Why Philippine offshore talent is so powerful for business – with Dean Pascoe of Boomering

Boomering: From customer to provider

Derek Gallimore speaks with Dean Pascoe, CEO and founder of Boomering. Boomering is an offshore solutions provider that caters to businesses from almost any industry.

Despite being a “full-service BPO,” Boomering’s primary specializations are in “four main verticals,” namely:

• Accounting
• Marketing
• CAD design
• Customer service

Prior to founding and heading Boomering, Dean started out as an outsourcing client himself. Two of the former businesses he worked with – both accounting in nature – have been making negatives or just breaking even. But offshore outsourcing to the Philippines has helped save these companies and their workers.

Dean “wanted to go down the [outsourcing] journey on his own to find that really strong relationship with [his] clients.” He “wanted to set up a place that kept everything simple, yet smart.”

Essentially, Dean envisioned having “every person in a business to be able to get behind the offshore team that’s helping it, understand the processes, and be able to work with it.”

And so Boomering was born.

In this episode, Derek and Dean discuss why offshoring to the Philippines has proven a powerful move for businesses. The pair also touches on the two-way relationship BPOs and their clients need to ensure success.

The Philippines’ outsourcing advantage

The Philippines is widely recognized as the world’s outsourcing capital. With roughly 30 years of industry headstart against its neighbors, Dean recognizes that “It’s extremely hard to catch up to the Philippines.”

Aside from having a “great head start,” Dean adds that the country is “very strong in American culture.” This gives the Philippines an advantage in “culture and infrastructure” as well, where it’s “got miles ahead.”

Going back to his original area of expertise, Dean says that “the accounting practices without this help that the Philippines give, I’m sure would struggle to grow nowadays.”

Dean has stayed in the country “full-time for ten years” while managing Boomering’s operations in Clark, Pampanga. He has witnessed how “the quality of staff has changed immensely in the last 10 years.”

As an example, he stated how easy it is now to “find staff with particular … Australian tax knowledge or American tax knowledge and have experience working with those style of customers.”

The business world meets offshoring

In terms of the business world’s acceptance of the offshoring and outsourcing industry, Dean thinks that “the threat levels in people’s minds have disappeared a lot.”

While he couldn’t speak for businesses in other countries, Dean notes that one of the primary drivers of outsourcing’s rise in his home country is “the demand of staff that Australian businesses have at the moment.”

Australian business owners are “in search for the right talent,” and offshoring provides this. Now, many Australian businesses offshore to the Philippines because “[the country] got expertise and professionals … just begging for work.”

Another reason for the industry’s popularity with businesses is the level of agility it adds to any organization.

“In good times or bad times, or if people have a business that needs to be agile, having a BPO in their back pocket or working with them and understanding them can really make a business more agile.”

Offshoring is a two-way street

Despite the many benefits offshoring confers to businesses, Dean understands – and wants his clients to understand this as well – that offshoring is “not just a turnkey operation – the more you’re involved, the better something turns out.”

Dean further adds that “a client really needs to understand cultural changes from Australia or America to a Philippine culture.” And this is where they “truly need a partner that can guide them.”

For the offshoring process to work, Dean’s company “go down the route of adapting to each client’s needs.” But he adds that it should also go the other way round.

“I think that’s very much a key to success that a customer will truly integrate their offshore team into their day-to-day routines and treat them no different from their onshore staff there.”

Dean Pascoe can be reached through his LinkedIn. Alternatively, you can send an email to [email protected].