Outsourcing as a business strategy has faced a lot of skepticism over the years. Nevertheless, outsourcing continues to grow all around the world. If you’re considering it for your company, one of your biggest concerns must be the quality of talent. That of course, heavily depends on where you decide to do it. One of the countries that have built its strong reputation as an outsourcing hub since the 90’s is the Philippines. That’s mostly because the quality of outsourcing staff in the Philippines is one of the best in the industry for a series of reasons.
1. English Proficiency and Neutral Accent
According to the 2022 ranking report released by EF English Proficiency Index, Philippines is one of the top countries with high proficiency for English skills in the global workplace. This study consists of 100 countries around the globe. In Asia alone, Philippines ranked 2nd place just below Singapore.
So how do Filipinos in the outsourcing scene sound like? A considerable number speak with a neutral accent making them so much easier to understand and converse with. Apart from speaking good English, a lot of Filipinos have excellent writing skills due to the interesting fact that English is the official language used in school. The ability to effectively communicate in both oral and written English puts the Philippines on top of its game in the outsourcing industry.
2. Immense Exposure to Western Culture
One of the biggest barriers in outsourcing offshore is cultural difference. The same is commonly expected in Philippines by companies in the West because of distance; being halfway across the world for that matter. However, these companies are not usually aware that United States has a significant part in Philippine history. Therefore, Filipinos are actually very familiar with Western culture. From the movies playing in cinemas, music airing on the radio to boutique brands seen in the malls, Western lifestyle still has a strong influence everywhere especially in Manila. This makes Filipinos more relatable in conversations that can help establish rapport with customers.
3. Knowledgeable in Global Best Practices
Fortune 500 companies along with a multitude of large international corporations have been outsourcing in the Philippines for many decades. These companies belong to diverse industries like technology, financial, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, and the list goes on. As an effect, outsourcing staff in the Philippines have undergone rigorous training to perform various work functions. This spans from the basic repetitive ones to more complex processes.
This industry phenomenon has given birth to a sizable pool of qualified talents. Filipino professionals have trained heavily in global best practices with solid experience in representing household names worldwide. In recent years, more and more small to medium sized businesses have benefited from this by getting access to the same workforce. If you’re an SME, here’s an article that talks more about whether offshore outsourcing is ideal for small to medium sized businesses.
4. Wide Range of Skills and Experience
Like with most job positions, a blend of acquired skills and relative experience are very important. When it comes to these, there’s a huge variety of talent availability since Philippines is one of the oldest places for outsourcing.
The kind of positions held by the talent pool in the Philippines are so dynamic. For instance, you will find a lot of general roles such as customer service, technical support, administrative assistance, data entry, content moderation, etc. On the other hand, graphic design, system programmers, web developers, QA testers, recruiters, medical and legal transcriptionists, analysts, and so on, are several examples of specialized roles.
According to statistics released by the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the diversity of outsourcing talents available in the Philippines have led to an average annual expansion rate of 20%.
5. Renowned Traits in the Global Workplace
If you’ve ever been to the Philippines, you might have noticed the common values of its people. Filipinos are generally known to be nice, hospitable, respectful, and hardworking. These are all great traits to have in any work environment and one that particularly makes Filipinos naturals in customer support.
To this day, there are countless of foreign companies who have been outsourcing in the Philippines. This is concrete evidence that the staff is of high caliber. You can work with outsourcing providers who specialize in building smaller teams if you’re an SME. That also includes finding one who focuses heavily on client collaboration to increase your success rate.
To get more information if outsourcing to the Philippines is right for your business, consult with us today.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in April 2016. It has been updated to contain the most accurate and latest information.
Want insights and best practices in building a