How to Get the Best AU to Cebu Flights
How to Get the Best AU to Cebu Flights In the next few months, VA Platinum will celebrate…
4 Life Lessons From My Filipino Virtual Assistant
The benefits of getting virtual assistants are life-changing. Not only for your business, but you also get a fresh and different life perspective by getting to know and understand your offshore staff.
Although you are thousands of kilometres away, expect the best from your virtual assistants and you’ll appreciate the best staff you’ve ever had.
My experience with Filipino staff helped shape the way I approach life in general.
Here are the 5 special lessons I learned from my first 10 virtual assistants in the Philippines:
There’s no difference in the quality of staff in Australia and in the Philippines
Here’s a myth buster – You can get amazing, dynamic, versatile kind, generous and curious staff in the Philippines as you would in Australia.
Some people automatically think that you should have low expectations when hiring offshore staff. They couldn’t be more wrong.
The reality is you’ll find amazing staff anywhere. You’ll also find underperforming staff anywhere.
There is no such thing as a cultural minefield of good talents, and that it is simply concentrated in one place.
However, simply basing it on experience, I can proudly say that most of the staff in the Philippines are equal or even better than the staff in Australia!
Speaking to VA Platinum clients, they have confirmed on multiple occasion that the staff we provide them are 75% better than the Australian staff they have ever hired in the course of their careers.
They might not begin with a big solid performance, but they’re not the type of bad that you’ll get rid of right away.
This is because, even if the staff start on the wrong foot, their willingness to learn and get better make up for their mistakes.
Filipinos are known for being hard workers – I am very lucky to experience the benefits of this first hand.
There’s a security bond that’s worth 1-2 months’ rent for the maximum capacity of the room. Our new office has a seating capacity of 65, therefore our current security bond at 2 months rent would be AUD$27,950.
Family comes first.
Many Filipinos support their family, parents included.
In fact, many are the main breadwinners of their family, supporting their siblings through school and helping their parents in their retirement.
This is an important value to Filipinos, so don’t downplay it. Understand it, and appreciate that you have a staff member that is looking out for their whole family.
I get choked up about this because it’s a special kind of person who does this.
Filipinos also enjoy celebrating important annual holidays to celebrate their ancestors and religions.
As such, it is also considerate for any employer to provide an employee with the right holiday premium in case they are required to be at work during these special dates.
Making friends is easy.
Filipinos value their strong personal connections to the people around them.
As an Aussie, I find it very amusing how they make conversations easy.
We’re not used to seeing people being so warm and friendly so we get surprised when we meet people in Cebu.
Just try visiting the country once and you’ll ultimately feel the warmth from the people who are there to welcome you.
Social connections are important to them. It is one of the most important traits Australian business owners fail to acknowledge with their Filipino virtual assistant.
Being friendly and sincere. You will be amazed at how you can connect with them instantly.
Socialising with people you work with is crazy fun!
Honestly, the fun I’ve experienced from Filipinos is incredible.
A lot of the clients who came to visit their staff in Cebu would tell you the same thing!
Filipinos socialise with their peers enthusiastically and it makes the office atmosphere energetic and cheerful.
They’re a fun and quirky bunch. You can see their happiness glow even through the computer screen.
What is more amazing is how contagious it is. The positivity and liveliness are evident in everything they do, and it rubs off on you.
It lifts you up. It is the type of energy you’d want to feel when working with staff.
These are just 4 important life lessons and I know for sure that there are more to this list.
How about you? What life lessons have you learned from your amazing staff?
Let me know in the comments section!
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