The Qualities You Need from a Philippine Offshore Team
By: Paolo Arguelles
Offshoring is fast becoming an effective solution for most businesses when reducing costs and maintaining a competitive edge. Jumping on the trend can open doors to growth opportunities, as well as global expansion. However, you will have to ensure that you are putting yourself in a favorable position, including getting the best team to accomplish your offshore tasks.
Fortunately, BPO companies in the Philippines involve clients during the recruitment selection process. You will get the chance to know more about shortlisted candidates that will make up your Philippine offshore team. Skills and knowledge are necessities for the task. However, you have to surround the screening process on determining if they have the qualities tailor-fit to create a highly competent and cohesive Philippine-based unit for your company.
Trustworthy
Offshoring provides you with limited options for growth and development. The distance and time zone difference between you and your Philippine-based offshore team will limit the training, programs, and educational resources you can provide to your local unit. However, the reason why you have to seek offshoring services is to get fast results.
A high-quality offshore team needs to be full of people with experience and impressive track records, ensuring that the onboarding process does not take up too much time. Experienced professionals already know their way around the equipment and tools they need for the job.
Experience ensures that your offshore team is a reliable and trustworthy unit, making it one of the criteria for screening candidates for your Philippine offshore team.
Highly Adaptive
Despite their skills and knowledge, your offshore team will still have to adjust to your company culture, management preferences, and operational processes. You will expose them to a specific system far from what they are used to in the Philippines. During the screening process, you will have to test their flexibility and adaptability.
Create an offshore team that can adjust to your company faster. Identify if candidates already have experience working in your industry or if they have expertise in specific devices, software, and tools your company uses.
Fortunately, most Philippine workers are highly adaptive. The nation is home to over 800 BPO companies that serve in almost every surging business country. Many talented Philippine professionals can adapt to any situation or work environment.
In 2019, the BPO industry dominated the Philippine economy, contributing over $26 billion and employing over 1 million workers. After suffering through the pandemic shift, the BPO industry managed to stabilize and plans to rebound in 2021. The driving force will be the highly adaptive Philippine workers.
Good Communication Skills
Communication will always be vital for businesses. However, there are limitations when working with an offshore team. Besides potential language barriers, business owners might find it challenging to create communication channels.
Fortunately, communication will never be a problem in the Philippines. The outsourcing nation is among the top English-speaking countries in the world and second only to Singapore in Asia. Philippine workers are also adept at preferred communication channels, ensuring they are at your beck and call.
You’ll want to have seamless communication with your Philippine offshore team to ensure success for your investment, making it a critical quality to consider during the screening process.
Optimistic
Stress will always be a constant part of any job in any field. You can feel, hear, and see frustration, and offshore teams are no exceptions. Your Philippine offshore team needs to be full of upbeat and optimistic employees. Being able to maintain grace under pressure is an enviable quality that requires both practice and skill.
During the interview process, try to get a feel of the conversation with the candidates. Those with a positive attitude tend to stand out, making them valuable additions to your offshore team.
You will not run out of talented Filipinos to fill up your Philippine offshore team. However, there is a need to be efficient with the selection process. Bad hires will be costly for your business, which requires you to get involved in the entire recruitment system.
Ensuring that these qualities are present in the selection process is part of the process. However, your first step needs to be finding a reliable and trustworthy offshore service provider to get you in front of those qualified candidates.