Virtual Assistants and Remote Work Risk in the Philippines

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Virtual Assistants and Remote Work Risk in the Philippines

Outsourcing administrative jobs in the Philippines has become a trend in the past few years. It is a lot easier (and less expensive) for small and medium sized businesses to hire virtual assistants in the Philippines than to have someone doing the same job in an office, pay the rent, and all the necessary expenses to keep it running.

Being the Philippines a country where a lot of people speak English fluently, and where education levels are good, makes it a destination for searching this kind of talent. According to the Philippines Statistic Authority the employment rate among youth has increased by 7.0 percentage points from 77.6 percent in July 2020 to 84.6 percent in July 2021. While there was an increase in youth employment, there was also an increase in underemployment from 15.7 percent in July 2020 to 19.0 percent this July 2021. Part of this increase is due to remote work opportunities in foreign companies, a deal that benefits both employers and employees.

If your company is considering hiring a virtual assistant or another role candidate, private investigators in the Philippines recommend the following:

Choose the right employment background check provider

Conducting an employment background check is a must for any role. The only way to know if an employment candidate is not a fraud is to have a local private investigation company conduct a thorough background check. The problem is that we often confuse a database search with a background check, or rely on information found online in places like Linkedin or even Google. But an internet search and a database search are not proper ways to verify a candidate. We all know it takes minutes to open an account and create a profile in any online platform. A fake Linkedin profile could be done within minutes, and it can look very real. If you are not in the Philippines, do not know how to verify the information the CV contains, ignore what is the official source to look for evidence, and don’t speak the language… your best option is to leave the investigation to the professionals.

To really minimize the risk of a bad hire, your professional investigation firm has to be on the ground in the same country as the aspirant to the work position. It is extremely important to have an experienced investigator searching at the right government offices, contacting past employers in their native language, and following all the country’s regulations in terms of privacy and data protection. Only someone who fully understands the language, the laws and the institutions can be able to do the work right, otherwise there will be so many gaps in the investigation that it makes it worthless.

Investing is your best option

Invest the time and the financial resources necessary to keep your business information safe from fraudsters. The people you hire need to be deserving of your entire trust, as they are too far away and in completely different jurisdictions. It is not likely that you’ll have any control over what they do, so make sure your selected candidate is trustworthy, with a remarkable background and no doubtful references in their past.

Keep in mind that even though employment background checks in the Philippines do require an initial investment, it pays well in time to complete this process.