A trip to the Philippines to hire hospitality workers

Linda West

REGINA—Actyl Group has already had great success in finding workers in the Philippines that employers can interview on Skype.

They’ve also had success taking employers to the Philippines to interview potential hospitality industry employees.

And in January, it is kicking things up a notch by booking through a tour agency adding tours of the area to its already proven formula.

“On January 23, we will go the Philippines for the interviews,” Actyl Group’s Linda West told CLN last month. “We have built in lots of trips and tours.  It’s not expensive, not much more than regular hotel and air fare.  Three days are set aside for interviews, and there are two to four vacation days afterwards.”

With the package including hotel, and events in the local area, West believes participants will come away with greater knowledge of the people and the location.

West has found that employees from the Philippines are excellent for the hospitality industry. While overall, 75 per cent of Actyl’s hires are from the Philippines, in the hospitality industry, that figure rises to 95 per cent.

“Their English is so good, and they are very hospitality-oriented, friendly people who thrive in the service industry,” West notes.

“I’ve seen [demand] swing hard towards the Philippines in the last three years.  One customer tried Jamaica for a change, but they went back to the Philippines,” she adds.

From five star front desk staff to housekeepers and cleaners, there’s nothing you can’t find in the Philippines, West says.  And many of the people they hire have college or university education.

Actyl has offices in Winnipeg, Regina, and Edmonton—all provincial capitals and for a good reason. Much of the work Actyl helps clients with is with Service Canada or provincial immigration agencies. It includes paperwork and requires access to the appropriate people.

Actyl tries to make the process of international recruiting less cumbersome, helping clients with Labour Market Opinion studies to help prove there is a shortage within their area.  They also provide advertising support.

West stresses the need for companies who want to hire internationally to plan on a four to six month process.

“People need to start ahead of time,” she notes, saying Actyl is currently hiring for next spring.