Hari Raya Puasa | Singapore Holiday
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Author Archives: Stephen Jagger
Our Interns Overview of Singapore Life
The interns in the PayrollHero Singapore office got together and made a video that discusses where they are from, what it is like living and working in Singapore and what they have been working on. Check it out:
Celebrity Interview: Rocco Nacino, Actor
Editors Note: Maita Ocampo, Business Development at PayrollHero contributes to this blog on and off, this week, she did an interview with Rocco Nacino.
Rocco Nacino, Actor
“Rocco Nacino is a Filipino actor and registered nurse who rose to fame and gained media attention for joining on the fifth season of StarStruck, a Philippine reality show broadcast on GMA Network. He was the Second Prince of StarStruck. (wikipedia)”
1. What do you love about living in the Philippines?
Growing up in Singapore, being with my family and relatives has always been important to me. Life in Singapore was great, yes, but it wasn’t as great as spending Sundays with your loved ones and enjoying our grandma’s cooking. So it’s definitely being with your family is what I love about living in the Philippines.
2. What are your top 5 favourite restaurants and why?
Top 5? That will be hard to answer, because I’m a foodie and I would eat anything! Haha but taste-wise would be our Carinderias, I know everyone would relate to that. Turo-turo is the best! Haha food from Todd English is great also. To enjoy a unique experience, Van Gogh Is Bipolar is where me and my girlfriend love to go. Japanese would be Keizo in Burgos Circle and everything foie gras would be the best at Rambla in the Fort. I can go on and on guys. Haha.
3. You used to live in Singapore, what Singapore restaurant/s do you miss and would like to see in the Philippines?
Many people visit Singapore for their hawker centers, and it’s hard to come up with dishes as good as theirs. I’ve tried many Singaporean restaurants here but have failed my standards for the authentic taste. Chicken rice from Singapore’s hawker centers are the best and I’d love them to spread their recipes or restaurants here!!
4. What is your favourite Philippine restaurant brand that should expand overseas?
Hmmm, Mang Inasal?? I’d love people from other countries to taste our chicken inasal with its chicken oil!! That’ll be something different for them!
Rocco Nacino, Actor
5. Describe your most memorable dining experience
Most memorable would be having a 3 course meal with wine at the Eiffel Tower with Lovi, hearing that sweet “yes” from her on top of the Eiffel Tower then straight to a river cruise in the Siene River. 🙂
6. If you were to open a restaurant, what kind would it be and why?
It would probably be one for the masses, a chill place with good food, and street food, and lots of alcohol. Haha!! A place that everyone can get together and enjoy drinks and have fun!
7. What is your favourite comfort food?
Favorite comfort food would be chicken wings, any type of chicken wings.. Crispy, buffalo… Etc. now I’m hungry!!!
Restaurant News Recap
A quick round up of restaurant news that caught out attention this week.
Philippines
Jollibee plans to buy US brand
“The homegrown fastfood giant wants to become one of top 5 quick service restaurants globally”
How American Restaurants Are Courting Filipino Palates — and Vice Versa
“American restaurants are huge in the Philippines. Why not the other way around?”
Applebee’s to open first Philippine store in July
“Global Restaurant Concepts, Inc. (GRCI) has signed a new franchise deal to open three Applebee’s Grill and Bar restaurants in the Philippines, the company’s president said yesterday.”
Singapore
Celebrity chefs opening restaurants in Singapore
“Ian Kittichai (Thailand), Wolfgang Puck (United States) and Jamie Oliver (United Kingdom)
Singapore’s Restaurant Andre among top 50 in the world
“Helmed by chef Andre Chiang, the fine-dining establishment slipped nine places from its position on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants last year, but remains the only restaurant in Singapore to make it to the top 50.”
USA
Chipotle Becomes the First National Restaurant Chain to Go GMO-Free
“Chipotle has finally reached its goal of going GMO-free.”
Carlos Celdran on the Philippine Business Environment
Editors Note: Maita Ocampo, Business Development at PayrollHero contributes to this blog on and off, this week, she had a call with one of the most famous Filipinos, Carlos Celdran.
One-on-One with Manila’s Main Man
John Charles Edward “Carlos” Pamintuan Celdran is a man who wears many hats (at times, even bunny ears!), but in most days, he is an artist and a tour guide. He uses performing arts to educate people about Intramuros and of course…..Manila.
Yesterday, I had the privilege of scoring a phone interview with Manila’s main man. I asked Carlos some questions about his work and his thoughts on the Philippine business environment.
The Changing Manila Skyline
When asked about the changes in the restaurant/retail business in Manila, Carlos says that he’s seen everything and finds it terrible that the city is becoming more mall-driven. Not to mention, the “building boom” that’s currently happening – he pointed out the increasing number of condos and high-rise buildings that’s changing the Manila skyline in so many ways.
Let’s Talk Business
What can the Philippines (or in this case, Manila) do better to attract business investment?
Carlos mentioned 3 items:
- Streamlining the tax system
- Working on safety and security on roads
- Addressing the traffic and flooding issues
What are the challenges for foreigners setting up a business in the Philippines?
– “The biggest obstacle would be the 60-40 rule on ownership wherein foreigners can’t fully own a local company. For me, that’s the biggest hindrance more than anything else.” (more on that topic)
What advice can you give a foreigner setting up a business in the Philippines?
– “It is important to find a good Filipino business partner and it’s always about location, location, location.”
It’s always been a joy speaking with Carlos – whether in one of his tours, over beers, or this time, through the phone. I love the fact that he’s passionate and vocal for his love of country – trying to alleviate the not-so-good and embracing it for what it truly is.
You should definitely attend one of his walking tours and get to know more about the Philippines in a very interesting way. Take note: free Choc-nut and halo-halo for everyone!
Your Employees Are Asking 3rd Parties to Check Their Payroll Calculations
Have you ever heard of Glassdoor.com? It is a US based website that “is the world’s most transparent career community that is changing the way people find jobs, and companies recruit top talent.” Founded by Rich Barton who is no stranger to startups. Rich is the founder of Expedia and Zillow with a history at Microsoft. “Glassdoor holds a growing database of 6 million company reviews, CEO approval ratings, salary reports, interview reviews and questions, benefits reviews, office photos and more.”
Basically Glassdoor lets you check on positions salaries, company feedback and much more. While it is growing rapidly in North America it has not seemed to have taken off in Southeast Asia.
Which brings me to the topic of this post;
Your Employees Are Checking Their Payroll Calculations
Every month we get random inquiries from employees we don’t have a relationship with asking about their personal situation. Questions about their taxes, their payroll dates, deductions, allowances, etc.
Are your employees asking around?
For example, here is an inquiry we received recently asking about income tax for an employee of a Philippine retailer. We have no idea who the employee is or what company they work for but they are asking around.
hi.gud afternoon..im working at [retail] store as asst.supervisor..my rate was 513.62 per day..i have 1 dependent..but my tax was 1789 ..its is correct for my salary
Are your employees double checking their payroll calculations?
Feel free to reach out to us for more information about our Philippine payroll software, Singapore payroll software or our daily time record tools for your business.
Executive Interview: Rob Nixon, CEO & Founder of PANALITIX
Rob Nixon is the CEO and Founder of PANALITIX, a software as a service (SaaS) platform that provides analytical accounting data from small businesses to accountants around the world. Rob does a lot of education work in Australia and New Zealand with accountants and showing them how/why to outsource to the Philippines. We did a question and answer with Rob about his experience with the Philippines.
1. Can you tell me a bit more about yourself and your business?
- PANALITIX is a software as a service (SaaS) that provides analytical accounting data from small businesses to Accountants around the world
- I have been working with Accountants for 21 years yet I m not one – I left school when I was 16
- This is my 8th company and by far the most exciting
- I educate Accountants on how to run a better business and how they can help their clients run better businesses
- I constantly tell accountants they need to outsource repetitive tasks to lower cost labour in developing countries
- I have been outsourcing to India for 4 years and the Philippines for 2 years.
2. Why do Aussie’s outsource to the Philippines?
- We love the time zone difference – 2 hours
- We love the English speaking abilities
- We love the abundance of labour
- We love the cost benefit – Australia is 5 times more expensive for the same task when all costs are added
3. What are the benefits?
- Definitely cost – 5 times difference
- Eagerness to work – the Philippine team member wants to work and they work hard
- easy to get along with
- The service culture means they want to serve and please their customers
4. What are some of the downsides you have seen with outsourcing?
- if you don’t train the new team or give them clear instructions if will not work
- you have to initially travel to get the team up and running*
(*Note: Check out our other post about Mike O’Hagan’s Manila tours)
5. What are some of the best practices others should follow?
- create good systems so the worker knows what to do
- have good quality IT so solid communication can take place quickly
- have 100% of systems cloud based – no transfer of files.
6. Do you suggest your clients start outsourcing to a company? or setup their own Philippine company?
- Not initially. Go through a BPO and get the hang of working with a remote team.
- Then when the team is 20+ think about incorporating.
- If you’re going to have a team over 10 people there needs to be management in place to keep them working
7. You talk about “future proofing” – how can more people learn about future proofing their businesses?
- My latest seminar tour is in Australia and New Zealand in July & August. Covering 12 cities.
- It is designed for Accounting firms and their team members
- Full day workshop on how to to future proof the accounting firm and remain relevant.
#MyClock iOS App Updated
The PayrollHero #MyClock iOS app has been updated in the Apple app store. There are quite a few changes to the app, most noticeably is the design. The overall look has been updated as well as some new functionality.
The #MyClock iOS app is designed for individual employee use. The app shows an employee their upcoming and past schedules, their clock in and out data, the clock photos as well as lets them require a change to their schedule or notify of an absent.
Interested to know more about how PayrollHero works? Check out our website or reach out to our team and we would be pleased to give you a free one on one demo of the platform as well as the features and benefits.
Executive Interview: Russell Yu, IKI Concepts
I had the opportunity to meet up with Russell Yu, the Director of IKI Concepts in Singapore. Russell is in the process of bringing his successful restaurant concepts from Singapore to the Philippines.
In Singapore, Russell operates Kaiseki Yoshiyuki, Horse’s Mouth Bar and Uma Uma! Original Hakata Ramen. They are very popular spots on Orchard Road. Russell is in the process of bringing Uma Uma! Original Hakata Ramen to the Philippines with the first location opening in November 2015 at the SM Mall of Asia.
Interestingly, one of Russell’s ideas to attract talent in Singapore is to rotate the team through Manila. We know something about this as we do the same thing with our #AdventureEngineering program. We rotate our team through our Whistler, Manila and Singapore offices and use that adventure as a core part of our recruiting effort – and it works. Russell’s take on this is interesting and I think has legs. Singapore’s restaurant and retail businesses have a big challenge when it comes to recruiting. The Singapore unemployment rate is 1.9% [2014 (Q4)] and it is difficult to bring in non-Singaporeans for the roles. So many restaurants and retailers go understaffed. The concept of rotating team members from Singapore through to Manila could be that added benefit to not only attract A players but keeps them around. Interested in learning more about the opportunities at IKI Concepts, reach out to their HR team.
Retail News: Canada’s Joe Fresh Coming to the Philippines
Canada’s Financial Post is reporting that the retail brand Joe Fresh is expanding further into Asia with the announcement of its partnership with SSI.
Joe Fresh is owned by Loblaws and has hundreds of stores throughout North America. SSI is the premier partner for restaurant and retail groups looking to enter the Philippines.
FamilyMart out of Japan choose SII along with Salad Stop from Singapore. Joe Fresh is another brand expanding into the Philippines in partnership with SSI.