Outsourcing

How to Foster a Productive Positive Work Culture for Your Offshore Team

Having a productive culture for your offshore team is essential, but often difficult to do.

If you get the environment right, every single one of us can do remarkable things.” – Simon Sinek, Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe

Over 88% of employees and 91% of executives believe that positive work culture is the key to business success.  This is because having a great corporate culture leads to higher employee engagement that boosts your team’s productivity.

Making sure they have a well-established positive productive culture is what American Financial Network (AFN) focused on when they created their offshore team of mortgage processing professionals.

For AFN retaining top talent is key to keep their momentum because losing staff would impede the pace of their daily operations. Before the expansion, they could only process 1,000 loans per month. But with a highly engaged Philippine team who shares their values and company culture, AFN was able to successfully double their service capacity to complete 2,000 loans every month.

What made their offshore team productive within a short period of time? It’s all about promoting a positive corporate culture. If you keep your employees happy and motivated, they’ll return the rewards to you twofold.

 

What is organisational culture?

It’s been called several names – corporate culture and workplace culture are just some of the most common terms– but what is organisational culture, and what defines it?

Investopedia shares what workplace culture is as “the beliefs and behaviours that determine how a company’s employees and management interact and handle outside business transactions. What is corporate culture? It is implied, not expressly defined, and develops organically over time from the cumulative traits of the people the company hires.”

Following this workplace culture definition, we now know it’s about forming your own set of values that sets your organisation apart.

It’s also how your employees experience the values and promise of your brand. An inclusive culture that recognises and rewards excellence can drive your offshore team to make remarkable contributions for the company because they feel that they matter and that their efforts are recognised.

 

What it means to have a positive workplace culture in an offshore setting

When thinking about how to make culture attractive to your offshore team, be clear on your “Why” – the direction for your customers and your employees and build your corporate culture around it.

When you are clear about why you do what you do, it reflects on your company culture. For example, our vision at EMAPTA is to be a company where employees could grow their long-term professional career as well as achieve their personal goals. This translates into creating a flexible, helpful, and engaging work atmosphere consisting of programs and facilities that make our employees feel welcome, recognised, and most of all, empowered.

While our clients enjoy full control of their offshore team, we give them the office infrastructure (e.g. office branding) and custom tools (a dedicated staff management portal) to bring life to their company culture here in Manila.

Our client’s offshore teams also feel happy and engaged with our in-house professional development training, employee engagement programs, as well as health and wellness initiatives. They also get to work in premium, state-of-the-art offices and enjoy our onsite office gyms and other recreational facilities.

We encourage our clients to have regular communication rhythms from staff on their cultural strengths and areas of improvement and most of our clients visit their offshore team frequently to hear it from them!

Remember: Creating a positive culture in the workplace is a joint effort between you and your offshore team – with the support of your offshore provider.

 

Key Benefits of a Productive Positive  Culture for Your Offshore Team

According to a study conducted in the US by f respondents believe in the importance of strong company culture and more than 50% said the value of corporate culture shows in the following benefits:

 

A happy worker is a productive one.

Statistics show that a positive work culture amplifies productivity, but what’s the story behind the numbers?

Attitude highly affects workplace performance. If you foster a corporate culture that employees are proud and excited to be part of, they will always look forward to doing their best at work.

Having a strong company culture and structure for employee growth is what affects productivity in the workplace.

To give you an example of improving productivity in the workplace, here’s how our offshore teams work at EMAPTA. Following a “Your Team, Your Way” approach, our client partners have full control over their offshore teams, which includes sharing the same company culture they have with their offshore teams.

Working exclusively for a client, employees are focused on providing high-quality output for the company’s customers. EMAPTA works in the background to ensure their office infrastructure, human resources, career development, as well as health and wellness needs of their staff are met through employee engagement programs.

Because these roles are determined and communicated to the employees from the start, everyone understands their part. There’s less friction in terms of management, no room for confusion, and our clients’ offshore teams are happy knowing they have full support from both EMAPTA and our client.

 

Great culture attracts great talent.

What do Google, Facebook and Apple have in common?

They are all listed in LinkedIn’s Most In-Demand Employers, Glassdoor’s Best Places to Work and Fortune’s Best Companies as the best places to work.  More than amazing compensation packages, bonuses and perks, people are attracted to them because of their strong positive corporate culture.

According to a Gallup workplace study, 20% of candidates are more likely to join a company that has strong values and a sense of purpose. These individuals are driven to make a difference; thus, applying to organisations that allow them to do so becomes a priority.

This is how EMAPTA Founder and CEO Tim Vorbach was able to attract and retain top talent when he established his offshore operations in the Philippines 10 years ago. He envisioned EMAPTA to be an organisation that champions the talent of Filipino professionals through empowering engagement programs and world-class offices and facilities that fosters a positive and healthy workplace culture and environment.

Need to hire in volume or require support for your recruitment needs? Read below.

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Positive work culture results in a higher retention rate.

What’s the best way to retain your offshore talent? No, it’s not just about salary anymore.

An OfficeVibe survey showed that 74% of women and 58% of men would say no to a job with high compensation if they can’t work well with their colleagues.

Employees stay when they feel fulfilled at work, their morale is high, they’re more connected with their colleagues and to the goals of the company. Columbia University found that companies with great culture have a probability turnover rate of only 13.9%.

This can only be achieved if the company culture fosters recognition, collaboration, knowledge sharing, and a sense of belonging.

 

Great workplace culture means better business.

A motivated employee is a productive employee – 17% more, to be exact.

Also, happy employees produce better results and solve more complicated problems faster.

How does that translate to business growth? A Gallup analysis shows that having a highly satisfied and engaged workforce is the key to:

  • 21% higher profitability
  • 10% higher customer metrics
  • 17% higher productivity

Facilitating a positive workplace for offshore teams is at the heart of EMAPTA’s operations, meaning our clients can treat their offshore team as an extension of their local office.

Making your offshore team members aware of how important they are in helping you meet your business goals encourages them to get more involved and bring out the best in them.

This strong working relationship and culture have been the key highlights for the offshoring journey of one of our client partners, DCK Worldwide. “The best thing with a relationship with EMAPTA: transparency, honesty and the whole partnership spirit. The whole culture here is solid, it’s real. Nothing is hidden in the process and we help each other grow,” says Rodney McLaughlin, DCK Worldwide’s VP for Development, Hawaii and APAC.

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Reflect and take these vital steps to define an effective workplace culture

Now that you’ve come across the benefits of a positive workplace atmosphere and learned how clients with the best corporate culture tick, it’s time to assess and determine what your company culture means to you—your employer brand by considering these 3 important steps:

  1. Conduct surveys, facilitate discussions and have an open dialogue within the company—from your onshore to your offshore offices—to know how your staff perceives your current work culture. Is this the culture you’re gunning for? Or is it far from your vision?
  2. Next, have conversations with your leadership team to redefine, revise, and implement your ideal work culture. You should have people who are ready to rally behind your ideas and give their respective findings and suggestions.
  3. Finally, communicate your new set of values and culture across the organisation. Be open to suggestions and recommendations on implementing your culture from all your onshore and offshore team members to meet make sure everyone is aligned.

This means that positive workplace culture is one that’s dynamic—firm in its set of values but thoughtful and accommodating to the changing needs and goals of your employees.

Compensation and benefits play a huge part in motivating your offshore team, but these wouldn’t mean much unless they go together with a great company culture that encourages them to be creative and diligent. In return, your offshore team will be more committed to delivering work that will grow your overall productivity and profitability.

 

EMAPTA is a leading offshore partner in the Philippines for the last 10 years. With world-class offices, cutting-edge technology, and a rewarding work environment, we have the experience and expertise to attract, onboard, and retain high-quality talent in the Philippines. We provide stable, agile, and scalable offshore staffing solutions fully managed offices, and results-driven recruitment services to your company by incorporating the latest technology complete with HR, Admin, and 24/7 IT support. Experience offshoring with your team, your way through our customisable, flexible solutions.