activities meet your business goals.
While your outsourced team takes care of your operations and business processes, you can focus more on growing your business.
You can look for new business opportunities, meet new clients and strengthen your relationship with your current partners.
With this impressive of a résumé, it’s no wonder the Philippines continues to be one of the top-rate offshore outsourcing hubs in the world.
Several countries have already taken advantage of what the Philippines offers. Here are 5 nations that chose the Philippines to be their offshore outsourcing solutions provider:
The USA is the Philippines’ biggest client, taking up 64.7% of the local BPO market. This country invested $1.4 billion into the Philippine BPO industry in 2015.
Even though there is a significant time difference between the 2 countries, Filipino workers still work for American businesses because of the many benefits and incentives provided by these employees.
Europe takes 10% of the total BPO revenue in the Philippines and 9.2% of that is from the UK. In 2017, European businesses began to see the Philippines as one of the best BPO destinations in the world.
One businessman even called it the “outsourcing destination” for accounting, information technology, and graphic design jobs.
There is a slight time difference between Australia and the Philippines. This means simultaneous and uninterrupted work for Australian companies and Filipino workers.
Australian businesses outsource most IT-related tasks and functions to the Philippines.
There are around 70 Japanese businesses that have outsourced some of their operations to the Philippines. These companies mostly contract finance and accounting services, as well as IT support.
Most of Canada’s investments in the Philippines are poured into the BPO sector.
Here are the top 10 major outsourcing companies in the Philippines: (2012 figures).
1. Accenture Inc.
2. Convergys Philippines Services Corp.
3. JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A-Philippine Global Service Center
4. 24/7 Customer Philippines Inc.
5. Telephilippines Inc.
6. Teletech Offshore Investments B.V.
7. Sutherland Global Services Philippines Inc.
8. Stream International Global Services Philippines Inc.
9. Sitel Philippines Corp.
10. Deutsche Knowledge Services Pte. Ltd.
However, if you are a business owner who’s looking to hire a few virtual assistants/employees to work for you (instead of a firm), I would recommend onlinejobs.ph. It’s kind of like CareerBuilder in the Philippines. This is where I find all my employees.
You can find thousands of talented Filipino professionals waiting to work for you.
They are experienced in:
• office administration
• bookkeeping
• customer service
• project management
• website development
• software development
• information technology
• content writing
• graphics and multimedia
• social media management.
If it can be done remotely… they can do it.
You can still enjoy the benefits of outsourcing even on a small scale. You get to work with highly skilled and knowledgeable people at a fraction of the cost. You can pay your assistants by the hour or by project. It’s up to you and your budget.
You don’t have to worry about office space, providing a computer or any other supplies, because your assistant is working at home with his own computer.
Plus, you can get an awesome virtual assistant for about $2-$4/hr. Don’t believe me? It’s true. You can check it out here:
OnlineJobs.ph. If you use this link I will get a small commission, but if you are not comfortable with that you can just go to OnlineJobs.ph directly. Either link will take you to the same page and pricing.
A lot of companies have found the answer to their business struggles by outsourcing. The trend of offshore outsourcing continues to grow at a very rapid rate. It is a great way for businesses to remain competitive in the market.
There are many countries that are perfect for outsourcing and in my opinion the Philippines is the best. It is home to reliable, innovative and passionate professionals who can become a huge asset to your company. In fact, once you have hired your first employee and have them up and running… you will wonder how you ever got along without them.
The inexpensive labor, talented workforce and authentic Filipino work culture are only a few of the many benefits you can enjoy when you offload some of your workload to the Philippines.
I’m sure you find it will be one of the best decisions you make in your business. I know I did.
Let me know what you think in the comments or shoot me an email.
Talk soon.
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