From a small business run by around 40 people over a decade ago, Emapta has grown into an industry-leading offshoring firm with at least 3,700 employees and 400 clients across the globe.

Constant innovation and instilling a culture of family within the company played a huge part in Emapta’s growth, according to Emapta CEO Tim Vorbach.

To celebrate Emapta’s 11th anniversary, here are 11 pivotal moments that shaped our growth.

 

The birth of Emapta

 

Family motivated Tim to open Emapta. He had multiple successful businesses in Australia but it was a time when he had to focus on one as he starts his own family. He ended up doing so and creating a second family which is Emapta.

It began when Tim offshored parts of his businesses to the Philippines. He felt something was wrong, and their partners failed to give them the flexibility they needed to grow. Having enough exposure to Filipino talent, he decided to open his own offshoring firm in Manila, which became Emapta.

Initially, Tim intended Emapta to service his businesses in Australia, but he soon realised its big potential. “The impact that this incredible team was doing for our businesses in Australia was just profound, and I thought It could be an opportunity to do this for other businesses,” he said.

 

Naming Emapta

 

Emapta stands for Elizabeth, Mark, Amanda, Paul, Tim, Adrian – the name of Tim’s mother, father, and siblings. Tim said he retained this name because this is what the company stands for – family, a value that continues to drive Emapta’s growth.

Tim added that having family as a core company culture is aligned with the Filipino’s big heart for family. “We kept the name because it represents family values, which I also see among Filipino workers. There’s a really deep family connection in the workforce between colleagues. It’ really powerful,” he said.

 

Choosing the Philippines

 

Emapta was established in the Philippines for a reason. The tropical paradise is teeming with talent, said Tim. The level of talent in the Philippines, he explained, is exceptional, capable of filling a broad range of roles from any industry.

Filipinos, he added, have an incredible work ethic, exceptional resilience, excellent communication skills, and unmatched professionalism that makes them suitable partners for businesses of all sizes across the globe.

“Philippine culture is great, you feel the warmth and sincerity I felt accepted, I think it’s very clear to me if you treat Filipinos with respect, if you genuinely care you’ll get that back,” Tim said, sharing what he learned from his long stay in the Philippines.

 

Small beginnings

 

Emapta started with one 200-square meter office in Eastwood, Quezon City. There were about 40 to 50 employees working with the company’s first clients. There wasn’t a lot of capital in the beginning, Tim recalled, but their small team 11 years ago was able to do wonders for the businesses they served.

Things were simple back then. Tim remembered having a simple celebration with the staff when they grew to a hundred people. The initial success launched Emapta to new heights, being able to open new and bigger offices across the metro.

“We started from a 200-square metre office without a lot of attributes that large BPOs had, but what we have is heart and determination to deliver exceptional people,” he stressed.

 

Investing in people

 

When Tim arrived in the Philippines, the outsourcing industry had a big focus on cost, highlighting how Filipino talent can be efficient at a lower rate. However, this led to some outsourcing companies to open offices that are made to crammed employees to accommodate more savings.

Tim, on the other hand, believes the best talent needs the best support. So, he invested in empowering people, equipping them with the best devices available, state-of-the-art workplaces, exceptional connectivity, and more.

Putting the staff in a position where they can grow and be leaders played a huge part in the success of a once small business. “We have a decision to make every day, and when we do, we always choose what’s better for our people and the client. We make those investments,” he said.

 

Building a network of offices

 

Starting with a single modest office, Emapta now has 14 ultramodern offices across key cities inside and outside Metro Manila. Tim made sure to invest a lot in building this network of offices to bring Emapta closer to the talent.

He knew that the best talent in the market will always grab the nearest opportunity, and the only way to get them is to bring them closer to your business. And it’s not just a network of offices, these are state-of-the-art workplaces built to provide a great working environment for Emapta’s staff.

“We invested everything we had in all those opening years to be able to increase our network of offices because we want to be closer to the talent. This is a good example where our customers weren’t asking us to do it, but we knew that this is going to be the right decision for the people,” he added.

 

Putting the clients first

 

Having engaged in a cleaning business years before, Tim learned how important it is to put the clients’ identity in the forefront. It may sound simple bordering on common sense, but a lot of outsourcing firms struggle because they compete with the company on who gets to have the spotlight.

So, when Tim established Emapta, he made sure to always put the clients’ brand and identity at the forefront of the business, while Emapta works almost invisibly in the background, but always showing up when needed.

“I learned a lot about service and the relationship of being a good service provider. It’s all about making the customers look good. You can do that. You don’t have to have a high profile to do that well. As long as your performance I exceptional, you can have a fantastic business,” Tim said.

 

Investing in technology

 

Technology is a cornerstone of Emapta’s business, but huge technological advancements require the company to keep up with the ever-changing landscape. This pushes Tim to continue making huge investments in technology.

The effect of this investments is visible in Emapta’s IT Service Delivery Centre, which has grown from a humble group of 3 into a 50-strong team, capable of securing and servicing clients from all over the globe 24/7.

Testament to Emapta’s current technological strength was how the company was able to seamlessly transition its clients to remote work when the pandemic emerged, quickly securing their systems and ensuring their teams have proper and secure connectivity and support.

All these investments in technology have been wrapped into Emapta’s offerings to its clients, providing strong and secure connectivity, productivity tools, and more.

 

Success stories

 

Emapta has tons of success stories, but for Tim, the real success of Emapta is the success of the people. While Tim silently celebrates company milestones, what makes him smile and feel accomplished is the growth of the people.

For Tim, seeing people and clients grow after all those investments in the early years is a pivotal moment for Emapta.

“It’s the people that we have. I’ve seen people grow and evolve. I’ve seen very junior mangers turn into exceptional and highly effective senior managers. That makes me proud. When I see where our support teams really caring for the people they’re serving, when I see the success of our clients. That makes me proud,” he said.

 

Surviving, thriving during the pandemic

 

Emapta like any other company was hit by the pandemic. There were fears that clients would let go of their Filipino team. But Tim was betting on the value of the Philippines team to the businesses they serve.

Sure enough, Tim was right. “Our customers were really anxious about what’s happening, but they indicated without exception that their Philippine team was absolutely critical to their business. They told me, ‘Tim, we are not letting go of our Filipino workforce.’”

All the investments on people, offices, and technology paid off in such a critical time.

 

‘FASTER’

 

Offshoring is an ever-changing landscape, and there is a constant need to adapt to the times. It means success is not a stationary target, but a moving bull’s eye that you must hit time and time again.

It means having new goals and adopting new values to reach higher ground. “There’s always new goals for Emapta. We got loads of things to do,” Tim stressed.

This is why Emapta has launched its new company values “FASTER,” which stands for “Flexibility, Aspirational, Synchronised, Transparent, Empowered, Relationships.”

Flexible – We do what it takes and adapt quickly to overcome any challenge or meet any opportunity. We add what is necessary and remove what is not, embrace what is new and flex when change is the answer to the question.

Aspirational – We lead by example, innovate, and always look for a smarter way. We always think bigger, and how to be better. Aspiration got us to where we are and drives us to where we are going.

Synchronized – Like the movement of a clock, we are a group of individuals working together as a team with a common goal top of mind. We are in sync with our customers, our partners, and our people, driving forward as one.

Transparent – We take and open and direct approach with our people, our partners, and our customers. We remove the fluff and stick to facts, share what is working and what is not. If we make a mistake, we own it, fix it, and quickly move forward. We set expectations and deliver on our promises.

Empowered – We enable our customers and partners to grow stronger and go further. We find great people, empower them, and set them free. We support them every step of the way with the right skilled resources, tools, development, and environment, to achieve great things.

Relationships – Relationships are in our DNA. They are the glue that bond us and allow us to grow stronger and faster together with our customers, our partners, and our team members.