Are Filipino Staff Any Good at Speaking English

Have you ever wondered about the English-speaking talents of your Filipino employees as an outsourcing boss? Worry no longer because we'll get to the bottom of the issue in this blog post and give some strategies for increasing communication between you and your remote team members.

The first thing to realize is that while spoken English may be less vital, reading and writing skills are critical for good communication between you and your Filipino virtual assistants. (VAs). Most Filipinos are familiar with Americanized English, which works well if your company is in the United States but may require some adaptations if you are based in the United Kingdom or Australia.

Not to worry, we have some pointers on maintaining a high level of communication with your Filipino workforce, ensuring that your clients are unaware they are talking with an outsourced staff member. Filipino workers frequently have English or Spanish names in origin, which helps create an image that all your staff are local for those who care about that.

A subscription to Microsoft Office 365 is a must-have for your Filipino VAs. The Home Edition is perfect for remote employees, and an annual license allows for installation on up to six separate computers. This means that for about $90 per year, you can provide numerous team members with access to Office 365, boosting their productivity and efficiency.

Your VAs will have access to spelling and grammatical checks in Word and Outlook after Office 365 is installed. Consider delivering ProWritingAid to your employees to help them improve their English skills. This application is comparable to Grammarly but is less expensive and better suited for individuals who want greater budget control.

English settings available in ProWritingAid include British, Australian, and American English. This feature ensures that the written communications of your VAs are targeted to your intended audience. It can, for example, detect and correct regional variations in vocabulary and spelling, such as “faucet” vs. “tap” or the use of “z” and “s” in particular nouns.

While American and British English speakers may understand each other, employing regional English in customer service encounters or other written chores can make a substantial difference.

We tested Grammarly and ProWritingAid and discovered that ProWritingAid has more features at a lower cost. Using this application with your Filipino virtual assistants who handle customer care or email contact has made noticeable improvements in their written English.

Finally, while your Filipino employees' English skills may not be perfect, with the correct tools and assistance, they can give top-tier service that will delight your clients. If you found this post helpful and want to learn more about outsourcing in the Philippines and beyond, subscribe to our channel, like it, and share it with your friends. Stay tuned for our next video and thank you for taking the time to read this!

Note: since recording this, while ProWritingAid is a good tool, I find Grammarly edges it out a little these days, which is why I now use Grammarly with all my outsourced staff.