Company Background
A global IT consulting and services company with a majority of its workforce based in Malaysia and Indonesia, and offices in the United States, was looking to expand its presence in the Philippines. The company specializes in digital transformation, cloud solutions, and enterprise platforms such as Salesforce, and was aiming to build a local team in the Philippines to support business development and project delivery in the region.
Hiring Goals
All roles are full-time and based in the Philippines, with the goal of building a long-term local hub for delivery and client engagement. To support its regional growth strategy and drive new business development, the company is actively hiring for several key positions, focusing on both client-facing and technical delivery roles:
- Presales Consultant: Responsible for building a strong client pipeline, leading solution design, and supporting the sales cycle through compelling proposals and client engagement.
- Salesforce Consultant: Tasked with delivering end-to-end Salesforce implementations, gathering business requirements, and configuring solutions to meet client needs.
- Solutions Architect: A strategic role focused on leading technical solution design across large enterprise projects, ensuring scalability, integration, and alignment with client goals.
- Business Development Manager: Accountable for identifying and acquiring new business opportunities in the Philippines, particularly in enterprise and mid-market sectors.
- Technical Project Manager: Oversees project delivery, manages cross-functional teams, and ensures that solutions are delivered on time and within scope.
- Data Analyst: Supports client projects with data modeling, dashboard development, and insights to inform business decisions.
- QA/Test Engineer: Ensures the quality and reliability of solutions before deployment through rigorous manual and automated testing processes.
Challenges Faced
- First-time Hiring in the Philippines: The company had not previously hired in the Philippines, requiring a deeper understanding of the local talent landscape, compensation expectations, and hiring timelines.
- Diverse Role Requirements: With multiple functions being considered simultaneously from presales to delivery and analytics. It was important to prioritize roles based on urgency and strategic impact.
- Regional Coordination: Hiring was managed across teams in Southeast Asia and the US, making coordination and decision-making across time zones a logistical challenge.
- Market Familiarity: Identifying talent with both technical capabilities and knowledge of the local market and industry verticals was key for client-facing roles.
Solution
To address these challenges, Second Talent took a phased and consultative approach:
- Talent Market Analysis: Conducted research on the Philippines job market, compensation benchmarks, and availability of specific skill sets.
- Role Prioritization Framework: Developed a hiring roadmap that started with immediate business development and presales needs, while preparing for delivery and support roles to follow.
- Leveraging Existing Talent Pool: With a strong network of qualified candidates already in place, we were able to act quickly once hiring needs were confirmed, speeding up the process without the need for fresh sourcing.
- Stakeholder Alignment: Established clear channels for coordination between business, HR, and delivery leaders across Malaysia, Indonesia, and the US.
Results Achieved
The company quickly identified strong candidates for key roles such as Presales Consultants, Salesforce specialists, and Business Development professionals. With a better understanding of the local market and cross-border coordination in place, the company is well-positioned to continue growing its presence in the Philippines and build a high-performing team to support both regional and global projects.
