It’s our differences rather than our similarities that make us humans interesting, and recent workplace studies show that diversity makes a workplace not only more interesting, but more effective, offering different perspectives for problem-solving, and new ideas and energy. 

You may already know the benefits of offshore staffing and offshore outsourcing some of your business processes to the Philippines, but it might be useful to know about some cultural issues you might encounter when working with or hiring staff. Here are a few. 

Most of your job candidates will have experience working with a Western company

Much of the boost to the Philippines’ economy has been attributed to international business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. The flow-on effect is that the majority of your candidates will have previous experience working for a Western company, either through the company’s branch or shared services, or through service providers such as an outsourcer, consultancy, or agency. 

Many of your employees will enjoy working Australian business hours

Manila is a huge city. The average commute is approximately 90 minutes due to heavy traffic and rush hour. So, for this reason, many of the employees you recruit enjoy working Australian business hours, as they can reduce the amount of time spent in traffic. 

Filipinos are humble, polite and agreeable. 

Whether you are hiring or have already hired someone, it will help you to know that Filipinos have some cultural traits in the workplace that might be different from Australians. For example, Filipinos are raised to use honorifics at all times, so they often use ‘ma’am’ and ‘sir’, a level of politeness we’re not used to. Humility is held in high esteem; as such, many candidates would be shy to discuss achievements in job interviews and may not even bring them up at all! You might have to encourage them to highlight their expertise. 

Filipinos also have a strong tendency to please, so this might translate into behaviour such as not asking questions even when they don’t understand something fully, in order to avoid displeasing you. Or they might be too eager to agree to a suggestion, even if they don’t really agree. Either take note of this in your interactions, or encourage them, when necessary, to not be so agreeable.  We would also encourage to ask open questions such as, ‘What are your thoughts on that?’, ‘How could we do this better?’, or ‘Can you repeat back to me what the key message is being delivered?’. 

Build an English-proficient team.

Most of our clients are pleasantly surprised by the quality of our candidates’ English-language skills, and most find these skills compare well with those of Australian-based candidates for most roles. It is good to note that some candidates possess a noticeable difference in their written versus spoken English skills – so it should not be assumed that simply because a candidate can write well, that their spoken skills will be at the same standard (and vice versa). 

So, you’ll need to be clear what you need for the role you are recruiting for: do you need great written English, great spoken English, or both? For example, if you’re recruiting for an IT or Accounting role, you may place a higher priority on written English, and if you’re recruiting for a phone-based Customer Service role, you would prioritise spoken English. If you require both, this isn’t an issue, given the high quality of English-speaking and writing offshore outsourcing  candidates. 

Filipino job candidates won’t be shy about discussing their salary. 

Job candidates in the Philippines are not shy about discussing salary and will even discuss it among their colleagues, something that doesn’t happen as often in Australia. So, it’s common to discuss salary expectations in the first round of an interview. This shouldn’t be a problem for you; before we begin the recruitment process, we’ll determine the right salary bracket for each role, and we’re very transparent about what salary will be paid to successful candidates and will manage this process on your behalf. 

There is no need to be afraid of offshoring, our team of experts are here to help. 

Want to know about outsourcing business processes and offshoring to talented and effective Filipino employees? Request a strategy session with Satellite Office’s offshoring experts, and discover your potential cost savings, scalability options, and implementation timeline.