Ya’ll have a funny day!
Baboy!
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Outsourcing and Poverty in the Philippines
I was on LinkedIn briefly today and an article popped up on my feed about poverty in the Philippines. The article was from “Rappler” a Filipino news website I had never seen. The site is worth a look.
I met a fellow outsourcing company owner this weekend who was feeling down on his employees in Manila. He felt that they needed to be watched all the time, they kept bad attendance and overall had an attitude of entitlement about their job. He was also feeling frustrated about how they demanded high rates of pay and bonuses. My response was, you need to get out of the city! Take a look at the image below and then I will explain why you outsourcing in the “light pink” areas may be an advantage to you and your clients rather than doing business in the “white” areas.
Poverty in the Philippines
In a way, the gentlemen I spoke with was right! Manila (NCR) is a the most competitive city for employment in the Philippines. Wages are high (compared to other regions), plus, employees are being wooed with large signing bonuses. Many employees have worked in multiple BPO’s or call centers. They can find a new job tomorrow in Manila. They know it, so they feel empowered.
Funny thing is, most Manila BPO workers aren’t from Manila at all! That’s right, they came from one of the poorer provinces to make a better life for themselves and their families. Guess what? There are good workers just like them back in the province with comparable educations who just don’t want to move to Manila. These BPO workers would be very grateful for a job in their otherwise depressed home town.
If you started an outsourcing company in one of these “Light Pink” areas, you will find the workers will work for much less than in Manila and they are more dedicated! It’s a win win! Bring the outsourcing jobs to where the people need them! It’s not rocket science! PI Outsource moved out of Manila years ago. It’s been quite a successful venture.
To get started outsourcing in the Philippines, contact PI Outsource today.
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Philippines Salaries from Jobstreet 2013
So, you are looking at hiring an outsourced worker in the Philippines. You are expecting someone to work for a few dollars an hour because you once went to Fiverr. You call me and see my prices, “You are too expensive”, you say. Well, here is a guide to salaries in the Philippines just published by JobStreet. For your reference, 41,000 pesos is $1000 USD. In hourly wages, $1000 a month is $5.75 an hour for a full time outsourced worker.
Don’t forget, while outsourcing is popular here, the majority of these jobs are for people who speak the local language, Tagalog. These are not jobs for people with advanced English skills. Guess, what? You pay more for English! If you think you can be successful at outsourcing paying $400 a month salary to a fresh grad, I can tell you know, it’s not gonna work.
So, when you want to “get real” about outsourcing, call PI Outsource. We will manage and exceed your expectations in your outsourcing venture.
Philippines Salaries 2013
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Sample Outsourcing Contract From PI Outsource
Here’s a great baseline outsourcing contract to help you get familiar with getting started outsourcing in the Philippines. Remember, nothing is written in stone! Everything is negotiable!
It’s always best to have all expectations laid out on the table before you do business. That’s why we have contracts! Remember, it’s going to be hard to sue an outsourcing company for breach of contract if they don’t have an office in your country or you don’t have a legal office in their country. I’d really suggest that this sample outsourcing contract is just a guide to having success when outsourcing in the Philippines.
With that said, here is a great sample outsourcing contract to use as a guide. I have tried to help you by highlighting in blue line items that need to be changed. Contact PI Outsource for your Free Philippines Outsourcing Consultation.
SAMPLE Outsourcing Services CONTRACT Agreement
This agreement made comes into effect as of DATE. This services agreement constitutes a legal understanding between:
Outsourcing Company Name, with postal address at Outsourcing Company ADDRESS and phone PHONE #1 and PHONE #2, hereinafter referred to as the “SUPPLIER”;
-And-
CLIENT BUSINESS NAME represented by CLIENT NAME with postal address: CLIENT CONTACT INFO
CLIENT BUSINESS NAME hereinafter referred to as the “CLIENT”.
A. SUPPLIER is engaged in providing outsourced staff leasing services to companies throughout the world.
B. CLIENT is seeking outsourcing services provided by SUPPLIER, and SUPPLIER is offering services to CLIENT, based on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.
C. The Staff Leasing Services are supplied by the SUPPLIER and made available to the CLIENT for pre-agreed service activities.
For the reasons set forth above, and in consideration of the mutual covenants and promises of the parties here to, SUPPLIER and CLIENT agree as follows:
AGREEMENT OF SERVICE ACTIVITIES OFFERED
Work Week: SUPPLIER hereby offers CLIENT the services of one dedicated employee that will work Full-Time 45-Hour Work Weeks (9 Hours per day, 5 days per week, with one hour break allotment per day)
CLIENT PLEASE SPECIFY TIME FRAME (DAYS OF THE WEEK, 9 HOUR Time Blocks):
EXAMPLE:
EASTERN STANDARD TIME: 9AM – 6PM
Philippines TIME: 9PM – 6AM
And when it is Daylight Savings Time
Philippines Time will be: 10PM – 7AM
Holidays: CLIENT agrees to pay $XX bonus for each 8-Hour shift worked on a Philippine Holiday. This bonus goes 100% directly to staff employee(s). See Schedule B
- AGREEMENT OF NON COMPETE THROUGH HUMAN RESOURCES OFFERED
CLIENT will not under any circumstances employ or otherwise contract, rent, hire, or utilize any former or current Full Time Shift previously offered or currently being used by the SUPPLIER during the term of this agreement or for a period of two years after termination of this agreement without prior written permission from the SUPPLIER.
Penalty for Breach of this article will be limited to the remaining term of this contract, and an additional penalty to include two years of future billings per this contract (see Annex A) for each breach of this clause.
- CLIENTS AGREEMENT TO PRIVACY POLICY
CLIENT agrees that all communications concerning the SUPPLIER’S services will be freely and strictly monitored. No independent communication will be allowed, contacting any leased staff outside of our provided communication channels is strictly prohibited, encrypted or otherwise and any breach of the terms of this section is a material breach of this agreement.
- WAIVER OR MODIFICATION INEFFECTIVE UNLESS IN WRITING
No waiver or modification of this agreement or of any covenant, condition, or limitation herein contained shall be valid unless in writing and duly executed by the party to be charged therewith. Furthermore, no evidence of any waiver or modification shall be offered or received in evidence in any proceeding, arbitration, or litigation between the parties arising out of or affecting this agreement, or the rights or obligations of any party hereunder, unless such waiver or modification is in writing, duly executed as aforesaid. The provisions of this paragraph may not be waived except as herein set forth.
- CONTRACT GOVERNED BY LAW
This agreement and performance hereunder and all suits and special proceedings hereunder shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the COUNTRY, the state of STATE and the County of COUNTY, to the exclusion of its rules on conflicts of laws.
- BINDING EFFECT OF AGREEMENT
This agreement shall be binding on and inure to the benefit of the respective parties and their respective heirs, legal representatives, successors, and assigns. Executed on the date first above written.
- ACTS OF GOD/OUTAGES
The SUPPLIER will not be responsible for any delays resulting from, but not restricted to acts of god, fire, power outages, Internet outages, unforeseen human resource issues. The SUPPLIER agrees that an Internet outage or workstation outage will reflect an outage of services provided by the SUPPLIER to CLIENT and such will not warrant payment from CLIENT for hours or days impacted.
-
SEVER-ABILITY
If any provision of this Agreement shall be declared invalid, illegal or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
- FULL TIME SHIFT STAFF EMPLOYEES
All staff employees will, at all times, be an independent contractor, and as such, will not have authority to bind the SUPPLIER or amend any part of this agreement. The Full Time Shift worker will not act as an agent nor shall he be deemed to be an employee of the SUPPLIER for the purposes of any business transaction deriving from initial CLIENT and SUPPLIER contact.
SUPPLIER will provide a current resume for each staff employee to the CLIENT prior to his or her start date if the CLIENT asks the SUPPLIER to do so. CLIENT will have a three day test window to evaluate the on the job performance of the Staff Employee(s). After the third day, SUPPLIER will automatically change status of Staff from an Evaluation Staff Employee to a Permanent Staff Employee. Billing for Full Time Shift will commence after this three-day period. The billing shall correspond to the services of the Staff Employees for the balance of the calendar month after the Full Time Shift Employees have been tested and evaluated.
The CLIENT will have the ability to request a new staff employee if services provided by a staff employee do not meet expected levels provided that the CLIENT provides written warnings of staff employee’s deficiencies. SUPPLIER is required to submit three warnings before staff employee can be legally terminated. The warnings cannot be all sent during the same week as the SUPPLIER needs to allow time for the staff employee to correct their deficiencies.
Should the staff employee quit, die or otherwise cease to be able to work SUPPLIER will immediately begin looking for a replacement and not bill CLIENT for days that the staff isn’t provided. It is the sole responsibility of the CLIENT at all times to get regular backups of all source code and other relevant and important data. SUPPLIER will not be liable for lost data.
9. PRICES
The CLIENT agrees to pay for the price of the services of the staff employees to perform full time shifts as indicated in Schedule C, which forms an integral part of this Agreement. The CLIENT shall indicate its requests for the services of a new shift, using the Form attached in Schedule D, which shall be sent to the SUPPLIER within five (5) days before the actual engagement of the services of the staff employee. The SUPPLIER shall send the CLIENT, an invoice for the services performed by the staff employees, which shall be paid in accordance with paragraph 8.
10. PAYMENT CONDITIONS
The CLIENT agrees that initial payment of a non-refundable set-up fee of $XXX (non-Call Center) and $XXX (Call Center) for each Full Time Shift will be paid for SUPPLIER’s recruitment efforts at the time that this agreement is signed. As per Section 10. Paragraph 2, once Permanent Staff Employee status is earned, CLIENT agrees to pay for balance of the calendar month’s services. Beginning on the second month of services, client will be billed corresponding to services of the Staff Employee(s) for the calendar month on the first of every month and payment will be due immediately. The invoice will be considered late if not paid by the tenth of the month. If payment is not received by the tenth of the month then the CLIENT agrees that no flexibility will be offered and the CLIENT risks losing that specific Full Time Shift staff employee(s). If payment is received late, then the SUPPLIER reserves the right to supply the CLIENT with an alternative staff employee(s) at the SUPPLIER’s discretion.
For each invoice paid for after the 10th of the month CLIENT agrees to pay a late fee in the amount of 1.5% of the normal monthly billing. CLIENT understands that SUPPLIER must pay for the services and not paying the SUPPLIER damages SUPPLIERS ability to offer said services.
- TERMS
This contract is in effect for a period of six months from the start date of each Full Time Shift leased from SUPPLIER. The CLIENT agrees to engage the services of each Full Time Shift for a minimum guaranteed period of six (6) months. The contract for each Full Time Shift will automatically renew for six-month term with a X% increase in price every six months if the CLIENT does not provide written cancellation notice within 30 days of each renewal date.
- NECESSARY SOFTWARE TERMS
The CLIENT agrees to supply all legal and licensed copies of the software to be used by the Staff Employee(s). SUPPLIER supplies each workstation with Windows 7 and Open Office. SUPPLIER will also install upon request any commonly used open source application. CLIENT understands that SUPPLIER must maintain a legal operation at all times and won’t put itself at risk.
- PAYMENTS
As the sole and entire consideration for all of the Services to be performed by the SUPPLIER and for all of the other tasks, services, and obligations of the SUPPLIER under this Agreement, CLIENT shall pay to SUPPLIER the amounts set forth in the attached payment schedule (Annex A of this Agreement). CLIENT agrees to prepay for monthly services. Payment may be made by PAYMENT METHODS to OUTSOURCING COMPANY ACCOUNTING ADDRESS
-
REGULATORY COMPLIANCE.
The CLIENT shall be solely and exclusively responsible and liable in complying with all applicable laws and regulations affecting the project, including its content, for which staff services are leased from the SUPPLIER. Following paragraph 2 of this Agreement, the CLIENT shall be exclusively responsible for providing instructions and directions necessary to conform the project and its content to the requirements of applicable laws.
- INDEMNIFICATION CLAUSE.
The CLIENT shall indemnify and hold the SUPPLIER, its officers, directors, employees and agents free and harmless from any losses, costs or damages which may result, directly or indirectly, from claims arising out of or in connection with this Agreement.
- LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY.
In no event shall either party be liable for any indirect, special, incidental, punitive, exemplary or consequential damages, and loss of business or profits arising out of or in connection with this Agreement.
-
RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS UPON EXPIRATION OR TERMINATION OF THE AGREEMENT.
Neither the expiration nor the termination of this Agreement shall relieve either party from its obligations or rights accrued hereunder prior to its expiration or termination.
- CONFIDENTIALITY
It is understood by the SUPPLIER and the CLIENT that the Full Time Shift staff employee(s) shall be advised that all information and materials pertaining to the CLIENT shall be treated as secret and confidential and shall not be disclosed, used, published, or revealed at any time during or after the term of the Agreement.
CLIENT shall treat the terms of this AGREEMENT, including its annexed Schedules, which form integral parts of this Agreement, as secret and confidential and shall not be disclosed or revealed at any time during or after the term of the Agreement.
- MEDIATION
All claims, disputes, and controversies arising out of or in relation to the performance, interpretation, application, or enforcement of this Agreement, including but not limited to the breach thereof, shall be referred to mediation before, and as a condition precedent to, the initiation of any adjudicative action or proceeding. The parties agree to participate in the mediation in accordance with the mediation procedures of United States Arbitration & Mediation, in its office closest to the SUPPLIER’s office. The parties agree to share equally in the costs of the mediation.
- CANCELLATION
CLIENT must provide 30 day written notice of cancellation. The SUPPLIER shall also provide 30 day written notice of cancellation to the CLIENT in case of the CLIENT’S breach of any provisions of this Agreement.
In case of pre-termination of this Agreement by the CLIENT before the completion of a current six month period, the CLIENT agrees that it shall be liable for a penalty fee equal to the total fee, as indicated in paragraphs 12 and 13, corresponding to the balance of a current six month period even if no services had been actually rendered by the Full Time Shift. The penalty fee shall be immediately payable by the CLIENT upon its pre-termination of the Agreement.
- MISCELLANEOUS
This Entire Agreement, including the Schedules and Annexes here to, constitutes the entire understanding and agreement between the Parties with respect to the transactions contemplated herein and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous oral or written communications with respect to the subject matter hereof. No usage of trade, or other regular practice or method of dealing between the Parties or others, may be used to modify, interpret, supplement, or alter in any manner the express terms of this Agreement.
Agreed:
| SUPPLIER: OUTSOURCING COMPANY NAME | CLIENT: CLIENT COMPANY NAME |
| Represented by: NAME | Represented by: NAME |
| Print : | Print_____________________________ |
| Signature: _______________ | Signature: __________________________ |
| Date: _____________________ | Date: _____________________ |
ANNEX A
| Request Start Date | Description | Rate Per Month US |
| DATE | Quality Control Engineer | $895 |
| Total Monthly Bill | $895 |
Schedule A: CLIENT Contact Information
(Please Add Your Contact Details)
CLIENT CONTACT INFO
Schedule B
Philippines Holidays- 2013
| 1 January | Tuesday | New Year’s Day |
| 25 February | Monday | EDSA Revolution Anniversary (Special Holiday for All Schools) |
| 28 March | Thursday | Maundy Thursday |
| 29 March | Friday | Good Friday |
| 9 April | Tuesday | Day of Valor |
| 1 May | Wednesday | Labor Day |
| 12 June | Wednesday | Independence Day |
| 9 August | Friday | Eidul Fitr |
| 21 August | Wednesday | Ninoy Aquino Day |
| 26 August | Monday | National Heroes Day |
| 15 October | Tuesday | Eidul Adha |
| 1 November | Friday | All Saints Day |
| 2 November | Saturday | Special Non-Working Day |
| 30 November | Saturday | Bonifacio Day |
| 24 December | Tuesday | Special Non-Working Day |
| 25 December | Wednesday | Christmas Day |
| 30 December | Monday | Rizal Day |
| 31 December | Tuesday | Last Day of the Year |
Schedule C: OUTSOURCING PRICE LIST
PI Outsource offers writers, graphic designers, programmers, media managers, quality assurance representatives, call center agents and data entry clerks. To run a business like PI Outsource, we must spend a great deal of time, money and effort on recruiting. This means we must specialize in certain skill areas. This is not to say we can’t customize a quote for you and recruit staff that doesn’t appear on this list. It only means that we have the most experience with the list below and can fill these positions the quickest. Please review our price list and contact us at sales@pioutsource.com with any questions.
Hourly Rate can be computed as follows: (Monthly Rate)*12 months/52 weeks/40 hours/week
OUTSOURCED GRAPHIC DESIGNERS
Junior Graphic Designer – $995 a month.
A Junior Graphic Designer will have at least one year of PhotoShop experience and little or no Flash experience. These are entry level designers who can build sample galleries of content, basic web banners, logos and the like. They are meant to assist or complement your more experienced designer.
Intermediate Level Graphic Designer – $1295 a month.
An Intermediate Graphic Designer will have at least three years of design experience. They have advanced but not expert knowledge in PhotoShop and basic Flash design experience. Intermediate Graphic Designers can design complete websites but not as fast or flashy as level Senior or a Master designer.
Senior Level Graphic Designer – $1495 a month.
A Senior Graphic Designer has at least 5 years doing actual paid design work. They are expert level in PhotoShop and have advanced Flash skills. Senior Graphic Designers are good, fast and reliable. They can create great looking websites and online and offline marketing materials.
Master Graphic Designer – from $1695 a month.
A Master Graphic Designer has the same or more experience as a Senior Graphic Designer but has a greater degree of education and most importantly has at least 2.5 years of experience working in a marketing and/or advertising department of a medium or large-size company. These are career designers who take their art seriously. They can create excellent online and offline marketing materials as well as a wide variety of other creations.
OUTSOURCED PROGRAMMERS
No position has a wider variety of skill sets than that of a programmer. There are many different programming languages out there. Just to name a few of the most popular: PHP, .NET, ASP, Java, JSP, JavaScript, C++, RSS, Cold Fusion and XML. It is our philosophy that time and intellect makes a great programmer great. We don’t break our pricing down by the language an individual can code in. Rather, we price them by their levels of experience and skill. So, tell us you want a Master PHP coder and that is exactly what you will get.
Level I Programmer – $1395 a month.
A Junior Programmer can create basic scripts and has basic database experience. These programmers can make a simple website interactive and make basic changes to existing code. Our Junior Programmers have at least 1 year of experience in coding and can be useful with basic or repetitive tasks.
Level II Programmer – from $1695
A Senior Programmer has at least 5 years of coding experience. Most are college educated and some have a degree in computer engineering. These are smart, fast and savvy developers that can knock out complex sites single-handedly. They are expert level in their code of choice and usually have experience in 3 or more other programming languages. They are also normally advanced in their database skills.
Level III Programmer – Market Price
When you are looking for a Master Programmer, this means you are searching for the best of the best, these are the guys you want architecting complex software or websites. Master Programmers are everything that a Senior Programmer is but will have more experience, a better education and most importantly, years of experience working on large and complex projects. If you need someone to handle complex projects that require more than one developer, we recommend that at least one of them is Master Programmer.
OUTSOURCED Media Managers
Level I Media Manager – $995 a month.
A Junior Media Manager can edit, resize and watermark images as well as video encoding, watermarking and basic video clipping. They can do all the repetitive tasks required in getting image and video web ready but can not do editing. Those companies in the content business often need staff like this to provide a consistent high-quality portfolio of content to their end-users.
Level II Media Manager – $1295 a month.
A Senior Media Manager can do everything a Junior Media Manager can do as well as the actual editing of videos. This individual has 3+ years of video editing experience and can make movie trailers as well as edit raw footage into view-able movies. They possess a greater degree of education and can create excellent online and offline videos along with materials as well as a wide variety of other creations.
OUTSOURCED Contact Center Agents
Web Support Agent – $995 a month.
Through emails and live chat, a Web Support Agent can be used for information, sales, up-sales, customer service etc. These individuals will possess excellent understanding of English, grammar, and will have intermediate to advanced typing skills. They will have worked 1 or more years in a contact center.
Call Center Agent with dialer- $1495 a month.
The Call Center Agents are used for inbound or outbound calls depending on your needs. A Call Center Agent speaks fluent English and is computer and web savvy. They will have worked 1 or more years in inbound or outbound call centers. This price includes unlimited outbound and inbound calls to the US and Canada.
Call Center Agent without dialer- $1295 a month.
The Call Center Agents are used for inbound or outbound calls depending on your needs. A Call Center Agent speaks fluent English and is computer and web savvy. They will have worked 1 or more years in inbound or outbound call centers. This price includes unlimited outbound and inbound calls to the US and Canada.
OUTSOURCED WRITERS
Level I Writer – $995 a month.
Junior Writers studied English and/or writing at the college level. These are professional writers who have at least 1 year of paid professional writing experience computer proficient and web savvy. When you need descriptions written or other small writing projects that must have proper grammar, this is the way to go.
Level II Writer – $1195 a month.
Senior Writers studied English and/or writing at the college level. These are professional writers who have at least 3 years of paid professional writing experience. These writers can handle medium and large projects such as blog management and other more creative tasks.
Level III Writer – $1395 a month.
Master Writers have a college degree in English and/or writing and at least 5 years of paid professional writing experience. These writers can handle much larger projects which require in-depth research or creative writing tasks. Their experience will vary greatly. If you choose a Master Writer, expect a wide variety of resumes and experiences.
OUTSOURCED Quality Assurance and Data Entry
Quality Control Engineer – $895 a month.
A Quality Control Engineer is a dedicated and detail oriented individual who can accurately detect a wide variety of issues and problems on your websites. This individual has the ability to efficiently but thoroughly report all details of any problems or issues found. A Quality Control Engineer will be fluent in English and has at least 2 years of computer experience and is also web savvy. Total English fluency is a must.
Quality Control Programmer – $895 a month.
A Quality Control Programmer utilizes basic scripting and database knowledge to run more advanced searches for security holes and functionality errors on your websites. This individual catches problems that an average surfer would not catch but that hackers would certainly exploit.
Data Entry Clerk / Fact Checker / Virtual Assistant- $995 a month.
A Data Entry Clerk will have 2 years of computer experience, have intermediate typing skills and will be web savvy. Total English fluency is a must. All applicants will be tested for written and spoken grammar skills.
Schedule D: CLIENT’S Request for Full Time Shift Services
(Note: This form is to be used by CLIENT requesting for staff employee services specified hereunder. Please print this page, complete the form and fax or mail it to:)
OUTSOURCING COMPANY CONTACT
ADDRESS
CLIENT INFORMATION:
CLIENT COMPANY CONTACT
May I request for the services of the following staff employees:
LIST WORKER TYPES
One Quality Control Engineer – $895 a month.
Please send me the invoice corresponding to the services of the above staff employees.
(PLEASE SIGN AND DATE THIS FORM WHERE INDICATED BELOW)
______________________________________
CLIENT PRINT
______________________________________
CLIENT SIGN
______________________________________
DATE
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Outsourcing Scams Refuted Part II
Please see: Outsourcing Scams Refuted – Part I for prior information. This blog post attempts to refute or explain comments that I first read here:
[urbanette] Steal and sell database and client assets, reuse code on multiple client sites. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] This could happen with any programmer, anywhere, not just an when using an outsourcing company. It’s your responsibility to protect your assets. While it is hard to successfully start and prosecute a lawsuit in the Philippines and other outsourcing destinations, you should have signed contracts in place with your outsourcing vendor to maintain and protect all your digital rights and assets.
As far as re-use. That is also a contractual thing that you need to address. It’s the risk you take sharing your intellectual property with other humans, not only outsourcing companies [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] If you need a shopping cart, or feature on your site, they will tell you it has to be made custom and it will be fast to code, then keep delaying and drag it out for many, many months. If you check your code, you may often find that the new feature that they added was actually plug-and-play pre-made code that should have taken a day to customize and was just an excuse to rack up months worth of extra hours. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] This is a longer rehash of a statement made earlier in this article. Listen, if you don’t have an approved project time line, you are at fault. You need to stay on top of your outsourced workers progress with DAILY progress reports that you verify! It’s the only way. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] For designers: they have one designer for the whole office and many clients, and they get the designer to go from client to client and make one design, then other cheap (minimum wage) non-designers make copies in other colors. If you notice that sometimes designs are great, and sometimes the quality is bad, or just variations in color, that’s why. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] There are two kinds of companies (you) that need an outsourced designer. One company wants a full time worker, the other company needs a website, logos or other small one-time or infrequent project. Generally new small projects would be given to a good employee as a benefit. In other words, let’s say PI Outsource has ten designers working for different clients. These designers ordinarily work 40 hour shifts for their respective clients.
When you come along and ask PI Outsource to build a website, what do you think I do with the project? I give it to one of my existing or former competent designers that I know can get the job done as “side” work or extra work on the weekend or at night at home. They get extra pay, everyone is happy. Why would I have a team of new designers making crappy designs when I already have a team of accomplished designers working for existing clients? It doesn’t make sense!
A company that hires a full time designer will get a full time dedicated outsourced designer You can’t fool somebody, day in and day out, for months or years with the advent of the LIVE STREAMING VIDEO CAMERA! Use it! Check on your workers diligently.
If you are scheduling a freelance designer for project work, you better have checked his portfolio. Remember, you give the specifications, you are responsible that the specs are met and hopefully exceeded. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Here are a few tips I learned along the way, to help you navigate the murky waters of outsourced staffing. Hiring Tips: If the company is based out of the Philippines (which has the lowest rates for educated staffing), then ONLY hire companies on the BPAP accredited member list. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] Wait? Because someone pays to be on a list, you should use them? I’d suggest you check references of any outsourcing company you do business with no matter who has them on an approved list. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Beware Hubport Interactive, PhilWeb Services and Online Experts (all in the Philippines). I’ve found all three to be using unethical practices.
Be skeptical by default; think about how they could be scamming you. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] I personally can only say that in my experiences PhilWeb Services is a poor web host. I have no experience with the others. Again, a few reference checks could make this problem negligible. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Interview with webcam and have them answer coding questions. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] PI Outsource will always provide you with this opportunity. We couldn’t agree more. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanettete] Interview with webcam (you can use Google Hangouts) and notice the office environment: Are there empty work stations with computers that are on? Are people switching desks? [/urbanettete]
[PI Outsource] Franky, worry about your workers only. This is ridiculous and borders on paranoia. A large outsourcing company will have many workers working many different tasks for many clients. Only concern yourself with your outsourced workers. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Red flag: If they don’t need to wait to hire, they always have available staff (then they are assigning multiple clients to one programmer). [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] Wrong again. A good outsourcing company has access to countless numbers of Filipinos who are ready to work tomorrow. We have previously employed hundreds of workers. Many have expired contracts and would love to come back and work with us again ASAP. In fact, this is exactly why you pay us a premium. You pay us to provide you workers in a timely fashion so you don’t have to sift through the thousands of resumes received for every help wanted ad that you place. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Always ask for a list of sites they worked on, and email and say that XX coder said they built your site. Did they? How were they? If not then who did? (Maybe it was a company the coder worked for and the client didn’t know the coder’s real name). [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] As mentioned before, always check references and review portfolios. It’s a no brainer really. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Never hire a project manager at the same company as your coders – it’s wasted money. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] You are the project manager! It’s the only way you will have success in outsourcing. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Never hire more than one coder per company, and assume whoever you will get will be junior. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] So this site is recommending that you hire a team that does not work together? Doesn’t make any sense to me! Disregard! [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Have another coder at a separate company check the code every so often, to see if it’s sloppy, or if they’re racking up too many hours on things that should be quick to code or customize. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] Holy moly, something that is true! If you don’t know what you are doing, you better hire someone who does!
[urbanette] Protect your assets, don’t let them have access to your database if you can avoid it.
It’s a bit better if the company has a branch in the US, but it still doesn’t mean you can trust them. They are very practiced in how to gain your trust and sell you on their company being more ethical than others, but even as they speak, they know they are going to employ all the same shady practices they preach against. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] I fail to see how ethics is an issue for hiring task based workers to do measured tasks. When you come on as a prospective client I try to minimize your expectations so PI Outsource can exceed them! Why would I try to sell you the moon just to fall short in the end? [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Make them sign a good employment, NDA, non-compete contract that also prohibits them from further outsourcing the work. Here are a few examples.
Don’t hire them (freelancer or company) if they refuse to use a monitoring program like Time Doctor. If they refuse, it’s a major red flag and means they’re up to something dishonest. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] We prefer ClockSpot, but it’s your choice. It’s always a good idea to monitor your outsourced employees work times. As far as contracts go, it’s a good idea, but good luck suing a Philippines company in the USA if they don’t have a presence there. You definitely won’t be suing them in the Philippines and waiting on a resolution through the Philippine courts. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Working Tips: Make them install and use Time Doctor software (to make sure they’re online the hours they bill you for, and aren’t on Facebook half of the day, or away from their computer, etc.) [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] Go for it! [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Time Doctor gives screenshots every 3 to 10 min (you can set the frequency), but you can also occasionally share your screen using any screen sharing program so you can see what they’re doing in real-time (especially great with designers, so you can direct their progress). [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] Sounds like a good idea! PI Outsource would never discourage you from using any type of monitoring software for your outsource workers. [/PI Outsource]
[urbanette] Even if you use computer monitoring software, they may still have two computers – and multiple clients – and just move the screen a bit every so often so it looks like there’s activity. If they’re not getting much done, there’s always a reason. This is a good time to start using screen sharing software on a daily basis. [/urbanette]
[PI Outsource] Stay alert and you will have success in outsourcing. [/PI Outsource]
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