Top Three Benefits of Outsourcing To The Philippines

Philippines outsourcing has become commonplace for many businesses that realize the many benefits of an offshore workforce. In turn, outsourcing has become a growing, thriving industry in the Philippines, and in 2009, the UK’s National Outsourcing Association gave the country the honor of being named the “Best Offshoring Destination of the Year.” The Philippines has just about cornered the market on high-quality workers who labor diligently and expertly at a fraction of the wages of their American counterparts.

The beautiful islands of the Philippines are located off the southwest coast of the Asian mainland. Nestled between Taiwan and Borneo, the Philippines comprises one of the largest groups of islands in the world with a total of 7,107 distinct islands and islets. Positioned at the crossroads of international travel routes, the country is situated in an optimum location for business travel needs.

1) Excellent cost savings
The bottom line on why so many businesses are outsourcing work to the Philippines is, in fact, the “bottom line.” There is an astounding cost savings companies realize when they hire a labor force that functions at a much lower operating rate and salary than many other areas of the world. Savings are so significant, even small businesses are investigating outsourcing work to the Philippines—something larger businesses have been doing for years.

Although, in the past, the majority of outsourcing was confined to voice-based services, today the intelligent, hardworking and educated Philippine people have become a huge pool of talent with a variety of skills and expertise that go beyond call-center work or customer service representation. It’s important to note that Australia, United Kingdom and United States wages are five times higher than what a Philippine worker receives for the identical work. Since living in the Philippines is so much cheaper than in the aforementioned countries, the Philippine worker is able to work for lower wages and still live very comfortably.

2) Excellent English skills
The Philippine culture prizes education, hard work, friendliness and excellence in every form. Learning to speak English is important to the people and the country in general. A Philippine child’s education includes learning English at an early age. Therefore, approximately three quarters of the Philippine population speaks fluent English. Although not the average Philippine’s native tongue, English is widely used and valued as a second language that brings prosperity to the islanders. The ability to speak English well is important when one outsources voice work off shore.

Today’s clients and customers demand fluent, English-speaking representatives on the other end of the phone. Clients and customers can often be turned off to the idea, product or help being offered by the outsourced worker without fluent English language skills. The Philippine worker also understands American and western culture. This connection between the worker and the client or customer bridges the cultural gap that has made outsourcing to some other countries less productive due to language, conceptual and cultural misunderstandings.

3) Excellent educational background
The Philippine people and the country in general value education, and because of their commitment to learning, almost 95 percent of the country is literate, which is an amazing statistic! The English language is taught in all the schools, and because of the focus on mastering English, the Philippines has become the third largest English-speaking country in the world behind the United States and United Kingdom.

Add in the fact that the Philippine universities graduate approximately 500,000 students each year, it’s obvious that the workforce is highly educated and motivated. Degrees earned vary from IT specialties like computer programming and website building to marketing, communications and business administration. When you hire a smart, skilled, educated work force, you can spend less time troubleshooting errors and problems and more time finding clients and growing your business.

Since you can hire an educated, well-spoken, English speaking person to perform the needed work with enthusiasm, diligence and integrity, it’s pretty easy to understand why the Philippines is taking a lion share of the work outsourced by businesses. Any business that must stay within a stringent budget yet wants to employ the best, most talented and skilled workers possible is tapping into the unlimited resources found in the Philippine workforce.