Part VI of the Definitive Guide to Hiring Remote Employees from the Philippines
In Part V of the series, we discussed the onboarding process and its importance in building a beneficial working relationship between yourself and your new Filipino remote employee.
But within the onboarding process and even beyond it, communicating and setting expectations is crucial to creating a productive synergy with your new hire.
In this article, we break down the important ways you can set expectations and what they can do for you and your Filipino remote employee.
1 Communicating a job clearly can help increase your retention rate
According to a 2019 survey by Jobvite, 45% of the people surveyed reported that they quit their new jobs after realizing their responsibilities at work did not match the job description they applied for.
This problem leads to a high turnover rate that can become costly for your company. Setting the right expectations at the start of the hire can solve this feeling of a gap between reality and expectations for new hires.
Filipinos are naturally shy and may feel hesitant to voice out any dissatisfaction or questions about their responsibilities to a foreign boss, so they may just choose to quit to avoid talking about it. That’s why it is important for you to take the initiative to clearly communicate the contents of their job. And make them understand that you welcome questions and feedback from them as well.
2 Representing your company’s culture can help determine if your new hire is the right fit for the company
Taking an honest look at your company to determine what kind of culture and brand your company has is an important part of the building and growing process of any business. But for new hires, company culture is an especially important aspect to detail and narrow down.
This is because new hires need to know what to expect in the new company they’re joining. It helps them understand what is expected of them and how they are to communicate with other people in the company.
For example, someone who prioritizes a more relaxed work environment may find it hard to adjust to a company that is extremely results-driven, which can then lead to decreased productivity and feelings of dissatisfaction and disengagement.
Delaying the communication of your company’s culture can lead to hiring someone who is not the right fit for the company, which then can result in an early exit and a high turnover rate.
3 An efficient onboarding process can bridge the “expectations gap”
Anyone starting a new job may experience something called an “expectations gap”, where the reality of their work seems different from what they expected. The expectations gap can be a disheartening thing for any new employee to experience and can even motivate them to consider quitting.
The experience of an expectations gap can be mitigated or eliminated completely with an effective onboarding process. We discuss how to effectively onboard Filipino remote employees in a more in-depth discussion in Part 5, but it is worth repeating again because of the great importance it holds.
An onboarding process that includes a training period should reflect exactly what a regular workload would be like for your Filipino remote employee. It can be tempting to give them a lighter workload in the beginning and then increase their work over time, but that can create a feeling of confusion in your remote employee. It is far better to let them know immediately what the work will entail than to hire someone who will just quit a short while down the road.
4 You can avoid future problems by clearly communicating what is expected from their job performance
Most people can agree that an employee who consistently does not meet the expected work standards presents a large problem for the company.
But while an employee can definitely start becoming less effective on their own, HR and the company itself can sometimes also have a hand in that decreasing effectivity. This is because an employee who is not clearly told about what is expected of their work can become lax about their work and may become comfortable with producing subpar work.
That’s why it is imperative to take the time to go over what is expected of your new employee at the very beginning of the hire. It ensures that your remote employee knows what is expected of them and it can also motivate them to stay above that set standard to avoid any kind of disciplinary action.
By setting a clear standard of work and professionalism, you not only let your remote employees know what should be accomplished but it also helps you effectively delegate work that is clogging up your own schedule without having to supervise its completion.
5 An effective feedback system that is clearly set up can help avoid any miscommunication
As we have discussed in a previous installment of this series, Filipinos are sensitive to receiving feedback and can often be hesitant to give it in turn.
But for a company to succeed and for working relationships to improve, mutual feedback is necessary. That’s why we suggest tackling the issue of feedback from the very start of the hire instead of ignoring it until it becomes necessary. That way, your Filipino employee can become comfortable with the idea and you can set up a feedback system that both of you are comfortable with.
For example, your new hire may be comfortable receiving and giving feedback in a more casual setting instead of through email or written communication. That can help you design a way to exchange ideas without possibly offending the other person and to receive the feedback you need to improve your own operations.
5 You can avoid future problems by clearly communicating what is expected from their job performance
As we have discussed in a previous installment of this series, Filipinos are sensitive to receiving feedback and can often be hesitant to give it in turn.
But for a company to succeed and for working relationships to improve, mutual feedback is necessary. That’s why we suggest tackling the issue of feedback from the very start of the hire instead of ignoring it until it becomes necessary. That way, your Filipino employee can become comfortable with the idea and you can set up a feedback system that both of you are comfortable with.
For example, your new hire may be comfortable receiving and giving feedback in a more casual setting instead of through email or written communication. That can help you design a way to exchange ideas without possibly offending the other person and to receive the feedback you need to improve your own operations.
Conclusion
Setting expectations is important to any working relationship but it is especially important for remote employees who do not get the benefit of being fully integrated with the daily workings of the company for which they work.
But setting expectations duly and efficiently can also help your retention rate, the company’s productivity, and help improve your onboarding process that can then be used with your next hires.
If you have any questions about the hiring process of Filipino remote employees or if you want to know more about Filipino VAs, you can contact us here or on our LinkedIn page.
Next time on this series, we tackle the technical question of the best tools on the market to manage your Filipino remote staff.