Why hire from the Philippines?

Contents

Filipino workers – why hire from the Philippines? The benefits…
There’s a different process when you hire from the Philippines
Overview of the process when hiring from the Philippines
Is it cost effective to hire from the Philippines?
Summary
What our clients say about RecruitNZ

Do you feel like the skills shortages in New Zealand are holding back the growth of your business?

After all, in many industries it’s become extremely difficult to recruit experienced workers that also have a great attitude – and then retain them. And it’s hard to focus on business growth, when too much of your time and energy is invested in continually recruiting, onboarding, and training new starters.

If this scenario sounds familiar, perhaps it’s time to think outside the box in order to create some competitive advantage, and get the jump on your competitors. Maybe the solution could be to hire from the Philippines.

Let’s take a look at the benefits of Filipino recruitment – and what you need to know about the process.

Filipino workers – why hire from the Philippines? The benefits…

The key reason to hire from the Philippines is that you are dealing with a skilled and experienced workforce. Filipino workers not only have excellent skills, but also a good work ethic. They generally settle in well, tend to be reliable workers, and show up at work with a good attitude. Workers from the Philippines can be a major asset to your business, and create a positive effect on your organisational culture as well as your productivity levels.

Filipino workers like coming to New Zealand: in the Philippines, NZ has the reputation of being friendly, respectful, kind, having beautiful landscapes, and good working conditions. New Zealand is seen as one of the best places in the world to work for many Filipinos.

So why isn’t everyone hiring from the Philippines? The reason is that there’s a different process to recruit workers from the Philippines, and it can be daunting to go through it without expert help.

There’s a different process when you hire from the Philippines

The Philippine Government has recognised that Filipino workers are highly sought after globally. These workers contribute a significant amount of earnings to the GDP of the Philippines, as a high percentage of their earnings is sent to support family in their home country. At the same time, the Philippine Government also recognises that workers overseas are open to exploitation and harm.

Therefore hiring from the Philippines is highly monitored and regulated. The process is quite involved, but the team here at RecruitNZ can help you every step of the way.

Overview of the process when hiring from the Philippines

Submit Job Order documentation to the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) in Wellington: This requires a number of hard copy documents signed in ink (i.e. not scanned or electronically signed) to be sent. RecruitNZ can take care of this for you.
POEA Accreditation: Once your Job Order is verified, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will provide accreditation. Read more about the POEA.
Recruitment begins: RecruitNZ can organise the whole recruitment process, which can include Zoom interviews, trade testing, and even face-to-face interviews in the Philippines. Read more about the recruitment process of our Filipino recruitment agency in New Zealand.
NZ work visas: Once a New Zealand employer is accredited, the job check can take place. Successful candidates can then apply for the Accredited Employer Work Visa. Read more about visas for Filipinos.
Settlement support: POEA rules demand that there is a full settlement and support package, plus on-going pastoral care for Filipinos working in New Zealand. Read more about employers’ obligations when they hire Filipino workers.

Also check out our tips on international recruitment in New Zealand.

Is it cost effective to hire from the Philippines?

RecruitNZ has been working with New Zealand employers in recruiting Filipino workers for some years. In our experience, if you’re spending more than 1.5 days a month on average on recruiting skilled workers, it’s far more cost effective to outsource this to a specialist international recruitment consultant.

We’ve worked with companies who need just one-off specialist roles recruited (but can’t find suitably skilled workers in New Zealand), to employers who need a whole team recruited from the Philippines.

So whether you’re looking for one or several Filipino workers – speak to us to see if it’s likely to be worthwhile for your business.

Summary

It can be strategically advantageous for business growth to hire from the Philippines.
There may also be cost benefits in hiring Filipino workers, especially if you’re spending more than 1.5 days a month on recruiting skilled workers.
There are special rules and procedures in place when you hire from the Philippines.
Working with an experienced international recruitment company, such as RecruitNZ, can take the burden off your shoulders when hiring from overseas.

What our clients say about RecruitNZ

“Our concrete company engaged the services of RecruitNZ to help us find some Filipino concrete contractors to join our busy company. We have been extremely happy with the process that RecruitNZ has in place and were fully informed of what was happening the whole way through this journey. It is not a quick process and we could not have done this without a company like RecruitNZ on board to sort out all the legal requirements needed to employ someone from the Philippines. We are also thankful with the on-going support we have had from Recruit NZ in helping out with the transition for the Filipino guys into our business. We would recommend this process to anyone looking to employ someone from the Philippines as we are more than happy with our two new workers. We are now looking to employ a few more candidates in the near future to help us grow our company.”

Jodie Wallen - Wallen Concreting Limited