John Jonas explains why Filipino virtual assistants are reliable long-term hires. The combination of English fluency, strong work ethic, respect for authority, and limited local job options creates workers who stay committed. Jonas founded OnlineJobs.ph based on this insight.
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Why the Philippines is Better than Anywhere Else for Outsourcing. 15 years ago I stumbled into this amazing workforce which almost nobody knew about the Philippines. Now, 15 years later, I recognize a bunch of cultural traits that make the Philippines better than anywhere else in the world for outsourcing. And it's not any one of these which make it better, but rather the combination of them and the situation that creates. So in this video I'm going to explain it. So here are the cultural traits. Honesty, loyalty, intelligence and degrees, computers and Internet access. They're hard working and pleasing, they speak American English, their attitude towards foreigners, and it's hard to find a job and they're not entrepreneurial. Now let me explain why these things make such a difference. Just so you know. For me, these things only matter when you're hiring on a long term basis. Not hourly, not contract work, not freelance work, not project based. I'm talking about full time or part time with long term expectations. And you'll understand why in a minute. So first, Filipinos are honest. Obviously not everyone is, but after working with someone for a little bit, you'll have a really good idea of how honest they are. My workers in the Philippines have access to my credit cards, my bank account, my personal email account, web hosting accounts. I've helped thousands of employers hire Filipino workers. And I've heard so few times where a Filipino tried to steal something from the employer. And almost every one of those times it was because the employer tried to get the worker to do work, not pay them for it. They're honest. Having said that, don't go do something you're not comfortable with and get yourself ripped off. You should still be cautious. Just keep this in mind as you work with them and you'll learn to trust them pretty quickly. Next, they're loyal almost to a fault. Like as long as you treat them well, they'll never stop working for you. The first guy I ever hired 15 years ago still works for me today. So why is loyalty so important? Well, turnover is the enemy of any business. It sucks the life out of a business and out of the entrepreneur. As a small business owner, it also means you don't have to create perfect standard operating procedures either. SOPs are hard. Since the workers are so loyal, you can teach them what you want to teach them. And you don't need the training to be super formalized like in a standard operating procedure. They're not going to quit unless you give them a reason to quit long term. This makes building a stable business so much easier. Knowing that they're not going to jump ship with the first higher paying offer that they get. Filipinos are also intelligent and super well educated. Almost everybody you find will have a post high school bachelor's degree. They have computers and Internet access, which means you don't have to rely on an agency to hire them. They can work from home, which is like a 6 to $12,000 a year salary difference. Culturally, they're very hard working and pleasing. They want to make their boss happy. They speak American English so you'll never have a communication issue which is such a big deal for a small business owner or entrepreneur. Now this is such a big one. Filipinos look up to foreigners. It's not like in other countries where they're like, ugh, my stupid American boss. In the Philippines, having a foreign boss who they communicate with regularly almost elevates their social status. So it's a really good thing for them. And then here's where this kind of all comes together. The Philippines is a third world country. They call it an emerging economy. Whatever you want to call it, it's still hard to find a job in the Philippines and it's especially hard to find a full time, long term stable job. So when you give them this type of work, it's really prized. Now combine that with the fact that Filipinos are not entrepreneurial. They don't want to steal your business. They don't want to steal your idea or your domain or your customer list. They just want a job. They want to work hard so they can support their families and feel fulfilled and doing good work. So combining all of these things together, here's what happens. You give someone a full time job working for a foreign boss, which elevates their social status. They want to make you happy by nature. And they're also working from home on their own hours, which basically is everyone's dream. So now they really want to keep their job. They're making more than most people they know are making. And in this situation, as long as you gain their trust, they're willing to go above and beyond what you ask them to do. In a lot of places. They want to make sure they keep their job. And that's why the Philippines is the best country for outsourcing. Now obviously there's more that goes into this than what I can say in just a few minutes, but this should give you the confidence to know that at least you're starting at the right place when you're recruiting a virtual worker from the Philippines at OnlineJobs ph My name is John Jonas and I created OnlineJobs. Ph.
