Why Australian Businesses Are Outsourcing to the Philippines
Businesses of all shapes and sizes are bound to grow further as they hit their goals. When they have to scale, one of the practical solutions that can help them while maintaining core operations and cash flow is outsourcing. Aside from allowing businesses to focus on their core competencies, outsourcing is a great option to cut labour costs and hire quality talents.
The Philippines is one of the top countries that offers outsourcing services. While companies in the United States remain the biggest users of outsourcing in the Philippines, the demand from other countries like Australia and New Zealand continues to rise. Statistics show that the Philippines’ part of the global outsourcing market is estimated to reach roughly $250 billion come 2022.
More Australian organisations that are expanding their businesses are expected to try outsourcing to the Philippines. Below are some of the reasons why companies in Australia and New Zealand are partnering with Philippine outsourcing teams.
Business cost savings
Lower labour and overhead costs are the main benefits of outsourcing in the Philippines. Hiring a company that already specialises in business functions that you choose to designate to them, such as customer service or IT operations, saves you a considerable fraction compared to paying in-house employees or workers from other English-speaking countries.
The average monthly salary of outsourced workers in the Philippines is significantly less than in-house employees. Typically, salaries of offshore resources in the Philippines are 20% – 30% of those in Australia, Europe, and the United States. This represents a savings of around 70% – 80% in direct salary costs for a comparable skillset.
➜ Related blog: Challenges of an Offshore Team and How to Overcome Them
Tap into excellent Filipino Talents
Outsourcing in the Philippines is not only limited to customer support. Companies can outsource various disciplines from the country, including accounting and finance, marketing, sales, human resources, content development, software and IT development, graphic design, purchasing and logistics, and more.
Not only are Filipinos skilled at what they do, but they are also innately resourceful and adaptable. Filipinos can adjust to cross-cultural demands and changing shifts to work productively in various time zones. The Filipino workers’ positive and polite attitude and their regard for professionalism are what drive Philippine outsourcing teams to success.
Great command of the English language
The Philippines ranks 27th among 100 countries or regions for English Proficiency. For companies outsourcing their specific functions to third-party services, it’s crucial that they work with employees with an exceptional command of the English language. Intercultural communication skills are one of the reasons why Western clients prefer Filipino workers when outsourcing.
Training Filipinos to speak in, listen, and better comprehend US English, UK English, or Australian English is easier since Filipinos have been exposed to and are heavily influenced by Western culture and language. Moreover, Filipinos use a neutral accent when communicating in English, which allows for a clear and easy flow of conversation, especially for customer support functions.
High literacy rate
The Philippine population boasts a 98.20% literacy rate, which is higher than India’s 74.40%. Because of this, many Australian companies can find Filipino workers easier to train, communicate, and work with.
Many Filipinos are motivated to finish their education to land a decent job, which implies that there is a constant flow of fresh graduates prepared to work in outsourcing firms to gain and improve their existing skills. In fact, there are 400k+ university graduates joining the workforce every year.
The government has policies to protect data privacy
One of the biggest concerns companies have with outsourcing is employees working far from the headquarters because this may be a risk to data security. However, outsourcing providers in the Philippines do an outstanding job of keeping their clients’ data secure.
In fact, the Philippine government’s Data Privacy Act 2012 is up to par with international standards. The law safeguards all forms of data and lays out criminal sanctions to any individual or company who violates the provision, with fines ranging from Php 100,000 to Php 5,000,000 (about AUD 2,700 to AUD 135,100).
Proven track record
The country started offering outsourcing services in 1992. By 2010, the Philippines was proclaimed the world’s business process outsourcing (BPO) capital. So naturally, the country became one of the most recognised BPO destinations for companies worldwide.
Fast forward to today, and the outsourcing industry is credited for providing jobs to many Filipinos. And since there is already an established culture of outsourcing in the workforce, Filipino workers are accustomed to best industry practices. This allows companies looking to outsource in the Philippines to get started quickly and effectively.
Scale Your Business Quickly
In this digital era, businesses don’t have to increase their in-house workforce before exploring more opportunities and setting bigger goals. Instead, you can scale up fast and focus on growth by outsourcing many different business functions.
Don’t stall your growth; it’s time to be competitive and generate more income. Filipinos are proven to be competent workers. You would want to work with people you can communicate with and who can efficiently accomplish tasks. The Philippines is an ideal place to start looking for your outsourcing partner.
