Ryu Noai's firm, Impala Accountants, had everything going for it - a clear goal of helping businesses get the most out of their numbers, a professional and effective team, and a steady stream of clients.

The problem was that they were unable to grow. Ryu was struggling to find good staff, and the local employees he could find were very expensive. With experienced stateside bookkeepers so expensive, he was struggling to find the right person. He’d heard about offshore teams but didn’t think Filipino staff would have the right skill level for what he needed.

Turning to BPOs weren't an option

Ryu knew about Business Process Outsourcing companies (BPOs) where you could hire accountants from the Philippines, but had heard more bad than good stories about people hiring offshore.

“I didn't like the fact that you don't have control of the employee at all,” Ryu says. “You also don’t always know how they’re being treated.

He didn’t want to hire to fill a short-term gap. What he needed was a long-term employee who would become a member of their team. He also wanted someone who he knew would have a good workplace experience and he could ensure was being treated well.

“With a BPO, they have to sit there next to other people. So there's other factors that would determine their workplace satisfaction. They’re not working for us, they're working for somebody else. There are other people who can influence how they work - and that may not align with what we do at Impala and what we like here.”

For Ryu, getting a team member wasn’t as much about what it would cost as it was about bringing someone onboard that would be invested in the business, rather than answering to an offshoring company.

"If we hire directly then they're part of our culture and all the good things that come with that. We can be a bit more individualized in what we give them, and what they can give us as well."

Another factor that made Ryu hesitant was because of how localized tax is - it’s technical and specific to each country.

”My previous objections to hiring offshore was that I thought it would be difficult to find people of a high skill level, because I'd mostly spoken to people who used Filipino talent for more lower level tasks.”

Turning to TeamUp

After meeting TeamUp founder Isaac Smith and hearing success stories from other business owners who had built offshore teams, Ryu decided he was ready to hire a Filipino accountant directly.

Through TeamUp, Impala bought Janine onboard.

“One of the big reasons we hired her was that her communication skills were very good,” says Ryu. “She's very highly motivated.”

Due to her excellent English, Janine is able to liaise with Impala’s clients directly.

Because the Philippines population is bigger than Australia, there’s a larger pool of accounting talent to pull from - which makes finding talent like Janine much easier.

A thriving business with adequate support

With an effective and affordable staff member on board, Ryu can expand Impala’s operations. It’s also freed him up to focus on more strategic and value-added activities - instead of day-to-day tasks.

It’s reduced stress and workload on the rest of his team - which has improved his work-life balance and allowed him to be more productive at work.

With an additional accountant on his team, Impala can keep giving their clients personalized attention and support.

“We’re able to build stronger relationships with our clients because we have the time to do that,” says Ryu.