Secrets to Hiring eCommerce Virtual Assistants in the Philippines (Part 1)

As a new eCommerce site owner, you may just be starting to understand the implications of running your business as a solo-preneur with limited resources. Hiring locally is expensive but you recognize the need for outsourced help. Beside costs, there are many reasons the Philippines is a favored resource for hiring affordable help in the areas of web development, design, writing, customer service (Live Chat!) and marketing.

Sure, the idea is nice but the process can be a little tricky. Here is the first part of a 2-part guide on the most important things to consider when hiring your first Filipino virtual assistants.

1. Be Realistic or Get Help

The reality of hiring offshore help, in the Philippines and elsewhere, is the same as for any other country in the world. There are hard-working people and there are lazy duds. Scouting good, reliable help is a skill that takes time to hone.

Despite all the available platforms to find Filipino talent, including Elance, Odesk and Freelancer, most people fail big time at hiring…at least at first, so if you are new to this, expect a learning curve.

In the early days of one of our own eCommerce businesses, our success rate in hiring outsourced help was about 10%. Yep, this means that 9 out of 10 people we hired either vanished from the face of the earth, were dishonest, overpromised and underdelivered or disappointed us in some other way…resulting in early termination of agreements and a boat load of lost time. At first we blamed them, easy right? But our knowledge was limited and screening process was faulty. We eventually learned and created our own systems until we decided to move our entire business to the Philippines in 2011.

Alternatively, if you want to shorten your learning curve, and increase your chances of success in hiring virtual assistants, there are services available, such as Virtual Staff Finder (VSF) which pre-screens and short lists ideal Filipino VA candidates for you. The up-front cost pays for itself in time saved. Nothing beats a direct referral and VSF does the vetting of candidates for you based on your list of requirements.

2. Set the Expectations Early

Ideally, you have a solid understanding of what you need (written out) and you’ve been able to communicate that to your applicants in the interview process. Define your expectations on paper, and by this I mean have a contract or at least an agreement in place to outline clear expectations.

Things like work schedule, deliverables, pay rate, pay schedule, payment method, should all be discussed before hiring and signed off on. Be careful with miscellaneous tasks. You can add tasks as needed but make sure they fit in to the deliverables schedule otherwise this will be a pain point and will leave room for interpretation.

We have been unrealistic with our expectations at times, which scared VA’s away or forced an uncomfortable lie. Saying ”yes” to everything and not being able to deliver is not uncommon with VA’s. Define the work and make sure it’s understood. You can ask the VA to repeat or write out the details in their own words to see if they caught the main ideas and objectives.

These defined expectations can also be the basis for any corrective measures that will need to take place to optimize your working relationship. It also gives the VA an understanding of how their work performance will be measured.

3. Understand the Culture

Don’t be that guy! This is the Philippines and if you haven’t been here, then come and visit or have the sense to read up on the cultural differences. English is spoken at very high levels especially in the larger urban areas like Manila, Cebu and Davao….but this ain’t Chicago. Life is different and by different I mean hard, harder than life from your cozy home office.

Family culture, weather and holidays are among the biggest differences.

In some cases, very large families are supported by one or two workers in the family who have had the opportunity to get higher education. Landing a decent contract with an ecommerce site is a big deal, and has a bigger impact than you might think.

Typhoons, hurricanes and violent storms are common throughout rain season (July to November). They wipe out and close entire communities for days. In the West, this would be considered a state of emergency, here it is a way of life. Be conscious that the weather can have an effect on their ability to login and work.

Holidays are important to Filipinos. Understanding what and when they are is necessary. Ask your VA for a Filipino holiday calendar which can include national and local holidays to be aware of. Ask them to include birthdays as well. This is a good place for you to start http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_Philippines

By being aware and mindful of the cultural differences, you will be in a better position to build trust with your VA.

Stay tuned for Part 2….

Do you have experience with outsourcing to the Philippines?

Share your experiences or comments.

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