Whenever there is a shortage of talents in the local population, a company faces the question where to import skilled workers.  More than ever, businesses in the oil & gas, construction, engineering, healthcare, retail and other industries have looked towards the capabilities of the recruitment agencies in the Philippines as a source of quality talents to meet their staffing needs.

The challenge faced by foreign employers is to sift through the information and understand what will make a recruitment campaign successful.  Here are 4 critical factors which an employer should consider when recruiting quality manpower in the Philippines.

1.     Timeframe 

Nothing is more critical than preparing a recruitment plan with a realistic timetable. If local recruitment will require an HR practitioner a lead time of 2-3 weeks to fill vacancies, recruiting from outside the country entails a longer timeframe.  While the speed of recruitment is important, one should remember that cutting corners will increase the risk of failure. A thorough work on processing applicants must be done by the employer and its accredited recruitment agency in the Philippines.  Sourcing candidates will be a standard of 2-3 weeks, depending on their category, companies interested to recruit from the Philippines should consider two other factors: Accreditation (Pre-recruitment) and Documentations (Post-recruitment). For the Accreditation Process, your company will be required by the Philippine government to be accredited by the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). This alone will take from 2-4 weeks depending on the documents made available. While the Documentations procedure will take another 3-6 weeks, depending on the availability of documents from the selected candidate’s end, and the host country’s process. Overall, from the date you confirm your recruitment campaign, one should allocate around 3 months lead time when it comes to the acquisition of manpower from your recruitment agency in the Philippines. 

2.     Completeness of Information 

The distance between the employer and his target talents creates a gap regarding how information is channeled for each party to make better decisions. Local recruitment gives the talent easy information with regards to the employer. In the same way, local recruitment entails employers to have more predictability regarding the quality of its applicants as the local psyche and attitudes are assessed better in the local context. This is not the case when recruiting outside the country. Both employers and the accredited recruitment agency in the Philippines should have clarity in the transfer of information so that each one can make a proper assessment of what adjustments and final decisions should be done during the recruitment campaign. This means the employer should provide all necessary information regarding the project, the company, its philosophy, and even the job description and compensation package details. The partner recruitment agency in the Philippines should also advise employers of local conditions so that the recruitment campaign can be personalized ensuring better success. Staffing solutions should always be tailored according to the employer’s standards balanced with local recruitment conditions. Remember, a candidate that is well informed is in a better position to make the right decision.

3.     Reliable Recruitment Vendor

Cheap doesn’t mean savings and expensive doesn’t mean quality. The primary question an employer should ask before commissioning a recruitment agency in the Philippines is “Are they a reliable recruitment vendor?”. Reliability transcends cost. While it is usually thought of as capability, in the Philippine recruitment space, it plays one major factor – reputation. The reality is there are more than 400 land-based recruitment firms in the Philippines – all of them dipping into the same finite job market, and all of them trying to attract the same candidates for opportunities. The candidates, on the other hand, have a field day in choosing which opportunity to pursue. This is where the manpower agency’s reputation is critical. An unknown agency representing a Forbes 500 company will simply raise eyebrows. Then again, an unknown employer working with an unknown representative will be an uphill struggle in attracting applicants. Candidates are more confident to pursue opportunities with those POEA-licensed agencies who have a very good track record of representing professional and global standard companies.

4.     Final Interview

Nothing works best when both employer and employee can build confidence between each other. The partner recruitment agency in the Philippines is only there to map their relationship. While in a world of interconnectivity allows us to talk and chat with someone on the opposite side of the globe, it cannot replace actual personal engagement. It is true during a personal meeting when both the employer and the employee can build confidence with each other. The biggest mistake an employer will make is to rely on the partner to make that decision on who gets hired. So as part of a recruitment plan, an employer should be ready to send a representative or a team to meet the shortlisted applicants.

For more information on how to conduct a recruitment campaign in the Philippines, please connect with our Business Development Team at solutions@rensol.com. We will be ready to sit down with you and understand your concerns and configure a recruitment plan to ensure better success.

ABOUT THE COMPANY: Rensol Recruitment and Consulting, Inc. is the fastest growing recruitment agency in The Philippines. A career consultant that aims to go above and beyond the level of expectations of both the aspirations of the candidates and the dream team standards of employers through providing exceptional opportunities and unparalleled quality-driven recruitment services.

Karlo Panahon - Business Development Director

Karlo is the resident chief revenue and brand strategist. He is passionate about making a difference in people’s lives. Whether it is in the workplace or in his community, he believes that we are always given an opportunity to impact others for the better. He brings with him 16 years of Business Development and Operations experience from the engineering, design, and international recruitment industries.