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Below are some articles about Virtual Assistant that might interest you.
Why hire a Virtual Assistant from the Philippines?
As a Top Outsourcing Country in the Asia Pacific
The Philippines continues to be on top of the ranks in terms of Outsourcing. The country is famous for providing exceptional services, both on voice and non-voice support services.
From multi-billion companies to small scale businesses, Filipino workers are always the top picks. It is not hard to see why they have proven over the years how beneficial they are to every company’s workforce.
Communication Skills
For most Filipinos, English is the next language they can fluently speak after their dialect.
It is widely used, in fact, when a native English speaker travels the country, communicating even to street vendors won’t be difficult at all! This is because our exposure to the English language starts even before we can utter our first words as babies. From TV shows to music to books – we already have a basic understanding of the language even before we started to officially learn it in school.
More so, Filipinos are known to have a neutral English accent. This means, conversing with native English customers/clients will be a breeze since we are easy to understand.
Traits & Characteristics
It is said that Filipinos are like chameleons. Wherever you take them, they will adjust quickly to their environment.
Despite the Philippines being regarded as a third world country, most people still consider working hard as their ticket to success. It is how they learn to be resourceful and passionate. Getting the respect and trust of everyone, most especially their employers, is as important to them as their diligence.
And with all of these, they learned how to appreciate with a cheerful heart.
Cost-effective
More and more clients around the world are considering getting their workforce sourced from the pool of talents here in the Philippines because of the very affordable per hour rates.
How to Manage a New Virtual
Assistant?
1. Onboarding Process Checklist
a. Introduce the new VA to the rest of the team
Welcoming them and letting their presence known to everyone promotes a good working culture.
b. Set up all the tools needed for their tasks
Prepare their log in details, passwords, and permissions. Also, assist them with the whole process in setting up to start working.
c. Orientation about your business
It would be best to give the VA an orientation about the company. Share a brief history, the key persons in your organization, and who they will be reporting to. Your VA will appreciate this information.
d. Steps and procedures of each tasks
Walk them through the tasks to avoid confusion and mistakes. It will be helpful to have a video recording of the steps or a written document so they can review it afterwards. This will help avoid unnecessary questions and confusion about their tasks.
e. Set expectations
Let your VA know your goals and expectations to align them with your standards.
2. Documentation of Processes & Standard Procedures
It is beneficial to have an existing guideline of all the processes and procedures of your business to make sure that it is implemented across all your departments. This will also come in handy as it will save you time when onboarding a new Virtual Staff.
3. Lead your VA
No matter how experienced your VA may be, still, don’t expect them to know everything. They may be experts on their fields, but expect them not to think like an entrepreneur. They still need someone to look after them as they grow in their careers.
4. Regular Touch Base
Whether it be weekly or monthly, connect with your VA on a regular basis. This is a good opportunity to review goals, keep track of a project’s progress or just simply interact with them to know how they’re doing. This is something they won’t ask you to do but will definitely be grateful for.
The growth in outsourcing: Who stands to gain?
The Philippines has become a great source of manpower all over the world. Wherever you are in the globe, you are sure to find at least one Filipino in the neighborhood. The most common reason? – To earn more than what their jobs here in the Philippines can give them. Thus, the quest to find every available opportunity became insatiable; with most of their numbers stay abroad for far too long as if never planning to ever go back home.
In the early 2000s, the rise of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry offered alternatives to Filipinos. With competitive salary packages, commission and even a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) benefit. Who wouldn’t be attracted to that? This was also the time when Millennials started working, thus, many have used it as a stepping-stone while looking for a more suitable job. As the years have gone by, the competitive salary that these companies offer turned to be no longer appealing and some Filipinos are again left to think about opportunities abroad.
Finally, in the late 2000s, the ESL industry boomed and once again, it gave Filipinos new opportunities. Then until now, the ESL industry continues to prosper, giving more and more Filipinos a chance to employment no matter how old they are.
Keeping up with the pace is the Work from home opportunities. This has become an option especially for women who need to stay home to take care of their children. The concept of convenience and flexibility has attracted Filipinos so much that they are willing to give up the stability of their corporate careers and venture into freelancing – VIRTUAL ASSISTANT SERVICES.
Yet, with too many opportunities and options for Filipinos nowadays, it is still a question on whether who benefits the most in these situations. A trend in the mentioned industries is clear: the offers decline as they balloon. Suddenly, the win-win situation becomes biased at the expense of the workers.
As it is, one can only be careful when selecting jobs to take as this may have a domino effect. Sadly, few entrepreneurs are taking advantage of the rookies, offering as little as $1 per hour thus, doing research and belonging to a community with similar interests will help one to assess an offer.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raquel Llamas is a former Educator with over 10 years of experience. She is now a Freelance Writer creating content for blogs, websites, and etc.
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