Welcome to today's episode of the Leader Unlocked podcast, where we bring you inspiring stories and insights from experts who are making a positive impact in their fields. My name is Paige Buan, and I’m your host.
Today, we're thrilled to have Andrew Valle with us, a seasoned leader and consultant with nearly 20 years of experience. What sets Andrew apart is his passion for helping entry-level Pinoys join the remote workforce.
In this episode, Andrew will share his insights on the challenges and opportunities of remote work for entry-level Pinoys, the key skills and competencies needed for success, and how he guides and supports his clients and mentees.
Paige Buan:
Welcome to the Leader Unlocked podcast. Andrew, thank you so much for joining us today.
Andrew Valle:
Thanks for having me.
Paige Buan:
You have such an extensive experience in virtual staffing and service delivery, and recruitment. Can you tell us about your background and how you became an expert in building so many high-performing teams for offshoring companies and MSME clients, like micro, small, and medium enterprises?
Andrew Valle:
So, I started my career about two decades ago in the BPO industry.
Taking a step back, I graduated as an engineer, maybe the second or third lowest of my batch, and I thought long and hard about what job I should get. And then I figured there are not a lot of mechanical engineers who can speak good English at that time. So, I joined the BPO industry to get free training and also get paid. I thought that was going to be my advantage since I didn't do so well in college. Since then, I worked my way up, attended a lot of trainings, earned a lot of certifications along the way. I found that I loved solving problems, and that was a good thing in my line of work.
My venture into remote work was a bit unique because it was triggered by my father's passing. After his death, I questioned what life was about, what I should be doing, what I should be spending my time on. And I realized that time is the most important resource that we have.
From there, I joined a VA company about seven years ago. I initially joined as a client success manager where I handled multiple clients and multiple virtual assistants. After about a year, we had to restart the company, and this was the time I took on the role of Head of support. In this role, I implemented and managed all the support teams, you name it, I kind of managed it, recruitment, training, and even accounting at some point, all the while supporting our operations teams. It was a great opportunity because I worked with a lot of new and incoming VAs as I handled recruitment and training, and we had to help them be ready for their clients.
On the other hand, I worked with a lot of clients looking to scale their business and hire talent from the Philippines.
I really fell in love with the idea of helping both clients and VAs. So I stayed on that course. Currently, I am a leader for our customer success team, and I get to do what I love doing.
Paige Buan:
That journey, you went from BPOs. That was the shift in “whatever you study in college that's really going to be your route.” Or if you don't finish, the chances or opportunities available to you will be very, very limited.
Andrew Valle:
Correct.
Paige Buan:
The entry of BPO companies in the Philippines really disrupted that, and it also opened up a lot of opportunities for so many Filipinos. So you've tried that, and then you even shifted before the pandemic happened.
Andrew Valle:
Yes.
Paige Buan:
I would say that would be the other disruption in terms of work opportunities. There's definitely a different dynamic for people working. How can remote work benefit both the companies and the workers, especially in terms of cost-effectiveness and productivity?
Andrew Valle:
That's a very interesting question.
Let's take the workers first. Based on experience, I'm sure you've experienced this too. I heard that the average Filipino commute is three to four hours daily.
Paige Buan:
Yes.
Andrew Valle:
There. Add the time that you need to prepare, the resources you need to have the drive or commute, and you can easily see why a lot of people would want to work remotely or from home. I think that's what remote work does. It really helps everyone spend more time doing what they love doing, be it with their families, friends, hobbies. It's literally like giving us our lives back. It makes us happier. It makes us more motivated to perform at work.
And this is exactly one of the biggest advantages of a remote-based company. You'll most likely have more engaged employees. And if your processes are set up correctly, you will retain this talent that you have, and you'll grow your business with the talent that you started with.
I'm sure you've heard about quiet quitting. Not a lot of that is happening if you have motivated and engaged workers. Remote work or home-based work does that. And again, you know what they say, happy employees leads to happy customers.
Paige Buan:
That’s right. Did you notice any difference between the type of workforce that you get on an on-site company versus a virtual recruiting company?
Andrew Valle:
The differences wouldn't be evident at first, mostly because at the entry level, you'll get pretty much the same amount of experience with people reporting in the office and people working from home.
The main difference would be around when people get to leadership positions. This is where you'd see a lot of team dynamics being shifted into the remote workspace. There's not a lot of opportunities for remote leaders to engage their employees. You have to be creative. And again, that's where the difference would lie when you get to a leadership position. You need to be more creative and engaging and making sure that your co-workers, your colleagues are up to speed and really motivated in their work.
Paige Buan:
You really have to pull from that. That's very interesting.
Before the pandemic, for a lot of Filipino workers, remote work was a dream, it was a nice-to-have. Not all companies have adapted or were ready to adapt to that. Culture does play a huge part in how well you can lead virtual teams. If you have a highly engaged team, it would still work. But for so many other companies, it was a struggle to do that. That's when the whole "silent quitting" term came out. That's when leading virtual teams- it was just realized by so many people that not everybody could do that. And it's very, very different because everybody was adjusting to the Zoom meetings and, like, backgrounds and stuff like that.
How were you able to navigate through the challenges that a lot of companies were kind of surprised by when the pandemic hit? How did you go through that smoothly? Did you encounter the same kind of challenges when you started, trying to adjust from in-person workspace to virtual?
Andrew Valle:
I think I had the same experience as most people. The Philippines wasn't really that exposed to that type of work yet.
If you remember, I joined the remote workforce before the pandemic hit. So it was very, very new to us. And I believe in all my meetings, the first thing that I said was, "Can you hear me?" At some point, everyone experienced that. So those little things, as mundane as they are, it's different because you'd never hear someone say that in a face-to-face conversation. "Can you hear me? Can you see me? Am I still on? You're breaking up," all of those fall in line with communication.
A lot of the hardships or a lot of the challenges that we faced were mostly based on communication. It's slightly different, how to communicate remotely. Whereas if you do face-to-face, you can read body language, you can see facial expressions very clearly. In remote work, you'd have to really dwell on and really pay attention to the audio. I think this was pretty much the same time when podcasts really hit a couple of years ago, just because audio became more important.
Paige Buan:
Yes.
Andrew Valle:
And yeah, that was, I guess, one of the most interesting and challenging things that happened. The importance of communication was really highlighted.
Paige Buan:
Is that what inspired you to focus on helping entry-level Pinoys to join the remote workforce because you've been doing this before the pandemic?
Andrew Valle:
Yes, and no. When I became a people leader some time back, I had a goal of helping people that I work with fulfill their potential. So anyone that I worked with, they'd know that I was all about making sure that they rose to their potential.
Then later on, when I joined the remote workforce, I saw that one of the root causes of people not fulfilling their potential or getting their goals is either lack of time or lack of energy, or both. With this realization, I shifted my advocacy into helping entry-level Filipinos work remotely. Once they get acclimated and experienced remote work, which all of us did at some point during the pandemic. We were thrust into experiencing remote work.
We also realized that time is the most important resource that we have since we got to spend more time doing what we love doing, spending more time with family. If people have more time, they get to fulfill their potential better and have more time to work on the things that they love doing.
I already see a lot of thought leaders organize courses for those already in the game, those looking to improve their craft. And I thought to myself that if I was going to help, I wanted to aim for those who really, really badly need it. Those that are clueless, starting fresh. We've all been clueless before. We all started somewhere, tried to grasp or tried to understand things quite quickly. I know how it feels. I know how it feels to start from scratch. I wanted to be there for the people who want to get in but didn't really know how to or didn't have the resources to pay for courses or join masterminds. And not to knock on courses or masterminds, I've joined a lot of them. They're great. If you have the resources to join them, go for it. The work that I do for entry-level folks will always be free of charge just because they are my demographic. The only ask that I have from them is if they can pay it forward when they can.
Paige Buan:
Even before the pandemic hit, that was always "How do you do it? How do you even start? What do you need to do?"
I wanted to clarify something. When you say "entry-level Pinoys," this does not necessarily mean age, right? When you're starting over or starting from the beginning, this could be any demographic.
Andrew Valle:
Correct. I've had people who I worked with in internships and master's programs. I think the most mature one was about well into her 50s. And I have had experience with working with a lot of working students. Some have been working in the BPO industry for a long time and wanted to shift to remote work but didn't have the resources to invest in courses yet.
You're absolutely right. It varies, and there's a lot of different types of people wanting to get in the remote workspace. It's not really about age; it's about the timing and what part of their lives they want to get in working remotely.
Paige Buan:
It's for everybody. It's not just for the ones who are just starting.
Andrew Valle:
Absolutely.
Paige Buan:
So that's great. Let's get into this.
So what do you need? What's the first step? What are the key skills I need and competencies in order to succeed or even get started? And how can you get them?
Andrew Valle:
Well, talking about competencies and skills can be an entire episode of a podcast. There's just a lot in those areas that a freelancer can focus on. It depends on what they want to target as their niche, so I won't cover what those are. And depending on what you choose, your competencies will also vary.
What I can say based on my experience to be the two most important skills would be communication skills and dependability.
Let's take the first one. Having good or great communication skills is far more useful than any skill you will learn, in my opinion. Anyone can be an expert in anything over time, but if that person cannot communicate that he or she isn't an expert or comprehend business speak, when they deal with clients, it will just be tough to get hired. It will be very hard for your client to collaborate with you.
The next one would be dependability. I'd like to think that clients go to us, go to the Philippine workspace to hire freelancers because they trust that the workers can get the job done.
Now, I hate it when I hear negative feedback. It's not constructive anymore. There's some talk of negative feedback about the people that work remotely from the Philippines. But there's still a lot of us who are very dependable. And dependability breeds trust with clients. If you show you're able to deliver consistent results despite the challenges you face, the client or company that you work with will definitely trust you more. This opens up more opportunities for you in the future, and this opens up more opportunities for other remote workers in the future.
The two most important skills would be communication skills and dependability.
Paige Buan:
I love that you're highlighting that communication. So you have to know the business skills, you have to know the business speak. And then the dependability that is so important.
A lot of Filipinos are very used to the Filipino time.
Andrew Valle:
I hate that. It should be "Filipino time" should be on time.
Paige Buan:
It should be on time or early.
Andrew Valle:
Yes.
Paige Buan:
Yes, I think the whole going to the office and then the two-hour commute was a huge factor for that. I don't think anybody wants to be late.
Andrew Valle:
Right, right.
Paige Buan:
I think everybody wants to show up on time. It's just something that a lot of Filipinos have learned to live with.
Andrew Valle:
Right.
Paige Buan:
With the virtual work, you can literally just show up. How do you identify the right companies and opportunities for the entry-level Pinoys, and what are the key factors that they should consider when choosing a remote job?
Andrew Valle:
This is a tough one, just because I've done my research on it too.
Over time, we looked at almost all the remote companies and one new agency forms every one day. So there's just a lot of agencies in the Philippines. And for every one good company that we saw, we saw five that are potential scams or potential wastes of your time as a freelancer. So it's really tough, it's really tough.
The most important tip that I can give everyone is, "Do not be desperate." Don't just grab an opportunity without doing your research, make sure you ask around for feedback. And really, really pay attention to the application process.
The application process will tell you a lot about the company. If they're on time, if they get back to you, if they're not flaky with the interview schedules, if they communicate well. If you pay attention to the application process, not just prepare for it, but really pay attention to it, you'll know a lot about the company you're trying to work for.
For entry-level, I suggest join a VA agency first, a good one. There's a lot out there, join the bigger ones, if you can. Get the training, gain some experience in your chosen niche. And if you'd like to stay in that company, you'll see there's a lot of value in joining a very good agency company.
I suggest staying with the agency for at least a year and then assess if you really can move on with the skills that you have that immediately gives you experience and that kind of safeguards you from all the scam agencies out there.
Paige Buan:
Thanks for sharing that. That's very important.
Also, for the folks who want to look for those companies, don't be desperate. Really, do your due diligence, take a look at the candidate experience for a remote company.
Since there are a lot of people just looking for opportunities and might seem desperate, it is well known that the Philippines is a go-to hub for affordable freelancers. What advice would you give to Filipinos who already have that and want to raise their hourly rates?
Andrew Valle:
Right. I think this is the second most asked question in the Facebook groups that I've joined, my answer is a bit interesting here because this is a question of compensation, really. Compensation can be monetary, or it can be through other means, depending on what's important to the person.
So the simplest answer to this question is to be first ruthlessly honest with yourself. After your research, there are a lot of websites that you can go to. You get to understand your role and what rate you want to charge and the market rate for that specific role. And if you feel you can swing that rate that you want to charge your client, go for it. Just be direct in your communication and be open to negotiating.
I encourage everyone, those that are looking to be a freelancer, remote worker, any employee, I encourage you to look past hourly rates. We have to really understand what matters to us.
And I'd like to do this activity with the interns. So let's say I give you PHP 1 million, Paige. Would you take it?
Paige Buan:
Yes.
Andrew Valle:
Absolutely, right? Me too. I’d take it.
What if I give you PHP 25 million, but you'll only have one year to spend it- because after that year, you'll get sick and maybe suffer a bit for maybe a few months. Would you still take the PHP 25 million?
Paige Buan:
Here's the funny thing. No, I'm not saying yes. I would say no, of course. You only get to enjoy one year.
For a lot of people, a lot of them will say no, of course not. But if that really happened, the alarming thing is a lot of them would say yes, right?
If you asked me this question prior to me joining the remote workforce, I would say no. But when I did join the remote workforce, I kind of went down that path without knowing it. Because the possibilities are now open. And I have read a lot of stories on Facebook of people who transitioned to the remote workforce and started having one client, two clients, three, until they were working 19 hours a day, which is crazy, because that's kind of the representation there of the PHP 25 million, and then they got sick and all of that went away.
Andrew Valle:
Right. Yours is an interesting point. Because out of 10 people that I asked this question to, about two people would have most likely answered the way you did. They might take it, they will think about it. Eight would definitely say no, just because it's fairly evident life is far more important than money. Right?
Paige Buan:
Exactly.
Andrew Valle:
Now for those two people that are thinking about it, or thinking about getting that PHP 25 million, I was in the same boat as you, Paige. I did go that route. I said yes. I actually said yes to the PHP 25 million, right.
Paige Buan:
Interesting.
Andrew Valle:
I tried to grow in this space a bit too fast than I could handle. And my realization is, it's just not you that suffers. The people that you love around you suffer too. I'm not sure if you've experienced this, but for me, family is the most important thing. And during that time, yeah, I was earning more than I expected. But when I looked at my relationships with my family, with my friends, I lost some friends during that time. So it was very tough. And that made me realize, again, that life is far, far more important than money.
And that's why I like asking this question, because then you'll realize that compensation isn't just about rates. Sometimes, you have to consider, "Do you have a life after getting, what, $10 per hour or $15 per hour? Do you still have a life after that?" And if life is more important to you than money, then make sure to consider that when you try to raise your compensation. Again, understand what matters most and then make your move.
Paige Buan:
Yeah, that's a very important one: what matters most. And of course, be aware of what the pitfalls are so that you don't unconsciously go through that. It's one of those easier-said-than-done experiences, for sure.
But now let's take a look at what not to do. So if you're now in the world of remote work and freelancing for the first time, what would you tell them not to do?
Andrew Valle:
The biggest mistake that I see people make is thinking that freelancing is very easy or easy. That, by far, is one of the biggest mistakes that I see.
And I think this happened when the call centers were starting. You'll hear, “Ah, taga-call center lang yan.” You often hear that. I hate that.
Paige Buan:
"You just need English."
Andrew Valle:
Right? When you get in, you'll realize it's not.
From my experience, it is a bit harder to succeed in freelancing compared to the usual BPO because the usual BPO companies would be very structured. You can see your path: if I'm an agent, I'd be a QA, I'd be a trainer, I'd be a supervisor, then I'd be a manager.
In freelancing, you don't have that. It's not clear; the path to higher earnings or higher compensation isn't very clear. That's the biggest mistake.
If you think it's easy, but if you half-ass it, you won't succeed. You'll just say, “It's always a scam.”
Yeah, the two things really that you shouldn't do is first, thinking it's easy, then half-assing it, being desperate. Do not be desperate. You'll easily get scammed. I've seen this over and over again. I hate that this happens to people who really need it. They get scammed out of their time, their money. It's just unfortunate. But if you don't do those two things, I think you have a better chance of succeeding working as a freelancer or working remotely.
Paige Buan:
I'm actually curious, can you name a few of the scams, because that's infuriating, taking advantage of other people's needs?
Andrew Valle:
Sure, I'll give you two.
One is they will reel you in. You get a client and the client will, say, ask you for a week's worth of work or two weeks worth of work, and you do it. Of course, you're excited, you want to get paid. And after two weeks, the client will say, "Hey, I need say $100 deposited in this bank account for me to release your money because of such and such." So because you worked, now you're in the mix.
The other would be another client pretending to be a client, asking for, let's say, three days worth of work. They would ghost the candidate. And then they do it over and over again, until such time that they produce, let's say, a book, a project. They do it to multiple freelancers asking for just three days. But in totality, they'd finish an entire project and they get paid, but the freelancers won’t, right.
Paige Buan:
That's despicable.
Andrew Valle:
Right? So the imagination of scammers is, I think, endless. But we have to really…
Paige Buan:
Due diligence is so important.
Andrew Valle:
Due diligence. Absolutely. You’re right.
Paige Buan:
But that is very common, though, for a lot of remote opportunities to ask for test projects and stuff like that. How can you do due diligence on that?
Andrew Valle:
What I normally advise people is to watermark their work.
This is the reason why I ask people who are new to freelancing to try to join one of the better agencies out there. I have yet to see a good agency ask for work in advance. Yeah, they ask for your portfolio, which is okay, you've already done that work, but they wouldn't really ask you to do something outside the norm. They follow the normal and more trusted way of recruiting people just because they're more trustworthy, and they're more established.
Paige Buan:
Thank you for sharing all of that, Andrew.
I'd love for our audience to learn more about you. So as a consultant and a mentor, how do you support and guide entry-level Filipinos as they navigate the remote work environment and then build their careers?
Andrew Valle:
I run regular workshops, internships, and mentorship programs once a quarter. I publish this on either Facebook or LinkedIn or both. I give people about two weeks to enroll, and then I pick around 10 to 15 people to join the internship. 10 to 15 is the sweet spot in terms of training and making sure that everyone really gets the value out of the internship.
You'll also see that most of my posts on LinkedIn are about educating either clients or VAs about remote work. I also tackle leadership, motivation, and continuous improvement, all of which I think are very, very crucial to succeed in the freelancing remote workspace.
I spend a lot of time answering posts on Facebook and LinkedIn, the posts that normally come from beginners or those looking to jump into the remote workforce. I don't hide behind a fake profile on Facebook or LinkedIn, so most people who see my responses would either send me a DM, ask more questions, which I take the time to answer, of course.
Paige Buan:
That's awesome.
Can you share some personal insights or experiences that have shaped your values and approach to leadership? And how do you apply these in your work with remote teams and communities?
Andrew Valle:
I am a strong believer in servant leadership. One key value or learning around that principle is to be able to serve more, you have to be more. As part of the freelancer movement or the remote worker movement, and leaders, we need to take the time to take care of ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It's so easy to get drained working remotely, so, so easy. Before you know it, you’re drained and…
Paige Buan:
Burnt out.
Andrew Valle:
Exactly. You’re burnt out.
To be so busy being busy is quite a normal thing in our line of work, just because the line between the time for work and personal time is easily blurred because you're just there.
Some people would have their bedroom, half of it be converted to an office. Even some that are luckier would have a separate office but it’s still just there. You just go across the room or go across the hall, and your work is there. Personal life and work life can easily get blurred.
All of us as leaders, we have to be cognizant of the fact that everyone needs time to stay well and be better. The way we care for own selves is also a testament to the care that we can give others.
Our work life affects our personal life. I know people say there shouldn't be compartmentalization and that it's easy to separate that. It's not.
Paige Buan:
No, it’s not.
Andrew Valle:
Exactly, right?
Work life almost always affects personal life. Some may do better at compartmentalizing that. But if I base it on experience, almost always, people who are happy at work are happy in other parts of their lives and vice versa. It goes both ways.
So, yeah, two things. If you're a leader, guide your team to take care of themselves by being a good example and also be a fun teammate or leader, if you're a leader in your space. Try to make work both enjoyable and rewarding. Really think about the impact that you'll make as a leader.
This is what I always tell people when they are first leaders or first-time managers. Let's say you're leading a team of five. You’re not just leading five people; we're actually leading five people and their families and the families that would come after that. If you do a good job, if you practice servant leadership, hopefully, you make a positive impact on those five people. And in turn, they make a positive impact on more people that goes beyond your team.
Paige Buan:
Amazing. Before we wrap up, is there anything that you would like to share or plug for your company or services?
Andrew Valle:
I work with a company that’s named Magic Inc. You can look us up on Facebook.
If you remember, one of my talking points was to join a very good VA agency company. Believe me, I've done my research, and I’ve done my due diligence in looking at all the VA companies, and I enjoyed Magic just because they are very reputable. Now that I'm here, I’ve been with the company for quite some time now. I can safely say that this is a very good company to join. We do have some open leadership positions, but if you're new, please come join us. Look us up on Facebook, hit apply, and we'll definitely welcome you to the team.
Paige Buan:
Awesome. Thank you again, Andrew. Thank you, everyone, for listening to this episode.
Andrew Valle:
It was a pleasure. Thank you, Paige, and thank you everyone for having me.