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General

Talent Sourcing

Contractual

Getting Started

People Management

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Generally Asked Questions

Outsourcing is where a third-party service provider is engaged by a business to provide a service and deliver an outcome under a pre-agreed service level agreement. Generally, costs are linked to a transaction or unit rate agreed upon by both parties. Clients aren’t typically involved in the process of delivering the service.

Offshoring, on the other hand, is where a company moves or relocates parts of its business operations offshore while maintaining direct management and control of its offshore operations. Companies operating offshore without legal business entity and permit can engage in third-party service providers based offshore. These companies can provide the offshore business with facilities, equipment, workforce, and permit to operate under them.

BPO stands for Business Process Outsourcing. It’s a third-party service provider that offers outsourcing and offshoring arrangement to businesses looking to transfer, execute, or manage business processes and tasks outside their usual business operating locations.

KPO stands for Knowledge Process Outsourcing. It’s used in offshoring applications and processes that require knowledge of specialist and experts in certain fields. Common industries operating specialised KPO business are IT, engineering, medical, legal, and financial sectors.

Location is important if your plans to establish an offshore team become so successful that you might elect in the future to establish your own business in the Philippines. You need to ensure the location is suitable to lift and shift your team, and is a location that will benefit commercially from Philippine government international investment incentives to incorporate. While Shore360 can offer offices in the Clark Freeport Zone in Central Luzon, Clark offers many advantages not readily available in other regions. The region offers easy access via the Clark International Airport, no traffic congestion and is built to be typhoon proof with world class infrastructure and utility services. The Freeport Zone offers Government backed tax breaks, import and export trading incentives along with efficient access to Government. This along with the extensive labour pool available in the region has Clark growing quickly into a smart and sustainable airport city and Asia’s next aerotropolis.

Establishing a team in a central office location offers many advantages, from the integrity of commercial grade broadband connectivity to ease of cross training team members to building your culture, work ethic and values. Office based support services including time and attendance monitoring, staff amenities, teleconference and meeting rooms and system and data security cannot be maintained on a remote worker basis. Remote workplace arrangements can be established particularly when it is difficult to engage that hard to find talent. Shore360 can assist to reduce the risk and burden of a remote worker arrangement with online payroll administration, provision of computer equipment, furniture and connectivity after conducting a site inspection to ensure the remote workplace is practical and secure.

The standard computer hardware used by the company is less than 3 years old. It’s configured with INTEL Core i5 processor, 8GB memory, 20” dual screen monitors, webcam, noise-cancelling headset and Windows 10 operating system. Hardware updgrade options are available on specific client requirement for more technical functions and are subject to a one off upgrade fee presented on a cost plus basis.

All Shore360 buildings are secured at entry by security guards 24/7 and access card readers to all work areas. There are two types of working space within Shore360 Inc., — open workspace and dedicated rooms. The open space is built using the standard partitioned workstations designed for voice and non-voice service activities, while dedicated rooms are configured under client direction. All operating environments are considered quarantine areas, and facilities like pantries, meeting rooms, and break out areas are provided to minimise distractions and disruptions within the area of productivity.

Our company maintains four 100 mbps-broadband connections with redundancy across multiple service providers. In addition to that, we are located at Philexcel Business Park where buildings are provided with back-up power supply via generators to support businesses during any interruption to power. Computers are also equipped with UPS units to further extend the power supply of the devices during power switchover. Note that Clark region operates in a separate power and broadband grid from Manila, and as such, it is less susceptible to outages caused by weather conditions and floods.

Talent Sourcing

The recruitment process is quite simple and we help you on the entire journey to find and position the right candidate.

  • You will be presented with candidates’ resumes plus a pre-qualifying overview to include;
    • Current salary, preferred salary and market rate as a baseline for you to consider.
    • The reason the candidate is looking for work, our highlight of strengths and weaknesses
    • English evaluation, written & spoken
    • Attached portfolios, sample work test results if applicable
  • Upon selecting finalists, we coach you on positioning salary and we conduct the negotiation on your behalf, which includes setup start date, work schedule and conditions to take to the employment contract
  • Upon appointment we complete all the clearances including NBI police check, health check & Barangay work permits
  • Upon commencement we deliver induction training that includes working with Australian businesses, standard policies in system security, privacy & confidentiality, behavioural and ethics
  • Finally we work through your onboarding plans to guide you on strategy and we support you with an assigned Client Coach, your go to person for all things Filipino including 180 degree feedback.

Our HR Department is your HR Department. As the legal employer we will provide instruction and support you in conducting performance evaluations, one on one feedback, advising on engagement and retention strategies and helping your team embrace company culture.

All you need to do is provide is:

  1. A recruitment brief with a basic job description and scope of required experience / qualification / personal characteristics
  2. A general timeline you would like to work towards
  3. A brief summary of your overall plan

We will:

  1. Offer feedback on your plan and highlight any challenges
  2. Present costs based on your specific requirements
  3. Conduct a talent search and put pre-qualified candidates in front of you for final selection

Provide as much information as you can on your business, company profile and the career opportunities that might come with the job offer. This will help us to position the employment offer in the market place and to attract the best candidates.

It is important that you provide our talent recruitment team with a good brief on the essential skills and experience required along with other features you would like to see in a candidate.
Testing and interviewing are key strategies in finding the right talent for your business. Providing feedback to the recruiters will help us fine tune the talent search process.

Most roles can be filled within days, subject to the skills your are looking for and your availability to test, interview and select. More comprehensive and specialist roles typically take longer to source and pre-qualification is more time consuming. Once you have provided a requirements brief you will receive advice on likely sourcing challenges, expected timeframes and interview schedules. It is important that you are available to conduct interviews and have a possible start up timeframe in mind as good candidates actively job seeking do not stay on the labour market for long.

Testing where it is practical to test is highly recommended as a means to establish capability and diversity in experience. Even the best candidate will have a skills gap somewhere, particularly when an application is subject to the local standards, regulations and specifications in your home country. Testing should be focused on identifying skill gaps and how you will handle them onboarding your new worker, coaching, training and upskilling to make the worker fully productive.

Interviewing a candidate over a teleconference call in another country can be challenging, particularly when dealing with cultural differences, the typical accommodating nature of the Filipino and without the benefit of face to face contact.

There are a few tips to consider:

  • Your recruiter should provide a briefing on the strengths and weakness observed during the pre-qualification process
  • Resumes in the Philippines are typically quite basic. Use resumes to appreciate experience and qualification but do not dismiss potential based on the resume alone – be prepared to interview
  • Be prepared to break down the “fear factor” of being interviewed by a foreigner with casual discussion about family, personal likes and hobbies, sharing your own personality and interests
  • Do not read gaps between jobs or several short jobs as a sign of instability or unemployability as there are many external circumstances in the Philippines that might influence such a work history
  • Look for character, confidence and personal qualities that will fit with your business.

Be ready to appoint quickly as good candidates do not stay on the labour market for long.

Shore360 does not profit from staff salaries so we are able to act in YOUR interest, finding good talent without any conflict of interest. It is important that you do not present an offer during the interview process or accept an asking salary. Your recruiter will discuss and advise on a responsible and competitive employment offer with you based on a number of factors that you may not be fully aware of that might include;

  • The Market rate for the role you are considering
  • The entry level role requiring training versus strong experience that will require low supervision
  • Options of salary increase on regularisation, HMO (private health insurance) tax benefits and other incentives that make up a competitive salary offer
  • Qualification periods, training investments and subsequent guarantees of minimum employment conditions
  • Previous employment conditions and earning capacity
  • Candidate obligations to notice periods of up to 1 month with the current employer
  • Risk of counter offers with the current employer

The final candidate selection and employment offer is at your discretion.

Up to the point of instructing us to appoint your selected candidate there is no cost and no obligation to proceed. If we cannot deliver suitable candidates for your consideration or a commercial arrangement that offers significant savings against your home country alternative, we do not deserve your business.

On any candidate appointment there is a one off set up fee payable on commencement. This covers the recruitment process and related sourcing costs, system setup, connectivity, employment costs mandated under Philippine labour law requiring work permits, fit for work health check, police clearance and registrations. All new appointments are backed by our 30 day replacement guarantee.

Contractual

Most service providers offer a 1 to 5 year fixed term contract with exit penalties and early termination fees. It is important to check your service providers Service Agreement before committing to any engagement.

Shore360 offers a no fixed term Service Agreement that can be terminated without cause with just 60 days notice. This is a significant industry differentiator offered by Shore360 that places greater value in retaining business by exceeding customer expectation than locking clients into fixed term contracts.

Invoicing is presented to you monthly in advance and payable by the 15th of the service month. Payment terms are designed to ensure funds are available to meet the payroll cycle of your staff and Philippine labor code employment conditions.

Shore360 pass through the cost of employing your staff at the cost of employment so it is important for staff moral and engagement that payroll is funded on time, every time. Failure to meet payment terms could result in suspension of your account until payment is received.

Most BPOs restrict you from taking your staff with you or employing them directly. It is important to check your service provider Service Agreement before committing to any engagement.

Shore360 will release staff should you elect to incorporate your own business or move to another Service Provider, subject to Philippine labor code conditions of employment transfer and your staffs willingness to accept a new employment offer. This is a significant industry differentiator offered by Shore360.

Staff Lease fees are inclusive of standard I5 dual screen computer, webcam and headsets sufficient for your staff to perform their day to day duties. Some more technical roles require higher end computer hardware and equipment. Based on your specific technical requirement such hardware is made available to you on a one off upgrade fee. Maintenance, system administration and servicing of the equipment remains the responsibility of Shore360, the hardware remains the property of Shore360.

 

A security deposit is held by Shore360 to ensure your staff’s salary entitlements are met in the event of any payment delay. At the finalisation of a contract term or when you release a staff member the security deposit is returned within 30 days of the termination.

 

Getting Started

Shore360 has the facilities and equipment to make training accessible and easier for both you and your staff. We have teleconference and meeting rooms equipped with technology to help you induct your staff to your business online or onsite. All these facilities are provided and accessible to observe performance, improve operation processes and coach your staff as needed.

We monitor your staffs attendance, behaviour, adherence to your work schedule and provide you with the corresponding reports. Furthermore, we work with you to conduct performance monitoring and map out working KPIs to establish and improve your staff’s productivity rate.

Unless you are planning to onboard several staff at the same time and it is beneficial to be in the Philippines to deliver such training, it is quite normal to onboard your new worker remotely using teleconference facilities as well as conducting remote training with your local leadership team and department heads. Committing the time and costs of face to face training it is generally recommended once you are confident the worker is a good long term proposition and can benefit from more advanced training requirements.

Shore360 will provide all the assistance to connect you to your home networks and service applications. Shore360 provides IT system administration staff to support your local operation 24 hrs per day seven days per week.

To assist in the preparation, you will be asked to provide instructions on you requirements including operating equipment, software applications, email set up and logins / passwords that your staff may require. You will also be asked to provide security options to lock the computer down to your requirement.

Training and new starter induction requires good planning to ensure an understanding of the operating procedures and work instructions your staff will require to get started. Techniques of coaching, buddy systems and quality monitoring should be used to establish a new starter. Once you are confident that you have your operations established and your choice in candidate is proving successful you might consider more advanced training face to face. Visiting your new worker in the Philippines or taking the worker back to your home operation for training is common.

The Philippines labor code provides for a training guarantee that can be established with staff and levied to ensure your investment in training is secured by employment longevity. Shore360 can assist you to plan with strategies that work for you, your business and the dynamic of your operation.

You are responsible for allocating your new staff with day to day duties, monitor their performance and productivity and provide production supervision. Your Account Manager will assist you and your team as regularly as you need to gain 180 degree feedback and assist with any communication challenges.

There are times when you are required to release your staff from their duties to participate in Philippine Government mandated activities that include but not limited to:

Week 1
Shore360 Induction – approx. 4 hours
Occupational Safety & Heath (OSH) training – approx. 4 hours
NBI police clearance (if not secured prior to commencement)

Month 1, 3 & 5
Performance review and feedback

Annually
Refreshed occupational safety & heath (OSH) training – approx. 4 hours
Annual physical exam – approx. 4 hours
Evacuation & emergency procedures drill – approx. 2 hours
Work permit & Barangay application – half day

Your Account Manager will coordinate with you well in advance of these activities occurring and work around your production challenges wherever possible.

People Management

Our management and leadership teams provide HR services including onboarding and induction of staff, payroll and administration, dispute resolution, progressive counselling, performance feedback and dismissal processes.

 

Newly employed staff are required to comply with the company’s policies and the labor and employment code of the Philippines. Requirements as follows:

  • Meet NBI police security clearance
  • Pass a fit to work medical examination
  • Undergo Shore360 induction and familiarisation program
  • Undergo occupation safety & health (OSH) program required by the Department of Labor & Employment (DOLE)
  • Sign Shore360 security and confidentiality agreements, data security and system security policies
    Comply to the instructions presented in the Shore360 employee handbook that covers policies, regulations relating to staff behaviour, code of conduct, security, confidentiality and other company policies. The Shore360 handbook policies form the basis for the day-to-day staff management of your employees
  • Standard 40 hour work week with a 1 hour unpaid lunch break
    6-month probationary employment period after which time the worker is regularised

Attendance and tardiness will be monitored via an online real time dashboard available to clients to action and hold employees responsible for their work and obligations.

Repetitive offences due to tardiness and other violations will result in dismissal in consultation with the client.

It is important that you use your service provider as the legal employer to issue and formalise any disciplinary action, performance reviews or warnings. This is to ensure that legal requirements are in place should you choose to escalate any action. Shore360 assist you with coordinating a performance reviews and formalising probationary employment periods.

In the event a disciplinary action is required it is normal practice to document the event, provide the staff with a reasonable time to prepare a right of reply and the outcomes determine how the event is handled. Shore360 assist you with all advice, HR support and guidance required to handle a disciplinary action.

In the event you find it necessary to release a worker your must consult with Shore360 HR team to ensure it is handled professionally and in accordance with the Philippine Labor Code. Different conditions and entitlements exist subject to the circumstances for the decision to release and the employment status of the worker.

Shore360 will provide you with the guidance to formalise your decision to release a worker and as the legal employer carry out the release of employment to meet all legal and labor code requirements.