The remote talent pool is full of qualified individuals who can take bigger tasks off your plate. You just need to find the right people. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the benefits of outsourcing leadership tasks, the qualities that you should look for when hiring remote lead roles, plus quick tips to make remote hiring smooth, easy, and risk-free.
Let’s start by addressing this big question:
When you’re just starting, outsourcing “$10/hr” tasks like admin, data entry, and bookkeeping was enough to keep you afloat. But as your business grows, you need to focus on things that need your specific expertise: scaling, building new relationships, and exploring new avenues.
This means letting go of complex tasks like sales, operations, and client relations — and delegating them to team leaders or managers.
Trusting someone else to run these areas of your business can be challenging, especially if you’re a hands-on business owner. But you’d be surprised — delegating leadership roles offers a ton of benefits.
Hiring remote Filipino employees for these roles gives you an even sharper advantage. The Philippine talent pool is full of highly skilled individuals with years of experience, a wealth of knowledge, and a can-do attitude. They can work hand-in-hand with your onshore team to manage remote team members or take ownership of other projects. Bonus: they cost 80% less than local counterparts.
Related: How much can you save when you hire remote assistants?
Aside from the usual administrative tasks and customer service jobs, you can also hire for leadership roles in the Philippines. Here are some lead positions we’ve hired for our clients over the past couple of years:
And these roles are just the tip of the iceberg. If the task can be done remotely, then you can delegate it to a remote Filipino professional.
If you’re ready to hire for remote leadership roles, here are the qualities that you should look for:
Want someone to take ownership of a big project or department? Make sure they can back their resumes up with real-world chops. You want subject-matter experts who have years of proven experience under their belts.
Apart from technical skills, hire someone who can champion your company’s values. A good leader finds fulfillment in what they do, believes in the organization, and makes sure that other team members feel the same way.
Find someone who shares your work style and philosophy. For example, if you wanna build a company culture that revolves around daily updates and standup meetings, steer clear of applicants who prefer to work asynchronously — and vice versa. Collaboration is easier when you’re both on the same page.
Lastly, excellent culture hires should be able to seamlessly integrate with your existing team members. They should be emotionally and socially intelligent. As leaders, they need to be able to motivate and inspire team members to take action.
Empower employees who go above and beyond to build team culture. They’ll be invaluable in keeping your remote team engaged and productive.
Related: How Shepherd’s Head of People and Culture keeps our remote team engaged
This is a non-negotiable: good leaders must be effective communicators.
They’re essentially the bridge between you, the rest of your team, and your stakeholders, so they need to be able to communicate clearly through different channels like email, chat, or video.
They should also be diplomats. Sometimes, being a leader means delivering tough feedback or even firing someone. The ideal candidate should be able to do this with a balance of objectivity and empathy. This isn’t their first rodeo — they know how to navigate tough conversations with a level head.
They know how to smoothly navigate between cultural differences. Whether they’re communicating with you, your clients, your team, or business partners, the ideal candidate can do so with ease and confidence.
English is one of the official languages in the Philippines. Hiring for a leadership position means you’re getting someone who can speak English fluently across different channels and media.
Learn more: Why small businesses choose to outsource to the Philippines
When you’ve got a lot of things on your plate, you can easily become the bottleneck for team projects and campaigns. One of the best decisions you can make for your business is to hire someone who can oversee these projects for you.
The ideal candidate for a leadership position knows how to prioritize day-to-day tasks and manage them well.
Project management can be pretty stressful, so the ideal leader should also know how to keep their cool. Despite the demands of the job, they make sure that everyone on their team collaborates well, even when they’re working remotely.
Lots of employers overlook “soft skills” like people management for technical ability. Don’t make the same mistake. Remember, you’re hiring someone to lead others in your organization. They need to be emotionally intelligent, level-headed, and self-aware to manage people within the team.
Learn more: 8 soft skills every remote assistant should have
Good leaders don’t wait for potential issues to become full-blown problems. Instead, they take proactive steps to ensure the team’s success. They’re naturally observant — they’ve got their ears on the ground and know when something is up.
For example, if they notice a team member is lagging, they check in as soon as possible to see what’s going on. They help the team member get over roadblocks and check if other members of the team are experiencing the same challenges.
Being proactive helps them manage and minimize risks, as well as create sound decisions for the team.
In a remote setting where you can’t physically check in on your employees, accountability is vital. Holding remote team members accountable not only improves productivity — it also builds trust, rapport, and overall team morale.
Good leaders hold themselves accountable for both their team’s successes and failures. They’re transparent — they give quantifiable results through updates, regular reports, and check-ins. They make sure that everyone on their team is doing their job well.
Hiring for a leadership role is different from hiring a regular VA. Aside from completing daily tasks, remote leaders are also responsible for decision-making. They manage whole teams, take ownership of more complex tasks, and help take a lot of work from your plate. You need to be able to collaborate with them on a higher level.
Here are some tips to help you work with remote leaders effectively:
Remote leaders should know about your big goals so that they can plan ahead. Here’s what you can do to foster clear communication with your remote leaders:
Trust your leaders. In many cases, they might even have more experience in the field or may have a better understanding of their Filipino colleagues. Give them agency to create strategies, execute their plans, and apply their own leadership style.
To scale your business, delegating work isn’t enough — you also need to delegate decision-making. Handing the reins over to a remote leader frees up a lot of time and mental space on your end. Provide them with tools and resources to make informed decisions — and trust them to make the right call.
Retaining top talent can be challenging. Show your managers some love by offering avenues for professional development. Here are some ideas:
Related: How to retain top talent — according to actual remote employees
Hiring leadership positions is easy when you use a headhunter agency like Shepherd. We find, screen, and evaluate candidates on your behalf. Here’s a quick look at our process:
Let us know about the leadership positions you’re looking for by filling out this form. Our client services representatives will then get in touch with you to discuss the details.
After you’ve paid a small project deposit, we’ll start a search based on the job description you provided. You’ll be assigned a project manager who will be your point of contact throughout the process.
A search can take up to 2 weeks, depending on your requirements. Once evaluations are complete, we’ll prepare a shortlist of candidates for you to review. You can hop on an interview to get to know them better. After that, it’s just a matter of choosing the best person for the job.
Hire the candidate and start onboarding them into their new role.
Delegating big complex tasks like operations, finance, or marketing takes a leap of faith and a steep learning curve. But once you get over it, you’ll be reaping the rewards for years to come. You’ll be able to free up your calendar and your mental space. You’ll finally have the bandwidth to take your business to even greater heights.
Ready to outsource a leadership position? Send us a message and we’ll find you remote leaders that cost 80% less than local hires.
Outsourcing leadership roles to the Philippines can help you:
The Filipino talent pool is full of highly skilled individuals who can take ownership of complex tasks. Their skills, experience, and attitude make them a great fit for these roles. Over the past couple of years, we’ve been able to hire remote Filipino staff with:
When hiring for remote leadership positions, consider the following skills:
We'll find you amazing remote employees in the Philippines.
