When you outsource work to the Philippines for the first time you need to address a number of new challenges. Unless you obtain sound advice on how to address these, you are going to make the typical mistakes that hold back an offshore team from doing their best work. After helping clients build over fifty offshore teams here is a list of the most common mistakes.

1. Not paying enough. The world is experiencing a global talent shortage. Whilst the Philippines has an abundance of talent available, it’s still a highly competitive job market. You are sadly mistaken if you think you can build and sustain a team by paying below or even market pay rates. You must flex your financial muscle and pay marginally above the market rate. Thus, when your remote employee shops themselves around in the marketplace, you will not lose them. Remember that you can lose a Filipino employee to an employer paying as little as an extra 5,000 PHP or $139 AUD per month. You can take your employee off the market for at least 12 to 24 months by paying slightly above market rates. This makes even more sense if you invest considerable time working your new remote employee(s) into your business. It’s an investment that you want an excellent return on.
2. Not understanding the local talent market. There is abundant talent available, but the talent market makeup differs from Australia. For instance, in the Philippines, there is a huge supply of Contact Centre Agents, Accountants and Nurses. It would be best to match your job brief with the talent readily available in the local talent market.
3. Expect your candidates to complete an assessment of skills, which is too long to complete. When you build your recruitment strategy for your remote team, this could include candidates completing an online evaluation, for example, a typing test or technical test, particularly for technical roles. You need to ensure the additional tests take only 30 to 45 minutes; otherwise, you will alienate candidates from the position. In a super competitive job market, you need to limit the number of interviews and assessments in your hiring process; otherwise, you won’t have a competitive hiring process and will lose good candidates.
4. Not communicating properly when tasking your remote team. When tasking your remote team, you must confirm your team’s understanding of the work to be undertaken. You can do this by having your remote team confirm their understanding of the task in their own words. If there is a gap in their understanding, you can close it accordingly. You also need to set expectations of a timeframe to complete the said task. And you need to confirm when you expect an update on the said task.