Nowadays, many companies are hiring talents from other countries. I am not talking about work from home, where maybe you go down to office once a week. I am talking about those hires, never you never ever physically see them (not even once) for many years. I don’t think this information is widely known. These guys have salaries above SGD10,000/month, so this is meaningful intelligent work.
Some jobs require a physical presence such as a camera person. But even doctors can now be consulted online. I thought a diagnosis would usually require a physical doctor to be present and to use a tool like the stethoscope to listen to our body parts. I believe the new technology allows for a diagnosis (maybe even more accurate than before) without the presence of a doctor. and if a doctor can execute a diagnosis without being present, chances are so can everyone else. even lawyers are going online. we are no exception.
Our Philippines team today are capable of drawing up the content plan and direction for our clients, write scripts that will make videos go viral, edit and post videos and manage most of the operations online except for filming where local manpower is required. (which is considered very good)
I have been working fully online since 2013. Our staff are from the Philippines, and they have stayed with us since 2013. I have had the opportunity to work with local Singaporean employees, as well as online workers from UK, Russia, Ukraine etc.
My friends are always surprised at what our online team can do. They are able to research on what they were asked to do, even though they may not know how before hand. and they usually do the work within a short time, and deliver on the tasks. They can even draw up plans, come up with creative new scripts etc.
Hiring online can give a company many benefits. The biggest is access to talented labor. We mainly hire from the Philippines so i’ll use that as an example. Typically, those who want to earn more, will travel from the rural areas to the city areas to get a higher paying job. Those who choose to stay in the rural areas, have limited opportunities. Hiring online allows us to access this group of talents choosing to live in the rural area.
This competitive advantage is sustainable. They are aware of the better opportunities in the city area. By choosing to stay in a rural area, they are already indicating that they are willing to earn less, in order to be at home. They value time with their family, and they will not take up a competing better city job. Of course another company can try to poach them by hiring online too, but such poaching channels are not yet developed. Filipinos have a strong sense of loyalty. If you have been treating them exceptionally well, they will usually reciprocate.
Here is the issue on working with Singapore employees – we are very lucky to be citizens of singapore. If we were not, the actual amount we will earn, is maybe 30-40% of the amount Singaporeans are receiving in their jobs. The government has put in place certain privileges to make the income and lives of Singaporeans better. more desirable jobs like office work are reserved for Singaporeans first, while the jobs less desired by Singaporeans are given to the foreigners (that said, Singaporeans still have first right to refuse on all jobs). We are well pampered and have developed an entitlement mentality. we expect to be taught what to do, to be given fair consideration for compensation, and many more expectations on our employers and governments.
These same expectations are not there in many other countries, such as the Philippines. An online job is very much sought after , versus a physical job where they have to travel to the office and back everyday. They feel that this gives them more time with their family, and also they save on the meals since home cooked food is cheaper. the online jobs usually also pay better, and sometimes give better prospects. They treasure the job, they work hard to serve the company, and they are very open minded to learn and acquire new skills to contribute more to the company. Does Singaporeans feel as grateful? (I’m like that too)
we are there for them when it counts. one recent example was the disaster Super Typhoon Rai. According to our staff, this was the worst disaster in the last 10+ years, worse than covid. and in return, they are there for us when we need them, even if some things dont quite make sense to them, they trust us, and rightfully so.
While we dont have to meet, we love to see each other. During the better years, we organized for a annual retreat in Cebu, for us to see each other, have fun, and strengthen our relationships and trust.
Hiring online can also help to cut costs by about 70-80%. Many MNC companies are doing this, however they usually do not value these hires and do not provide career advancement opportunities.
Hiring online also allows the company to be less susceptible to industry specific or market specific changes. we are drawing from a different crowd.
we are also not regulated under any manpower laws of any country. This gives us more space to wiggle around.
Systems created while hiring online are global in nature. The same system can be used throughout the entire philippines, as well as other countries. The physical hiring route usually has a geographic limitation. Employees are only willing to travel maybe 1-2 hours away from the work place.
The company is agile and you can scale up and down quickly (we try not to as it really messes with morale and we don’t want guys to lose their jobs)
other opportunities – I’m looking at Africa. costs are half of the philippines, and i see many talents from africa showing up online such as mark angel comedy.