Proven Hiring Tips in the Philippines: Guide To Finding Your Next Filipino Hire

Proven Hiring Tips in the Philippines: With the pandemic seemingly coming to an end and some businesses requiring companies to return to the office (RTO), we’ve seen a trend of professionals resigning from their job because they are no longer willing to return to an office setup after experiencing the perks of working from home. In the US, they are calling it the Great Resignation. This then caused a challenge for companies to fill roles as professionals started demanding more flexibility which was uncommon pre-pandemic.

The Philippines, which had always been a go-to-market for outsourcing, is seeing a growing number of work-from-home professionals and the number of businesses looking at the country to fill their hiring needs is also increasing.

CrewBloom is a remote staffing company that connects global professionals to companies looking to hire remote workers. The first market that they have tapped is the Philippines, and below are hiring tips in the Philippines that can help you find the hires you need for your business.

Table of Contents

Determine The Hires You Need

Before posting any job opening, you need to determine whether you are looking to hire employees or independent contractors. You also have to identify if you are going office-based or remotely. Depending on your decision, this will be your guide in finding the best channels for your recruitment activities in the Philippines.

Find Your Applicant Source

Every type of role you are looking to fill has unique sourcing strategies. Below are typical sourcing channels you can utilize to start finding your Filipino hire.

1. Social Recruitment

Social media, especially Facebook and Tiktok, is not only used for social engagements but job prospecting as well. Filipinos are extremely active on all social media platforms so a business with an active presence in social media pays off in spades. This not only helps you build credibility in the market but also helps you 2x-5x your number of applicants.

2. Use Job Boards

Job boards are used by organizations and recruiters to post open positions and search resume databases. The most common job boards in the Philippines are JobStreet, Indeed, Google Jobs, Kalibrr, PinoyJobs, BossJob, CareerJet, and OnlineJobs.PH. Job boards give your company the brand exposure that it needs, this for many can be seen as a win-win situation, you get the talent you want with that build brand visibility.

3. Run a Referral Program

Referrals from professionals you have worked with are a great way to find hires. As old-fashioned as it may be ‘’word of mouth’’ works wonders. Both internal and external referral programs bring in talent that knows a lot about your business and is excited to work with you or for you, given that this talent may not be the best talent you want. Add a little reward for quality referrals, and you’d be surprised at the quality and volume of referrals you’ll get!

4. Speak On Webinars

Being a resource speaker really helps attract the good quality audience you need for your business. Connecting with groups who are helping people find jobs, and pitching yourself as a speaker for relevant topics (e.g. hiring tips in the Philippines, do’s and don’ts when applying, etc) is going to help you find applicants you need for your business.

Vetting Your Applicants

After finding your applicant source, the next step is to properly evaluate your applicants. Aside from looking at their relevant work experience, vetting their soft skills and their readiness to work remotely or work at an office is critical. Decide if this is a full-time remote role, full-time office-based, or hybrid, and then work on your screening process. Below is our common interview structure you can follow.

1. Conduct a 1-1 or panel interview

Inviting the applicant to either a 1-1 interview or panel interview is extremely helpful in identifying whether you wish to work with an applicant or not. Ask questions not just about their relevant work history, but also about their motivations.

2. Give an Assessment

You can never go wrong by asking your applicants to go through an assessment process. Give them sample tasks that they will be doing if they are hired for the job, keeping in mind to also monitor responsiveness and how conscious they are of deadlines.

3. Do a Tech Check

Because our company is looking for remote workers, an extra step we need to take is ensuring that our hires have all the necessary systems in place to support remote work. This includes a laptop, a backup, and a stable internet connection.

Other Relevant Hiring Tips in the Philippines

Aside from the ones mentioned above, here are other hiring tips in the Philippines that you have to consider.

1. Write a clear job description

You will not be able to get the quality of hires you need if you get your job description all wrong. Make the job responsibilities and goals extremely clear, and ensure that the tasks are reasonable (e.g do not add responsibilities that need to be done by 2-3 people).

2. Determine the salary (and perks if any)

Whether you are hiring an employee or an independent contractor, clearly outlining the salary and perks associated with the job is essential. If you wish to attract quality applicants, our suggestion is to increase your salary offering by 10-20% more than the average offer, and put in some perks to get them engaged.

3. Set up a clear remote work policy

The remote work policy outlines guidelines for your workforce who work from a location away from your headquarters. It seeks to ensure that both employees and contractors and the company will benefit from these arrangements. Remote work policies can be drafted as the business sees fit, this also needs to be in a way that benefits the business. Some companies have found that outsourcing their Human Resources process is much better as this saves time on their side.

4. Partner With A Staffing Agency

The above-mentioned hiring tips in the Philippines are certainly effective if done right by any business owner. However, if you are running a business and you do not have the time to post job openings and conduct interviews, a great option is to partner with a staffing/outsourcing company like CrewBloom that will take care of your hiring administrative process.

Staffing companies conduct an end-to-end recruitment cycle, up to managing the HR and Payroll needs of your hires. When finding a staffing partner, all you have to determine is if they are experts in the role you are looking to fill (e.g. are you looking for a technical hire or a sales hire), if your budget is suitable enough to accommodate having a staffing partner.

Conclusion On Filipino Hiring

There are so many effective ways in order to attract and hire your next Filipino hire. The only step you have to take is to ensure you have a clear idea of the hire you want for your business, what that hire would be (e.g. full-time vs. part-time vs. project-based, remote vs. in-office, employee vs. contractors), and if you will be doing a direct-hire or go with an agency. At the end of the day, you should go with the plan that best suits your business needs and requirements. If you need more hiring tips or have any hiring tips to share, don’t hesitate to let us know!