Decades after it first rose to relevance, the Philippines’ business process outsourcing (BPO) industry remains one of the most competitive sectors when it comes to salaries. These days, however, it’s become much more difficult for BPO companies to draw and retain the kinds of talents they want. Not only do outsourcers face fierce labor market competition from other players within their industry and from other booming sectors, but the young workers that the industry relies on have also changed much in their outlook and expectations.
Twenty years ago, it was fairly common for young employees to stick with their companies through thick and thin. Today, jobs are now more often thought of as mere stepping stones for some other deeper means of personal or professional fulfillment. A wider recognition of the challenges of working odd hours in the service of overseas clients and partners has also led many otherwise suitable job candidates to stay away from the BPO industry in favor of conventional daytime jobs.
In response to these challenges, many BPOs have started offering an array of unique compensation packages that go beyond the usual salaries and freebies. Interestingly, a lot of this compensation innovation is emerging from smaller BPOs, perhaps because of their limited resources. If you’re a BPO business owner or are responsible for a BPO’s staffing, you may want to adapt these guerilla-style compensation approaches to motivate the agents employed in your company:
1. Loans and Salary Advances
These benefits have long been a feature of conventional Filipino workplaces, but they’re also worth considering for modern BPOs eager to encourage employee loyalty. To implement these popular benefits into your payroll system, you can use a localized bulk payment solution like Maya Disbursements. The automation features of Maya Disbursements are already being used by some locally based BPOs to schedule payments of non-salary cash benefits. With just a few clicks, your compensation and benefits team can facilitate any incentive, even within the time-sensitive Philippine payroll system, which typically mandates businesses to disburse employee salaries twice a month.
2. Internal Rewards Programs
If your BPO already has a system for tracking employee metrics, creating a functioning rewards program is going to be relatively simple. All you need to do is tie a key performance metric with points that could, in turn, be redeemed for cash.
In addition to tying performance metrics with points for rewards, consider integrating gamification elements into your internal rewards program. By incorporating challenges, leaderboards, and badges, you can further incentivize and engage BPO agents, fostering healthy competition among your employees.
3. Various Allowances
Including allowances as part of your BPO agents' incentives can significantly boost motivation and satisfaction. For example, transportation allowances can help ease commuting expenses (important in Philippine urban settings), meal allowances or free meals ensure access to nutritious food during shifts, communication allowances can help cover essential connectivity costs for those working from home, and wellness allowances can be used to cover expenses related to gym memberships, fitness classes, nutrition counseling, mindfulness workshops, health screenings, and purchasing ergonomic equipment for comfortable workstations. These allowances not only help alleviate financial burdens but also demonstrate your company's commitment to your agents' well-being and success.
4. More Vacation Time
Going above the Philippine norm of 10 vacation days per year can be a great way to attract and retain talent without breaking the bank. The key to pulling this off without compromising service levels is to invest in forecasting and workforce management systems that optimize scheduling according to expected demand. With so many other BPOs hesitant to offer more than the bare minimum vacation days, offering more can be enough to convince your best talents to stay on.
5. Four-Day Workweeks
Four-day workweeks are a controversial but increasingly popular way to give employees an extra day off without compromising output. While they’re probably still unworkable for most Philippine companies, the metrics-based setup of most BPOsmakes them prime candidates for trying out this arrangement.
Whether the arrangement is done by having employees work four days at 11 hours per day or by removing one workday from the standard five-day week, cutting back on workdays will align your BPO with evolving trends in work-life balance. What’s more, your BPO may become even more productive, thanks to the boost in mental and physical health that your employees are likely to enjoy.
6. Flexible Work Arrangements
Alternatively, offering flexible work arrangements, such as remote work options or alternative scheduling, can be a valuable incentive for your BPO agents. Flexibility allows agents to better balance their work and personal lives, leading to higher job satisfaction and productivity. Additionally, it can expand the talent pool by attracting individuals who require flexibility due to personal circumstances or preferences.
Develop a Motivated Team with Maya Disbursements
More than just a simple payroll management system, Maya Disbursements is an all-in-one payment solution for accurate and timely bulk payments of any kind. With its flexibility and ease of use, it’s become a go-to retention tool trusted by BPOs and other businesses. Create your Maya Business account today to enjoy the benefits of Maya Disbursements at your BPO.
Successfully creating a Maya Business account automatically gives you access to a high-performance Maya Business Deposit account for managing your settlements and payrolls. Your Maya Business Deposit account offers an industry-leading 2.5% per annum interest rate, earning you PHP 25,000 in interest per year on every PHP 1 million deposit. You’ll also enjoy free cash transfers to partners and suppliers via InstaPay and PESONet, unlocking more savings for your BPO.
Signing up for Maya Business also paves the way for a no-collateral Maya Flexi Loan valued up to PHP 2 million within just 3 months, just what you need to develop better incentive programs. For better subsequent loan offers, just keep using Maya Business as your primary processor for all wallet and card payments.
Sign up for Maya Business to activate Maya Disbursements and give your BPO employees the rewards they deserve.
