Issue 1, Vol 1
InSource ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Welcome to the first edition of MultiRational InSource, a clientsonly magazine where we keep you uptodate on valuable news and information related to your Philippines office. Our goals are to: Help you maximise the value of your Philippines office as well as establish better communication between MultiRational and all interested stakeholders. Scroll down to see the highlight of events of the past year and other featured articles.
The Philippines is currently the world leader in voice for the business process outsourcing sector. The country has very strong Englishspeaking skills and awareness of Western business culture. Large multinational companies are choosing to have offshore services in the Philippines due to competitive labor rates, high literacy and stable telecommunications infrastructure. Major markets like Australia are realizing the great benefits offered by the Philippines with the labour rates, affinity to western culture and a similar time zone. Multirational CEO, Graham Gulliver asserted in a recent interview with Angus Grigg of the Australian Financial Review, “If Australian companies don’t embrace this opportunity, it will embrace them in a most unpleasant way.” (click to link to the full article)
Insourcing is a growing industry where companies decide to perform business functions internally as opposed to acquiring them from elsewhere. It's a business arrangement that is often made to maintain control of critical production processes and service quality. Insourcing bypasses middleman salary mark ups and delivers the lowest cost access to lower labour rates as well as better flexibility than outsourcing work to a third party. Client organisations are offered the ability to access increased financial benefits over outsourcing with better flexibility and reduced risk.
MultiRational is an Australian owned company established in March 2006. Our first office overseas commenced operations in April of the same year in the Philippines. We started out as a staff hosting company for Australian clients who were interested in the English language proficiency, Western cultural understanding, similar time zones, low labour rates, and available infrastructures in the Philippines.
Over the years, we have developed into providing a comprehensive, multidisciplinary services and facilities solution for international companies operating (or wanting to operate) offices in Asia. We also deliver the jurisdictionspecific services that companies need in order to operate their own successful, captive, back office or Asian regional sales office.
MultiRational / Delegait...what's the difference? Delegait is an Australian company which provides a staff hosting service in Manila. MultiRational is an Australian company which provides an insourcing support solution in Manila, delivered through a comprehensive set of professional services.
Our values statement prohibits opportunistic pricing, meaning that we don't price according to what we think we can get from a client. We are also prohibited from adding "fat" to our pricing in anticipation of providing a discount during negotiations. All our pricing is cost plus, meaning we audit our cost of providing each service and then add components to provide return on capital and compensation for risk. This model provides surety for clients that they are receiving value, based on our cost of delivery and ensures ethical pricing that all our stakeholders can be comfortable with. Valueadds and risk mitigators such as having a foreign manager on the premises who provides consultancy, oversees daily operations, personally signs every cheque and approves every payment is not charged on as an addition.
MultiRational provides a complete accounting software for clients that include managing accounts payable processing including managing settlement of accounts with supplier, preparation and release of local cheque and bank reconciliation. MultiRational also manages registration and processing of sales invoices and official receipts including lodgement of compliance reports as required by law. Preparation of monthly accounts include balance sheet and profit and loss. Local captive operations can outsource their payroll, accounting, legal and compliance, human resource management, business visa processing, procurement and comprehensive business establishment services
to MultiRational. International captive operations can acquire all of MultiRational's professional services including incorporation with zero CAPEX. We will also liaise with the clients finance team in Australia.
Fiber Internet Upgrade at Summit One
Our incubators/offices at Summit One upgraded to fiber optic technology last June 2012 for better and faster internet connection. One of the features of this technology is the increase in bandwidth; users can now download more information faster without connection interruption. Aside from the speed, it is resistant to electromagnetic interference thus minimising the occurrence of errors. Fiberoptic transmissions are also virtually noisefree. Safety is also an added feature since fiber provides an extremely secure transmission medium. There is no way to detect the data being transmitted by listening in to the electromagnetic energy leaking through the cable. Bandwidth and speed of the internet connections increased by as much as 90% and downtime was reduced by around 70%. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Training Department The Training Department is one of the new services provided by MultiRational. Training officers conduct a weekly training session for the employees through a classroom style set up accompanied by supplementary computer modules. Quizzes are handed out a few days after the modules have been released to assess the level of comprehension. The types of training offered include topics such as, Communication skills, Australian Culture, Personality development, Computer skills, Grammar skills, Leadership development and Sales skills, The training
department cover wide aspects of each topic to ensure employee's get the best knowledge intake possible. The MultiRational training department are continuously expanding their skill library to ensure they cover employees needs. These aim to maximise the skills and potential of the employees for better efficiency. Customised training sessions are available upon request. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Refurbishments at Summit One
The incubators located at the Summit One Building are constantly monitored and improved for the benefit of our employees. Our Facilities Manager have recently implemented these changes:
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Male and female common bathrooms Male and female executive washroom Lobby Reception The middle room has been converted to a training room for one of the clients Aircon upgrade New carpet New decorations
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Remote view to employee screens for training and supervision
To increase your visibility for maximum supervision, we have installed new CCTV cameras for monitoring the daily activities of your employees. Live feed can be accessed anywhere as long as you have connection and access to the HR Console. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Car service for visiting expats Three new Toyota Innova cars are provided to take better care of our clients and their foreign employees. For shortterm visitors, a car transport is available for free as a courtesy and to ensure their comfort and safety while in Manila.
Scobell Consulting Inc., Acquisition MultiRational has recently acquired Scobell Consulting Inc. to broaden the scope of our services offered to expatriates who are interested in establishing an office/business in the Philippines. Visa processing and incorporation are some of the important services that are added in the acquisition. We also have developed a customized visa assistance program named 'VisPro' which enables applicants to properly track the status of their applications that are regularly updated by our Visa officers. Scobell Consulting Inc. was established in 1996 by Allan Anderson to provide local administrative support at the time of startup for small and medium sized companies. They handled all stages of incorporation, from licensing and start up of both whollyowned and jointventure companies, including the processing of necessary permits to operate with the local government. The company's strength lies in addressing immigration issues encountered in the Philippines. This acquisition will also ensure the continuity of the experience held in Scobell Consulting Inc. and expand the services that MultiRational provides.
Last 31 October 2012, Graham Gulliver, CEO of MultiRational Corporation arranged a welcome lunch for Allan Anderson and Scobell Consulting Inc. employees at the Food Patio in PBCOM Tower. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Expanded recruitment
With our added new services, we have expanded our recruitment team to accommodate the growing needs of our clients. We are fully resourced and equipped to fill all types of roles that clients might require. We have also partnered with several recruitment agencies for specialised technical positions and executive positions. These agencies will provide MultiRational with a rich database of qualified prescreened candidates. MultiRational does a second prescreening and background check of these candidates. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Benefits of Incorporation One of the benefits of acquiring MultiRational's services are the advantages of incorporation. As our clients grow, we will assist them in establishing/setting up their very own office. Incorporation offers the lowest cost option; there is no cheaper solution than to pay your staff, rent and other costs direct without a middleman marking everything up. PEZA Tax Incentives: ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
4 years Income Tax Holiday 100% exemption from corporate income tax. 5% special tax on Gross Income and an exemption from national and local taxes upon expiry of Income Tax Holiday. Taxfree importation for raw materials and other equipment needed in the company's operation. Exemption from wharf dues, export taxes, and other fees. A zero VAT rating for local purchases, subject to BIR and PEZA requirements. Exemption from local government imposts, licenses and other taxes. Exemption from Expanded Withholding Tax.
Capital gain is owned by the business owner rather than a third party. You don't have to worry about contract, provider relationship and failure risks. It gives you direct access and control of the people working for you, instead of having to communicate through an account manager. Incorporation enables you to choose your own staff and set your own quality standard, an underperforming employee is an easier issue to resolve than an underperforming BPO. Foreignowned companies that have incorporated are offered tax incentives by the Philippine government. These benefits accrue directly to your business rather than the BPO provider. Having your business as a multinational provides some flexibility around tax and asset protection. By establishing your own office in the Philippines, your clients don't have to be advised that their information or work is being outsourced. There are no privacy issues that might be associated with outsourcing. Confidential customer information never leaves the company's employees and is never passed on to a third party. There is nothing wrong with foreign companies becoming multinationals and employing their own employees in their subsidiaries and having work done within the international companies by its own staff rather than outsourcing to a third party.
Copyright © 2013 MultiRational Corporation.