The role of virtual assistants (VA’s) has evolved to become an integral part of many Australian businesses, across a variety of industries. The Philippines, widely recognized as the global hub, and premier destination for business process outsourcing (BPO), has become the go-to destination for Australian’s looking to hire a skilled, qualified and experienced VA.
Proficiency in English: The Philippines boasts a population that is largely bilingual (with English as their official second language). With over 90 million English speakers in a country of 103.3 million people, the Philippines ranks high in English proficiency globally. This linguistic dexterity places the Philippines in the enviable position of being the second most proficient English-speaking country in Asia and 18th in the world. These language abilities empower Filipino VAs to engage in nuanced business discussions, comprehend instructions with precision, and competently manage intricate tasks without the need for micro-management or continuous oversight
Building Trust and Relationships: Filipino VA’s excel in building meaningful connections with their clients, juggling multiple tasks and ensuring that client expectations are consistently met. They innately understand the balance between retaining respect for authority, a prominent trait in Filipino culture, and fostering balanced relationships with clients and counterparts from diverse cultural backgrounds
Affordability without Compromising Quality: While cost-efficiency is an undeniable advantage, it's crucial to dismiss the misconception that cheaper somehow means inferior quality. The salaries of virtual assistant services can fluctuate depending on several factors (no different to onshore hiring), including educational background and experience. Filipinos are setting the standard for VA's globally, and the growth of this vertical amongst the many other functions performed remotely from the Philippines is a testament to the quality of candidates available to Australian businesses
Varied Skills: The talent pool of VA's in the Philippines is rich and diverse, long gone are the days of utilising VA's purely for administrative and back-office tasks only. VA's are now available in all 'shapes and sizes', and most will be experienced within a particular niche (think digital marketing, sales support etc). There are also many VA 'all-rounders' with experience across a variety of functions, making them ideal for small or medium business, whereby their function might be less specific
The process of hiring a Filipino virtual assistant will vary depending on the BPO you choose to engage with. Our process here at Platinum Outsourcing is outlined below!
Recruitment: We bespoke recruit for all open positions; we do not attempt to fit a round peg into a square hole. We understand that our clients requirements and expectations differ, and equally so does the experience of candidates. Generally we will ask our client partners to provide us a brief in the form of a Job or Position Description, which we will use to assist us in finding the right candidates for prescreening
Prescreening: Our team conducts initial prescreening interviews with candidates, preparing a shortlist for you to then review then decide upon which you choose to progress to a formal interview
Interviews: We arrange the interviews with shortlisted candidates, and assist you in preparing any interview questions (as well as chairing the interviews). Some of our clients trust us to find them the right candidates, and are not involved in the recruitment process, others want to be intimately involved. The choice to what degree you wish to be involved is entirely yours!
Applicant Testing: We leverage technology to assess candidates suitability, our preferred testing platform is Canditech. We offer this add-on benefit at no cost to our client and see it as a way of giving you peace of mind that we are delivering you the 'best in market' talent
Pre-employment Checks: As standard, we conduct two professional reference checks, and pre employment medicals for all new hires. Some clients like us to conduct additional pre-employment checks, such as criminal history checks etc. We are happy to assist with any type of pre-employment check you and your team require upon request
Provisional Offer of Employment: Once you have selected your preferred candidate, and they have successfully fulfilled both the applicant testing and pre-employment check components, we then make the candidate a provisional offer of employment in writing. Once they accept the provisional offer, we then provide you a copy of our, Platinum Outsourcing service agreement for you to review and sign, before we make a formal offer of employment
Formal Offer of Employment: We provide the candidate a contract of employment, which includes details of the role they will perform in your business, in the form of a detailed position description. Our employment contract also includes our internal KPI's, and a reference to 'client KPI's' which you will set for your new remote team member
Onboarding: Our onboarding period is loosely defined as the 30 days prior to your new remote team member starting work, and the proceeding 30 days subsequent to their first day of employment. You will be provided with an onboarding pack with some 'tips & tricks' on managing remote employees, specifically geared to those located in the Philippines. Additionally, we provide you with the details of how employees are managed through the probationary period of employment (6 months), and detail how we will support you on ensuring you get the most from your new Filipino, Virtual Assistant
Cost Savings: partnering with Platinum Outsourcing can lead to substantial cost savings, often up to 70% vs onshore hiring
Managerial Oversight: BPO firms maintain a strong focus on the oversight of their employees. Platinum Outsourcing has an experienced operations leadership team, who support our clients in developing and performance managing their remote teams. We also leverage technology through the deployment of a wide variety of productivity monitoring tools
Onboarding Support: Platinum Outsourcing can assist in the onboarding process, taking some of the burden off of your onshore team, and reducing the time required to effectively onboard your new virtual assistant
If you are interested in learning more about how a virtual assistant can save you time and money, and add value to your business, then get in touch with us here on our website via the Contact or Get Pricing buttons - we reply within two hours.
