Hi guys,
So here’s the date and time right now.
I’m in the middle of making (or at least trying to) hire multiple people from the Philippines.
For several years now I’ve seen multiple companies build 7-figure businesses by hiring teams based out in the Philippines.
Typically they have someone local on the ground OR they are local OR they hire a BPO to do some of their backends.
My process (which has led me to explore all of these paths) is slightly different though.
I’ve now stumbled upon a range of Filipino’s professionals who are great communicators, have an excellent attitude and want to go to work.
One of the girls – Krystel – has the energy, attitude and ability to compete with some of the UK/US people on the team when it comes to making calls.
And the whole process is fascinating to me when figuring out how to build your offshore team.
Right now Pearl Lemon is in something of a state of chaos as we’re growing rapidly and have deals being bought in ‘left, right and centre’.
Correspondingly I’m trying to grow the team.
However, whilst there are many many challenges with that – what’s also brilliant is that I’m looking to grow some of the current team we have as well.
But anyway – this is about team Philippines.
So what I’m seeing – is that you can get talented people that are educated but 1/5th of the UK equivalent of pricing that can do great work.
Much like any region you get your mix of ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ – but the main point I guess I want to communicate through this blog is this:
I want to find a team of HIGHLY talented Filipino’s who with the right direction – can excel within the Pearl Lemon group.
Currently, I have Krystel who is doing outbound sales.
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Andrew is doing client relationship management.
These two people at the moment seem like they could play solid roles within the business – and I’m looking to hire yet more people still.
Here’s the kicker – when it comes to anyone…
When given proper training you can raise the level of almost anyone in your team. And when you record all the training you give once – you don’t need to give it more than once more again after that more or less.
So if you can put together proper training programmes and give the right people the right encouragement – you can do amazing things.
My general thesis is that you can take people from developing economies as well as outside of capital cities…first, hire for attitude as well as loyalty…and then train them up to be amazing (and satisfied contributors).
It’s no coincidence that my best-performing people are:
The SEO team (based in India)
My head of sales (based in Spain)
My head of operations (based in a small town Michigan)
The cold calling team (based in Egypt)
I’ve got my growing Filipino team
My PR/content team (typically US/UK students – you can find them in abundance)
My Head of PR (from Uganda)
And these guys outperform many of the others who have come and gone.
Why?
Hard work, perseverance and loyalty are big parts of it.
Basically, being the son of economic migrants and having grown up in a low-income family, there’s a certain amount of hard work that I expect and am used to.
This is then a reflection of the Pearl Lemon culture…and so it’s no wonder where I’ve hired from and how it’s all played out.
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So when we talk about building an offshore team in the Philippines…really it’s about choosing any area that offers great people at a rate that still pays them well locally – and has a great exchange rate as against the £.
And this is the key to this.
Then with time and effort, you can build amazing teams anywhere in the world.
Whilst still getting clients from the UK, the United States, and anywhere in the world really.
So here are some of my pragmatic tips then:
- Onlinejobs.ph is an excellent platform for hiring teams
- So are Facebook groups (put ads out in various groups see who comes back)
- Have an interview form for people to fill in
- Make that form include a video interview
- Then give everyone a standard 24-hour trial with the same questions
- THEN interview whoever completes all of that
- Then give them a 1-week trial to see how they perform
After all of this – you’re MUCH more likely to identify some excellent candidates.
Anyone who HASN’T followed this process typically hasn’t performed that well in the end.
So I hope this helps – until next time!
