How Does Culture Affect Your Offshoring Success?
The Philippines is a country with many assets, including the stunning natural beauty of its surroundings as well as lively cities. However, once you've spent an extended period of time in the Philippines, you'll quickly see its greatest asset: its people.
offshoring solutions We're happy to give you an information on the Filipino culture, their distinctive values, and the reasons they are great team members. If you're in search of exceptional customer service, warmth, helpfulness and much more... you'll find your dream team here.
What are the most distinctive cultural characteristics of Filipinos?
The Philippines is an advanced country, with the majority of Filipinos fluent in English. 1 in 3 Filipinos are educated at university. The culture is comparable to ours and it is simple to move offshore.
At first glance, Filipinos have a very similar culture to most Australians as well as Americans:
Most Filipinos speak fluent English
They are extremely welcoming
They're committed and hard-working. to their commitments
They tend to be more satisfied with their work.
It is crucial to be aware of the cultural differences and the similarities to ensure that your offshore business to be a success.
We're pleased to announce that you are fortunate to be in the right place. Because Filipinos are awestruck by their foreign employees.
English proficiency
English is the second official language in the country. This is why the majority of Filipinos speak fluent English. Everyone learns English at high school and is also the main language in every professional workplace, plus the government, the legal system and higher education.
In other words, speaking to an Filipino is like talking in English with other English native speaker, in that the conversation is natural and easy to communicate.
And because the Philippines has a history of American influences, they have an accent of Filipino English that's easy to mistake for the American accent.
In addition to American influences in the Philippines is geographically near to Australia and New Zealand, so Filipinos are quite accustomed to interacting with English accents of all varieties. This means that everyone can understand the other's accent, which definitely helps a lot.
Hospitality, customer service culture
Filipinos are known to be friendly and warm. They also are optimistic about life. So much so that hospitality is a part of their national identity.
They are open to visitors from all over the world This is a plus given that the Philippines is a popular tourist and business destinations for Americans, Canadians, Australians, and others.
It's not surprising that the Philippines is so popular for outsourcing companies. The ideal culture of customer service has been created over the course of many years by Filipinos.
It's easy to see that Filipinos are very respectful of each other. Managers and customers are frequently addressed as "Sir" and "Ma'am" by employees of customer service to show respect. They are naturally compassionate and are able to connect with customers' needs and situations, which is why they are well-suited for call center and customer service jobs.
To show respect, younger Filipinos will as a sign of respect, younger Filipinos will add "Po" at the end of a sentence to older Filipinos. For example, people may use the phrase "Salamat Po" which is "Thank you with respect." A similar word that you'll be hearing is "Opo" that means "Yes, in respect." It's a charming characteristic that shows how many Filipinos respect their elders.
In family situations, you will observe young and old bless their parents by reaching to the elder's hand and placing it on their forehead. To the children, this is a gesture of respect and an essential aspect of greeting their elders.
Additionally they are fluent in informal English and are conversant in English so that they can make use of the appropriate language for the particular situation. If the customer is getting angry over something... there's no issue: they instantly switch to an official and respectful tone to diffuse the issue. It's easy and natural.
Work-hard
Filipinos possess a distinct characteristic that you will love: they are hard-working. They have a strong commitment to work, and are extremely efficient at working.
Experienced offshore staff is an excellent problem solver in the sense that they are able to anticipate what you'll need even before you ask for it.
Filipino workers are also willing to receive feedback. They strive to do a better job for their boss and are open to constructive feedback and positive reinforcement.
The bonds between families are strong
Filipinos tend to have families that are close, with often three generations sharing the same house. It is typical that the younger adults are employed full-time in the city while the older ones work part time and tend to the grandchildren.
It's all about family supporting one another.
These young, English-speaking, university-educated workers earn a generous living wage working in city jobs for foreign firms. This is why they can help their families through contributing to their household's income - typically, they send as much as 60% back home.
For you, these bonds with family create loyal and committed employees. Employees want to stay in a job that is rewarding and pays well, so they are keen to continue the role to their families. The same way, their entire family works hard to support and sustain that employment.
Teams bond with their coworkers
The culture of strong family ties carries over into the workplace, with many Filipinos treating their colleagues just like extended family members. In fact, it's common to find colleagues talking to each other with familiar names and terms of endearment, because they're just as close as family.
If you get to know your team well, don't be amazed when you are treated like a family member.
Use the time difference to work
In offshore businesses, a lot of Filipinos expect to work a rotating roster including some odd hours, and for those who work for them, it's just a part of the task. A good offshore company will arrange for your team so that they work the hours that provide the greatest value.
If your offshore team is available to work in your local business hours,
If you're located on the eastern coast of Australia the 9am-5 pm is Manila's 7 am-3 pm.
New York's 9am-5pm time is Manila's 9pm-5am.
San Francisco's 9am-5pm time zone is Manila's 12am-8am.
And if you're located in London 9am-5pm is Manila's 4pm-12am
However there are many ways to use the time differences to your advantage. A American company might employ an Filipino team to help in customer service during normal business hours. This allows for a 24 hour service for less than the expense of hiring night staff in America. A manager from Australia can provide a list of duties to the Filipino team, and then go to home by 5pm. They will receive the tasks completed in their inbox within the next day.
Whatever solution you need the friendly and flexible Filipino staff can help you achieve it.
Another advantage of a close-knit family life is that a lot of Filipinos can work flexible hours off-shore in customer service positions. The grandparents are able to stay in their homes with their kids and it's possible for employees of other countries to work flexible hours in customer service jobs that are offshore.
How do you deal with cultural differences in a practical manner
If you are aware of what to expect of Filipino workplace style, here are a few suggestions for achieving the best business outcomes from these characteristics.
Visit your Philippines team
If you have the chance to visit your offshore team's workplace, you'll get to feel the warm and welcoming culture of the Filipino people. It will be a surprise how much you discover about your team's culture and work environment when you are immersed in it.
To get the most out of your experience, work from their office for a couple of days or a week, at least once a year. In the short time, you'll establish solid relationships with your colleagues. You'll solve any niggling little problems and come away with brilliant ideas for how to ensure that your offshore operations are running as smoothly as clockwork.
Do not forget to think about work. Sharing meals are a great way to get to know your team better and connect with them as individuals. Bring your team members to lunch so that they can share their favourite national food items. By the end of lunch you'll all be laughing together as old acquaintances.
If you're truly fortunate? One of your team members might invite you home to meet their family and experience a traditional home-cooked meal. It's a gesture of respect and Filipino hospitality. So, be open to the invitation to visit their family.
You'll experience a new level of energy after your trip to the Philippines. It's that personal connection that you reach in just a few days of being in the same place. It is priceless.
Choose an "onshore" champion
Your 'onshore champion,' one of your local employees, will be responsible for managing and communicating with offshore employees. They'll be the bridge in your business, allowing the offshore team to access the information in your company.
The person who that the Filipino team can go to for assistance or advice is the offshore champion. It is possible to make this process easier by creating a chat service like Slack or Skype to catch up with your team members for any queries.
Place a Philippine home office representative
As an interim or permanent position or permanent, you can designate an employee at your office from home to supervise your offshore team. They bring their expertise and experience of the company's main activities to the table, and serve as a bridge between the offshore and home office teams.
Managers and their families are able to effortlessly move to the Philippines with the help of good offshore providers. Outsourced service providers can assist in finding the right housing as well as schools and providing local information on the best coffee spots. Everything you need to feel at ease.
Choose an overseas "local champion"
Instead of sending an onshore manager to Manila to oversee the team, you could appoint a permanent Filipino offshore 'local champion'.
The local champion will help you talk to the employee about sensitive issues if they occur. Two ways that your local champion can assist are:
Your local champion can speak to your employee in Tagalog, their first language. Although most Filipinos are able to communicate in English well in the Philippines, it is best to talk about complex topics in your native language. A Filipino employee may say that English as "taking up more of their brain" or as being more exhausting. Filipino workers are more comfortable speaking to managers at the local level in their native languages when they have an emotional or sensitive workplace performance concern.
The local representative can help you determine whether the problem is related to work performance or cultural misunderstanding. If the issue is a an issue with the culture, your representative can assist you and your employees to understand one another more effectively.
Be sure to visit frequently
However, even with offshore and onshore champions, it isn't an easy task. Offshoring is an essential part of your business and must be managed in the same manner as an onshore department.
Check-in regularly for the first three to six months whenever possible, to show that you appreciate them as an integral part of your company. As the offshore team becomes more competent and more aware of their duties, you may be able to reduce your visits. But, you shouldn't stop checking in on the team.
For offshore teams that succeed, cultural differences can be difficult to manage. There are many amazing characteristics that the Filipino people possess that they can easily overcome any challenges.
Think of your offshore team as as a important part of your business. Make the effort to learn about their culture and visit them often. Soon, you'll be able to build a strong offshore team.
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