Today, this is part two, by the way. If you go to the website, you can see not just the people that we’re looking at today, but there’s previous presentations as well with where we talk to other staff and you can hear their story also. And what we’re trying to do over a series of months is just build a library of all these different types of skill sets.  And so, you can go in and you can actually have a look at all the different things that can be done in the Philippines. And you can just hear stories from staff who do those things, who have those skill sets.

Today, we’re gonna be meeting with a life administrator, which is an executive assistant type of skill set. You’ll hear from Helen. We’re gonna be talking to a graphic designer. So, you’re to hear from Jay and we’re to be talking to an office administrator, you’re going to hear from Andrea.

Just a couple of rules, please. Keep your microphone on mute and use chat respectfully.  And if there’s any technical issues, just sing out. We’ve got the chat thing open. So, if any chat comes up in there, if there’s any technical issues, just let us know and we can see it straight away.  Now with the recording and so on, this…will be packaged and it will be put up on the website so you can get access to this content at any time.  So please, just pop your questions in the chat whenever you’d like, and we’ll get to them at the end.  Then there’s follow-up resources. We can send you more information and so on afterwards if you’d like.

So just a little bit about who Flat Planet is.  It was established in 2010 and my wife, Jenny and I, we’re from Sydney and we moved up here 15 years ago with our kids to start Flat Planet.  The focus for Flat Planet is on high value Filipino talent. What we mean by that is, people with high value skills. We work in like software engineering, finance, accounting, business intelligence, all sorts of roles that require staff who’ve got very particular, very specialized skills. We’ve been working for a long time. We’ve got lots of companies and I’ve just mentioned they’re Surf Life Saving Australia who are wonderful.  And yeah, so I’ve already covered the professional grade talent.

What is outsourcing? So, what we do is we provide, and this is where the name Flat Planet comes from, we provide business in Australia with access, and obviously the emphasis is on equal access to high value talent in the Philippines. What is in the Philippines? We’re also in Malaysia and Vietnam, but what’s in the Philippines is a very large number of very well-educated, middle-class, aspirational Filipinos with very good education levels and very high skill sets. And what we do is we provide a pathway for companies that are not in the Philippines, i.e. in Australia or the United States, the UK, Singapore and so on.

All right, so reasons to outsource.  Focus on core competencies. I mean, that’s just the whole idea that you focus on what you do, and we’ll focus on what we do.  You save money. You know, you get access to great skills, flexibility, increased productivity and so on.

Here’s the first part of the presentation. What we’ve got are three short videos where you’re going to meet three different people who have a particular skill set and particular experience set.  And we just asked them to speak for just a few minutes to go through their story. The first person is Andrea. Here she is.

Hi, I’m Andrea. I’ve been working as the executive assistant to the CEO for two years now. How would you describe the company culture at Flat Planet? Flat Planet has a flexible and fast-paced culture, especially in IT and BPO. We’re used to working across different cultures, everyone’s adaptable, we’re focused on results and especially on clients’ needs.

What do you find most rewarding about working with international clients? I love being able to represent Filipino talent and deliver results.  It feels great knowing that your work really does make a difference.

What challenges have you encountered working remotely with clients and how do you overcome them? I think time zones and communication gaps are the challenge.  What I do is I put buffer on sending replies and being proactive in sending updates, so everyone is in the loop when they’re not online.

What specific experience prepared you? Before this, I’ve worked in business development and I handle clients, work with different cultures, learned how to stay calm under pressure, and by this, I’ve used this kind of skills to manage shifting rules and support the CEO and make sure everything runs smooth behind the scenes.

What unique skills do you bring to your position?  I believe it’s being able to adapt and being creative in many ways. Things move so fast and being able to adapt quickly and say calm is what I’ve gotten pretty good at.

What are your primary responsibilities as the executive assistant to the CEO? Especially, I support the CEO of course, managing his calendars, emails, support documentation, and anything that he needs with work.  I make sure everything is in order so that he can focus on the big stuff.

How do you help clients maintain work-life balance through your services? By keeping things organized and flagging anything that might be able or too much. I try to space out meetings and take off tasks, if possible, when needed to balance work and personal… task.

How do you learn about clients’ preferences and priorities? It is by asking the right questions, paying attention to how they work and all those little things.  What they like, how they communicate, and what do they prioritize.  It helps me to anticipate what do they need before they ask.

How do you handle conflicting priorities between a client’s personal and professional needs? I work closely with executive boards, especially the personal assistant, and we discuss things with our boss to figure out which tasks are the most urgent.  Then according to that, we will discuss what needs attention first.

What makes you proud about the work you do at Flat Planet? As an ambassador of professional Filipino talent, I am proud to be part of a company that values Filipino skills and gives opportunity to work with international clients.

Okay, I think that’s it. All right, so now the next is a presentation from Jay and Jay is a graphic designer.

Hi, I’m Jay Palas, a graphic designer of Flat Planet Philippines for seven years. What attracted you to join Flat Planet as an outsource team member?  I was looking for a professional and growing company to be part of.

How would you describe the company culture at Flatland?  The company culture here is very supportive, team-oriented, and I’ve learned a lot over the years.

What do you find most rewarding about working with international clients? What I like most is being able to help them grow while also growing in my own role.

What is your educational and professional background in graphic design, and what design software and tools are you most proficient with?

I finished AB Multimedia Arts at Asia Pacific College. I have more than 10 years of graphic design experience. I’m proficient in Adobe software like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.

What is your design specialty or preferred style? My preferred style is minimalist and professional. I focus on clean layouts and clear messaging.

How do you stay current with design trends and technology? To stay updated on design trends and technology, I follow design blogs. I also explore different platforms like Dribble and Behance. I also watch vlogs that keep me learning and improving.

What types of design projects do you typically handle for clients? I work on web designs, infographics, social media visuals presentations, and any kind of marketing materials.