A Filipino Freelancer’s Thoughts on Outsourcing
I have a special post that I want to share with everyone today. Honey Amabelle Young, a Filipino outsourced worker and the administrator, forum moderator and all around take care of business person over at EasyOutsource is my guest poster today and has written a wonderful, enlightening piece in which she shares the view from the “other side” of the outsourcing equation.
Outsourcing is growing in leaps and bounds these days, and not just outsourcing but outsourcing to the Philippines. That means good news for me, a Filipino online freelancer.
I consider the proliferation of outsourcing a blessing. Not only does it help the average Filipino earn a living, it helps the entire economy of our country. I am also very thankful that people from all over the world are recognizing the traits of Filipinos that make them very good workers.
I decided to become a freelancer around two years ago and have been the website manager of EasyOutsource for a year now. I have never regretted my decision to work from home ever since. What I did notice, though, is that compared to two years ago, freelancer rates are a lot lower now.
When I started freelancing, the lowest rate a freelancer from my country charges is $2/hr. The rate then varies depending on the type of work and the amount of experience a freelancer has. Nowadays, I can see freelancers charging lower than $1/hr. What brought about this change?
In my opinion, both freelancers and employers are to blame for this decline in rates – employers, for offering to pay low rates and freelancers, for accepting and agreeing to work for these rates. I cannot speak for employers, but I can speak for freelancers.
Coming from a country of more than 94M people, which produces 380T college graduates a year, you can imagine the stiff competition in the work force. While some graduates successfully enter into 9-5 jobs, a vast majority is left unemployed. Combine this with the popularity of the world wide web, with many households equipped with PCs and an internet connection, your result is the average Filipino online freelancer.
More and more people are resorting to working online, thus the number of competition is growing each day. As more people compete for a job, rates will naturally be leveraged for one to rise over their competition. This is the easiest factor to adjust, never mind that the more important ones like skills and experience, are more essential in online work.
This plays on the fact that the average employer is trying to save money, precisely why they resorted to outsourcing as opposed to hiring a local. In this scenario, no one can be blamed. It is the basic law of supply and demand.
Some people are saying that employers are exploiting Filipinos by giving them unreasonably low compensation. The operative word here is: reasonable. Moral obligation dictates that we do things within reason. That the Philippines is a third world country and the cost of living is a lot lower than that of more developed countries is a fact. Therefore, it is reasonable to pay a Filipino a lower rate for the same amount of work than say, an American. That is reasonable, and not exploitation.
When you start to do things that are out of reason, like paying a Filipino freelancer a very low rate because you were told it was ok and accepting that as gospel truth without investigating the matter yourself, then the problem begins.
So how do you know which rates are reasonable? It is not enough to know the country’s minimum wage and adding a little to that to determine a freelancer’s rate. You have to take a lot of other factors into consideration.
First, you’d have to know for which types of work is the minimum wage given. Second, you’d have to consider the fact that freelancers incur overhead expenses that an office worker does not – like electricity for the usage of their PC to do online work, the monthly cost of an internet connection, and training that they may have to pay for themselves.
You’d have to figure all of these in determining the reasonable rate to give a freelancer. Stay within reason and the success rate of your working relationship with your Filipino worker is likely to go up. For your guidance, you may check my post on reasonable rates to give a Filipino online freelancer.
There’s no denying the fact that our country is a goldmine of working online professionals. It is also widely known that a lot of Filipinos are intelligent, hardworking, and loyal. The quality of the work we render is comparable, and sometimes better than freelancers from other countries that charge higher rates. All these, and more, make me very proud to be Filipino.
Author’s Bio:
Honey Young is the manager of EasyOutsource, a job site where the workers are all Filipino. She is a Filipino online worker that was hired by the site owners, Matt O’Brien and Michael Eisenwasser. Both Matt and Mike are American web developers who created EasyOutsource because they found that Filipinos are the best people to outsource work to.
Who knows, maybe this will turn into a regular guest spot for Honey. For those of us who appreciate and take advantage of outsourcing to the Philippines…understanding how the other side feels and thinks can only help us to succeed in our outsourcing ventures.
Thank you so much Honey!
Don’t forget to visit Easy Outsource. They continue to improve their services more everyday. They already offer an awesome place to look for and hire skilled workers, an informative blog and a forum where you can post an questions, successes or concerns you may have.
Recently they added a new service I would like to make you aware of. They now have a section called “Easy Hire” for all those who don’t have the time…or possibly just don’t want to search on their own. There is a fee attached of course but for those in a hurry this could be the icing on the cake.
EasyOutsouce is free to join.
enJOY your week-end coming up everyone 
Kathy *
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Kathy,
I think Honey brings up some good points on what outsourcers can do and what ‘we’ are willing to pay them. I think the global economy as well as the US economy is part of the driving force behind the drop in income. Everyone across the board has experienced it.
I can understand that you want to make more money but in this economy, people are attempting to get the best quality for the least cost. If you can establish yourself as providing good quality work and doing within a deadline, over time you should be able to negotiate with your ‘employer’ for a larger payment.
This was good stuff and I will have to look at outsourcing more seriously in the future.
Thanks Honey!
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 24th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Hi Ron…thanks for stopping by
Honey has brought up some very interesting points to consider and it can never hurt to know both sides of the equation for our own business opportunities. My experience has been that when I have found the right outsourced worker…they are worth a bit extra…I only go for the gold standard 
Kathy
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Thanks Kathy for hosting this guest post. It was both informative and encouraging to read how outsourcing helps another economy. I never thought of it like that before. Thanks Honey for being frank in your story from the other side of outsourcing.
Honey, in the related post about rates you mention programmers should be paid around $8/hour along with other rates for different types of work. Is this US dollars?
Also, how would you suggest testing the ability of a programmer without committing a whole project to someone whose work quality you have not seen?
Thanks, Michael
Michael Pedzotti´s last blog ..Is Site Build It SBI right for you
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 24th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Hi Michael…
Those were some great questions you posed. Since Honey and I have talked about making this an ongoing column…I am sure you would not be opposed to writing another post answering all those quesions. I’ll leave the blog post alone for a week and gather any questions that come through and then I’ll see if Honey will give us the answers
Thanks for stopping by Michael.
Kathy
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Howdy Kathy,
Excellent post. I am absolutely sold on working with folks from the Philippines and am going to visit the links provided.
Thanks very much Kathy and Honey. (cool name, by the way…)
Have a grand day.
Barry
Barry´s last blog ..STP – Smile Transfer Protocol – Original Application @ YQR Regina Airport Authority
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 25th, 2010 at 1:53 am
You won’t be disappointed Barry I can promise you that. Let us know about your expiences
Kathy
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Hi Kathy
Thank you for bringing us such an informative guest post on outsourcing.
It was interesting to hear Honey’s views on using Philipino workers and how much you should pay them and I am looking forward to learning a lot more.
Hope it does turn out to be a regular thing.
Take care
Dawn
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 25th, 2010 at 4:50 pm
Hi Dawn…I am with you…I hope that Honey agrees to do more of these posts as I think they will really help anyone who is already outsourcing…or considering it.
Thanks for stopping by Dawn!
Kathy
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Hi Kathy,
Fantastic Post!! Honey sounds like a great person and very good at what she does.
I am hoping that I will be in the position to outsource some of my tasks soon. Just got to increase my income and pay a few debts off first!
It really sounds like you have found your passion and found your niche. I will be interested when you have set up what you are planing down the track for people. I am like most people I like to go on recommendation and use people that are recommended.
I hope all is going well. See you back here soon!
Cheers
Jacinta
Jacinta Dean´s last blog ..The 100 Blog Comment Challenge Is On!
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 25th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Hi Jacinta…
Just checking your awesome blog out tells me that you have enough on your plate and could benefit by using outsourcers.
It won’t be long before you start outsourcing
I am working to help a few people find an outsourcer. Let me know when you’re ready and I’ll be happy to help you out Jacinta!
Kathy
[Reply]
Greetings Kathy,
What a wonderful twist, reading about the perspective from a Filipino view.
A great post from Honey and I agree with the adage, “you get what you pay for.”
Just as true is if you get more than you are paying, there will be a price down the road. That wonderful independent contractor’s skill set will not hang around if not being taken care of.
It was beneficial to see a chart outlining typical and fair wages for the different job titles.
I would like to ask Honey about guidance on the protocol taken when a freelancer or independent contractor is first interviewed:
- Should there be a contract written about a trial period, is an email sufficient?
- Is a month sufficient time to recognize that there is a definite win/win
relationship?
- Should a freelancer/independent contractor write a daily record of their work and hours completed?
- How often should a review occur and what is the standard for raises and bonuses?
- Does a worker mind working for several clients if they need full time and there is not enough work available with just one client? If he client found other work for them?
- How often does a freelancer/independent contractor expect to get paid?
- What is the best way to find a project manager?
- Please inform us about the most important prerequisites that a freelancer.independent contractor needs from their client.
- What is the ideal scenario for a Filipino worker.
- Is there any cultural or custom differential that should be brought up.
- How to best deal with the time difference of the US and Philippines?
- How much should be paid for a trial piece, like writing an article, putting up a blog, SEO and how long is the average time to do different jobs?
Ok, enough. Thank you kindly for the tutorial and answering any questions that
you feel comfortable with.
Exciting that we are in a global economy where there is such a potential for a win/win partnership between two incredible nations!
Suzen
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Hi Suzen…wow that’s quite an extensive list. I am sure we can get Honey to answer any/all of these questions at some point.
And yes, I am loving this global economy and the win-win for both sides. It truly is an exciting time to be alive! Kathy
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
Hi Suzen…wow, that’s an extensive list of questions! I am sure Honey will be happy to answer all/or some of these questions for the readers. Thanks for taking the time to ask! Kathy
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Fascinating post Kathy, very interesting to learn about outsourcing ‘from the other side’. I’ve always thought the Internet is a great way to spread wealth around the world. Eventually the global village will all be rich.
I haven’t outsourced anything myself yet, which may explain why I only got as far as lesson 10 on the Masterclass.
John
John McNally´s last blog ..BLOG HOPPING for TRAFFIC
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Hi John…It’s always nice to see you here
You will at some point John reach the point of having to consider outsourcing. It is just a natural progression in this business if you want to grow any bigger. I love your idea of the “global village” eventually being rich…this truly works for all sides. Your blog is looking great these days John!
Kathy
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Hi Kathy,
Fantastic post, your blog is deffnitely the one I turn to on the outsourcing front!
I am actually looking to start outsourcing this month as I have far too much on my plate and will be looking for 1 or maybe 2 virtual assistants, and EasyOursource looks like an excellent place to find someone suitable.
I thought Honeys post was excellent and she hit the nail on the head that you get what you pay for. It was really informative and will help as a guide when I go to do business with a fillipino worker at some stage in the next month.
Thanks again for some great content!
Regards,
Steve Wilkins.
Steven Wilkins´s last blog ..Technology Is Changing And So Should Your Business
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Hi Steve….I highly recommend that you search EasyOutsource first. They are free to join…as opposed to the other sources and we hired out Project Manager/writer from EasyOutsource and she is over the top fabulous! You may not have to look anywhere else…saving you a little money. Honey is a wealth of information and she has agreed to write another post answering the many questions that everyone is asking
Thanks for stopping by Steve!
Kathy
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Hi Kathy, your guest post about what it is like on the other side of outsourcing is very enlightening. It is most definitely something to consider. I’ve saved the link, thank you Honey for providing us with this eye opening information. Terry Conti
Terry Conti´s last blog ..Sell your ebook on its own or put it on Clickbank What do you think
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 31st, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Hi Terry…Glad you enjoyed this post because Honey has agreed to answer all the questions that are coming from everyone….
Most likely I am going to make this some sort of column…;)
Kathy
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Hi Kathy,
I really enjoyed this post, Honey seems so lovely.
I have to admit, I did have mixed feelings about outsourcing due to the shouts about slave labour etc.
But this post has put my mind at ease.
If I get what I pay for, and I pay a good amount to my outsourcer, then everyone is a winner.
Catch ya soon Outsource Queen!
Sally
Sally Neill´s last blog ..How To Create An Ebook Ecover In 5 Minutes
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
July 31st, 2010 at 2:54 pm
Hey Sally….always great to see you here
I think Honey has helped alot of people that were just uncertain about paying outsourcers those type wages. As you can see we are actually helping to feel families and helping economies in general. How can that ever be a bad thing? 
Kathy
[Reply]
Hi Kathy
As you know I’ve been pondering outsourcing some of my business for a while and Honey kind echoes some of the concerns I had about the rates of pay.
I would always struggle to pay someone less than I would be prepared to work for myself. I know there are specific skill sets I lack and some tasks that are more mundane than others…I think I will look to offset this by paying bonuses where appropriate.
I’m looking forward to hearing about the article outsourcing
Cheers
Steve
Steve King´s last blog ..100 Comments on a Post
[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 12:41 am
Steve…Honey just submitted another post to me with answers to all the questions that people asked. I should have it up in a day or two….:)
Kathy
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[...] the issues that surround the topic of outsourcing to the Philippines. You can read my article on A Filipino freelancer’s thoughts on outsourcing by clicking on the [...]
Hi Kathy,
This article is really interesting since I share the same thoughts and concerns as the author. It is concerning indeed why quite a number of individual contractors are now paid lower than what it was a few years back. I agree that there are several factors that need to be considered in hiring a freelancer. It is unreasonable to offer a stumpy salary when in fact this person is more than qualified for the position. Same goes when you pay more for a contractor who is not fully qualified for the job. An employer should be able to gauge the skill level and qualifications of an applicant and offer this person the appropriate wage. Most employers ask why freelancers quit their jobs easily. I think one significant reason behind this behavior is because they are not paid well and yet some employers ask too much from them. Depending on the skills required and the tasks that need to be done, employers should see this as a basis for determining the wage of their ideal contractor or freelancer.
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[Reply]
Kathy Dobson Reply:
August 5th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
Hi Rose…glad you commented. If anyone is aware you are
This is exactly why I decided to ask Honey to write these posts…there is much clarification that is needed. I know in my situation I am going to gauge each situation separately and really look at the skill set of the individual and pay accordingly.
Kathy
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Hi Kathy, what a fantastic article! Nothing’s better than an inside view of someone’s work. Honey is an excellent guest writer. Thanks so much for sharing. Take care, Steve D.
Steve@bookmarking´s last blog ..Bookmarking URLS Favicon Style
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Hi Kathy,
This is such an important post.Glad you bring this topic into discussion.
I totally agree that outsourcing can really help enhance the online marketing. I’ve been doing this for some years already and i am blessed to have Filipino folks to help me in my business,
Many thanks for bringing this topic into light.Good luck with the challenge and with your business.
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