Effective communication is crucial for smooth operations and retention. An employer who communicates both clearly and kindly builds rapport, which helps remote team members feel connected despite the geographical distance.

Remote workers, especially those who live alone, often feel isolated and disconnected. If the virtual workplace exacerbates these feelings, they might start considering other job opportunities elsewhere. On the other hand, a company with a good communication culture is one where people feel valued, heard, and less likely to leave.

One sign of communicative management is that staff understand their roles and how they align with the company’s goals. In workplaces that value feedback, team members can express their concerns with confidence which minimizes frustration. Organizations that have a good communication culture foster a level of trust that leads to long-term retention. 

If you’re new to hiring from the Philippines, rest assured that language won’t be a barrier. Filipinos know their English as it’s the country’s language of business. That said, their communication style differs from Western norms due to cultural differences.

Understanding these nuances improves your interactions with your remote team. Many Filipino professionals have experience working with Westerners and know how to communicate effectively, but those with not as much experience might need time to adjust. 

Either way, employees appreciate a boss who makes an effort to meet them where they’re comfortable. It makes them feel seen, respected, and more likely to be genuine with you. What then are these cultural nuances? How do they manifest in the workplace, and what adjustments can you make to support effective communication?

This blog post describes aspects of Filipino culture relevant to communication and outlines practices we’ve applied to our own communication that have resonated well with our remote teams from the Philippines.

FILIPINO CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION

This section outlines aspects of Filipino culture that largely inform how they communicate in the workplace. These may be foreign concepts to Westerners with little experience interacting with Filipinos, so it helps to be aware of these nuances and motivations.

Shame and saving face

The Filipino concept of shame revolves around “saving face” and a fear of disrupting social harmony. They’re particularly averse to acting outside of norms not because of guilt, but out of fear of other people’s disapproval. Any feelings of shame are also shared by the groups (family, peers, communities) to which the “offending” actor belongs. In contrast, Western culture tends to emphasize individualism and self-approval, wherein feelings of guilt and shame come from within.

On the other hand, if a Filipino is offended, he or she tends to skirt around the issue for fear of otherwise embarrassing the offending party. Confrontations are less direct and often feel like a dance where subtext and nonverbal cues convey as much or more meaning than what’s actually spoken. Direct confrontations, when they do happen, often take place behind closed doors—again, to save face. 

In the online workplace, this instinct to maintain harmony manifests as staff being generally passive and hesitant to share an opposing opinion in meetings. When they do deliver criticism, they buffer it with polite language. Where an American would say “I don’t think that’s right”, a Filipino would use “Maybe we can try a different approach” or “I’m not sure about that” to convey disagreement.

Collectivism

The Philippines is a collectivist society where the interests of the group come before the interests of the individual. This applies to any community a person belongs to—family, peers, offices, departments—and influences the dynamics in each of these groups. Collectivism and shame have an additive effect on conflict avoidance, where maintaining social harmony often takes precedence over individual grievances, sometimes to a fault.

Context-heavy

As mentioned earlier, Filipinos are rather passive aggressive when airing grievances. Intonation and nonverbal cues convey what one truly means. This communication style necessitates a lot of reading between the lines which can be confusing to Western employers who are more accustomed to direct communication. Here’s a typical exchange between two Filipinos in which the second person is running embarrassingly late to a meetup:

“Where are you already?”

“I’m on my way.”

The first person is trying to convey a sense of urgency i.e., “Hurry up!” Understanding this, the second person doesn’t reply with their location, instead assuring the first person that they’re heading to the meeting. Or, if they’re acceptably close by, they’ll say where they are.

Acknowledging hierarchy and authority

Addressing authority is another cultural quirk in the Filipino workplace. They frequently use honorifics and titles like “Sir”, “Ma’am”, “Doctor”, “Attorney”, etc., sometimes even outside of work settings. Expect new hires to address you as “Sir” or “Ma’am” the first time you meet. A lot of Westerners find this off-putting and prefer to be addressed more casually. If this is the case with you, tell them so as soon as the first time you meet.

BRIDGING COMMUNICATION GAPS WITH YOUR FILIPINO TEAM

Understanding the culture of their remote team members enables Western employers and managers to communicate with Filipino remote staff in a way that’s both efficient and respectful. This section discusses specific communication practices that direct reports can implement in the virtual workplace.

Orient new hires on your communication style

Any bluntness from a superior can catch off guard any employee who has been using a different communication style their whole life. Orienting your Filipino staff on the more direct communication style of the West results in less of a culture shock for more inexperienced team members. 

This is also an opportunity for you to assess how objective of a communicator you actually are. If you’re even-keeled and objective, staff will usually loosen up and speak up more once they’ve acclimated to your style. If even experienced staff seem tense or hesitant when talking to you, then you might not be meeting them halfway.

Provide clear instructions

Managers and employers should strive for clarity in communication i.e., avoid assumptions and be explicit with instructions and expected outcomes. Clear communication results in less frustrated remote teams, quality output, and smoother operations. 

Establishing clarity begins at onboarding where you orient new hires on the company’s standard operating procedures. If onboarding is done poorly, surveys show employees will likely feel undertrained and leave in the near future. In a 2023 Paychex survey, a staggering 80% of workers who feel undertrained from poor onboarding plan to quit soon. 

 

Deliver negative feedback using the Sandwich Method

Feedback is the lifeblood of improvement but its benefits go beyond that. When done well, providing feedback to employees makes them feel valued. Around 43 percent of highly engaged employees receive weekly reviews from superiors. In this way, feedback impacts employee retention, and how effectively it does so depends on the delivery.

Originally conceived for managers, the sandwich method of criticism is now widely used in various disciplines like education, psychology, and sales. It involves three simple steps: commending the positive, stating the negative in a constructive manner, then closing with praise. 

Beginning with a complement makes a person more receptive to the negative feedback that follows, but the praise must be genuine, otherwise it’ll just ring hollow. For the critique, be sure to suggest actionable steps towards rectifying the error. End on a positive note by stating what they’re doing right and, if true, that the problem is fixable with action.

Promote two-way feedback

A good business owner should be aware of their own limitations and value feedback directed their way as well. Create an environment where employees’ opinions are heard and taken seriously. You can do this informally by allotting time for team members’ feedback in meetings or formally by scheduling individual check-ins for the purpose of getting the honest opinions of each team member about their role, operations, how the company can be a better workplace, and anything else they might want to talk about.

Reprimand in private

The sandwich method won’t be appropriate all the time. Every once in a while, someone messes up in a way that warrants actual reproach. Before you do so, remember that saving face is deeply embedded in Philippine culture and evaluate if doing so in a company-wide meeting is the best approach. More often than not, reprimanding someone privately and calmly is the better choice. Public reprimands can be a cause for resentment for any employee, especially Filipinos. 

Have a representative or liaison

If there’s simply too much correspondence for you to handle alone. We suggest hiring a Filipino executive assistant (EA) to act as a liaison between you and every Filipino employee on the payroll, including freelancers and part timers.

When you’re preoccupied and a team member has any concern, they can contact the EA who either addresses the matter on-the-spot or brings it up with you at an opportune moment. The liaison can also represent you at meetings that I can’t attend.

The EA is best positioned for this role because they’re the most aware of what’s happening across the companies and what your priorities are from day to day. Additionally, Filipino staff are more comfortable communicating with someone who shares their culture—as would anyone. This applies to working with foreign remote teams from any country: there will inevitably be a cultural gap an American employer can’t bridge, so having someone connect both sides — and it being a part of their job description — simply makes things easier for everyone.

Cross-cultural understanding is the foundation of effective communication with your Filipino team. When you take the time to learn their values of respect, harmony, and community, you create a workplace where misunderstandings are minimized. The payoff for this investment is smoother operations and a loyal, motivated team that feels appreciated and understood. Ultimately, for Western employers, investing in cultural awareness is about fine-tuning their individual management styles so they meet in the middle with the Filipino staff’s expectation.

At Wise Scout, we experience everyday how thoughtful communication builds lasting partnerships between Western employers and Filipino professionals. Clear expectations, open feedback, and cultural sensitivity make remote collaboration feel genuinely rewarding. As a U.S.-based company with a majority-Filipino workforce, we specialize in helping American businesses find and manage skilled remote talent from the Philippines. If you’re ready to grow your business with dependable, engaged Filipino team members, we’d be glad to help you get started.