The impacts of the unprecedented challenges have forced businesses to shift to remote work arrangements for most of their employees. For companies that outsource, virtual work is not something new particularly for a lot of remote staff in the Philippines. However, disruptions in and outside the workplace could also affect the productivity of the remote worker.
As outsourcing has grown globally, many companies regardless of size s hire virtual assistants or engage with offshore staffing in the Philippines where demand has increased in certain countries due to its unique advantages. Therefore, remote work lies mainly on tools and technology to deliver performance and productivity.
In the Philippines, there are two type of offshore staff, the one who reports to a physical office leased by the foreign company and the one who purely works from home where most of them are hired on a freelance basis. This mean not everyone may have adjusted to the challenges of remote working culture. Social isolation and distractions and internet connection at home are the top reasons why a Filipino remote employee still prefer to work in a physical office despite employer is in an offshore location.
In this article, we enumerate some applications that are already familiar to everyone.
Zoom
Zoom is a top unified communication app that has been in the market for a while. However, it was only at the start of the pandemic that Zoom has surge its number of users. Zoom is mainly used in virtual meetings for businesses but this app should also be left open not to closely monitor but it’s for everyone to see each other during the entire shift just like in the office setting. Filipinos like chatting with their colleagues whether personal or work-related matters that actually may help them finish their tasks.
Another reason to leave Zoom open is even when the staff is working in the comfort of their home, they will push themselves to dress up which may not be required. However, it is believed that how you start morning routine will determine your mindset for the day, and dressing up will help them become more productive.
Krisp
When you work from home, it is only natural that you experience distractions and background noises of your family members while at the shift. However, in the Philippines’ most populous cities are different. Most of the working class live in the downtown area where houses are built right next to each other where every neighborhood adds up to the noise. If you have remote staff that live in rural areas, chances are you hear more the interruption of the animals like dog barking or roosters crowing at the break of dawn. Krisp is an app that can help with background noise cancellation which is available for Mac and Windows users.
Net Speed Booster
Having a stable internet connection at home is one of the major problems of a remote employee and it’s quite frustrating that the Philippines have one of the most expensive data in Asia. Net Speed Booster can help boost the internet capabilities of your network speed. Though its features are too basic, it is easy to use and can support different type of connection like dial-up, ADSL, Cable, Lan or Wi-Fi.
Viber
Of all instant messaging applications, Viber is most the popular in the Philippines. A lot of companies use Slack for work communication but communicating via Viber can help everyone included and get more personal even during outside of work hours.
There are a lot of social media applications out there but most Filipinos spend more time on Facebook. Adding your remote employees to your friends list and interact with them on Facebook will give you more access to their personal lives. It will help them cope with social isolation especially that a lot of Filipinos are extrovert.
Netflix
The combined activity of working the entire shift and staying at home all day long can be a quite stressful and may drain the energy for your virtual employees. Binge watching their favorite movies and series can actually help your employees regain their strength. A month of subscription can only cost around $3 for mobile devices. This may be quite expensive for an employer but this can also turned as a perk for high performing employees. Employees will be happy to share
Forest
Browsing smartphones while at work can hinder productivity of your Filipino staff. Forest can help them focus and finish their tasks for the day while cutting dependence on their smartphone. In return, they receive credits and help the nature through an NGO plant trees.
Asana Rebel
Looking after the health of your Filipino staff is also important. Staying at home all day long and lack of exercise can lead to work burnout. Having a fitness app installed on their smartphones can help them become fit and healthy and help boost their energy and increase their productivity.
In conclusion, there are tons of productivity apps and tools that out there but we only made mention of the apps that can help the wellbeing of your offshore staff in the Philippines and adapt to the remote working culture during these difficult times.