This document provides guidance on managing a Filipino assistant. Some key points include: - Treat your assistant like a full-time employee by checking in on their work and making sure they feel cared for. - Filipinos may be reluctant to ask for help or admit mistakes due to cultural norms. Provide thorough training and feedback to help them succeed. - Positive feedback is important to motivate your assistant and build a strong working relationship. - Set clear expectations around work hours, communication, time off, and making their job permanent to ensure accountability and prevent micromanaging. - Pay assistants on time, use time tracking tools, and provide the customary 13th month bonus to support their families.

1. Managing Your Filipino Assistant

2. You Hired A Human, Not A Robot…
• This is your full time-time employee, take care of
them
• Ask them about their work
• Ask them how they like doing their work
• Make sure they know that you care about them

3. Filipinos Are Very Conscientious
• Many may feel like “they’re not good enough for
you”
• They’re worried they won’t perform perfectly
• They’re very non-confrontational
…… because of these cultural traits, if they don’t
know how to do something, they won’t tell you and
they’ll just quit without telling you why….

4. Where To Hire
OnLineJobs.ph

5. You Must Train Them
• They will not ask you how to do
something, they will just try to “figure it out”.
• If they can’t figure it out, many times they will
just quit instead of asking for help
• They are welcome to call our help desk and
attend classes / training

6. How To Pay Them
Pros & Cons
• Xoom.com
• Paypal.com

7. Provide LOTS of Feedback
• Provide POSITIVE feedback before you give negative feedback
“I like the way you are doing _______. On this
other thing, here’s a couple of pointers”
• It will help you get better work from them
• It will make your experience MUCH better and help you keep
your employees forever!
• Any positive feedback you can give goes a long way
When communications ends, relationships end!

8. Use Jing To Give Feedback
• Nothing like your own voice giving them great
feedback.
• Hearing where you put your emphasis in your
voice will help them understand exactly what it is
that you want.
• Here’s an example:
http://screencast.com/t/94kkSzGRFawB

9. Require Them To Send You An Email Every Day
• Keeps them accountable
• Keep the relationship under control
• Keeps projects moving forward
• Prevent you from micro-managing

10. Your Expectations
• They’re worried about making mistakes
(they are afraid of you)
• Give it time, nurture the relationship
It will pay off 100 times in the long run

11. Pay Them On Time
Keep in mind that this is how they are feeding
their family!

12. Don’t Pre-pay For Work
• Filipinos are from a very honest culture,
however……
• Don’t prepay them
• Don’t send them a laptop

13. Time Tracking With
AgentGuardian.com
($15 per assistant per month)

14. Time Tracking / AgentGuardian.com
• Also gives you how many keystrokes on the
computer keyboard per minute (for measuring
data input)
• Cost: $15 / assistant / per month

15. 13th Month
• In December you need to pay them a bonus of
1 months salary.
• This is pro-rated if they didn’t work for you the
entire year.

16. Employment Policies
Unless otherwise agreed on, tell them:
•
•
•
•
They are expected to work 40 hours/ wk
They’re expected to send a daily email to you
They’re expected to have only 1 job, working for you
They can take personal time off when they need
to, just don’t take advantage of it
• You’re here to help them if they get stuck on
something… “Please just ask me”
• You expect this to be a long-term working relationship.
It’s a permanent job

17. What About The Time Zone Issue?
Some like to give them things to do all day, then
the assistant has it all ready for you the next
morning.
I pay an extra 50 cents an hour to have them
work my time zone.