TaskUs, Taguig City, Philippines

Name of Organization / Company: TaskUs, Taguig City, Philippines

Category: Award for Innovation in Living, Learning, and Working Environments

Entry Title: How TaskUs Innovated the way people work in the Philippines

Entry:

BACKGROUND:

As a way to break the stereotype, TaskUs has depended on its one-of-a-kind culture and offices that reflect its sheer ridiculousness. The company takes consideration of where the people are, placing sites within small communities in order to make jobs more accessible to them. This factor may seem like a tiny detail to a few, but actually solves the issue of work-life balance which constantly plagues the Filipino Millennial employee. With its well-thought of site geography, travel time to and from offices is lessened, and budgets and skills are maximized. This alone gives employees, or teammates, as how they are called in TaskUs, the freedom to practice working smart.

The four elements inspire life to the different office sites of TaskUs. Located in the heart of Bonifacio Global City in Metro Manila is LizardBear Lair (air), a site that takes on a fresh concept of the modern workspace, combining high-tech and high performance. Lizzy’s Nook (earth), found in the South of Manila, incorporates a mix of the Bohemian and the Zen.

Travel a few miles North and there stands Chateau Ridiculous (fire), a site that brings on a mashup of Industrial Revolution steampunk and 21st century technology.

CHALLENGES FACED

The BPO industry remains to be one of the strongest contributors in the economic growth of the Philippines. In 2015, the industry was able to provide 1.2 million jobs and generate billion dollar revenues (source). However, it continues to be stigmatized because of the seemingly dead end career path that it paves for its workers. Starting a job in outsourcing is often merely viewed as a jump off point to a more lucrative career, not a place where it could be built.

UNIQUE DESIGN

Being people-centered doesn’t stop there for the company. It thrives on an open door policy. Instead of leaders occupying cookie-cutter offices with a view (as is the usual for traditional Philippine workplaces) they can be found right smack in the middle of production floors, working on collaborative hot desks, within reach of the teammates. Literally and figuratively, this arrangement gives out the message that each voice is welcomed to be heard.

USER EXPERIENCE

The design of its offices relies heavily on the collective that make up TaskUs. There’s bound to be a lair, a chateau, or a nook that responds to the needs of new mothers (lactation rooms), busy parents (a day care), and even animal-lovers, as TaskUs is one of the rare businesses in the Philippines to allow pets at work. It makes room for dreamers and people wh run on their imagination, as each site inspires through its unique and colourful interiors. These simple things incite better productivity, and therefore, better results.

BENEFITS to EMPLOYEES, CLIENTS and SOCIETY

TaskUs Employee attrition is lowest in the industry at 40% in 2015 and drops at 20% in 2016 BPO Industry standard is 80% in 2015 and drops at 50% in 2016
http://www.sourcefit.com/news/2016-08/philippine-outsourcing-industry-attrition-rate-drops-to-50

Employee Satisfaction Survey is ran every 3 months and we only accept scores of 8 and above. This inception of office sites in mid 2015 to date we have been averaging 8.7% quarter on quarter.

In the spirit of Be Ridiculous, our mascot, LizardBear, serves as a constant reminder around our sites to stand out and be proud. Her message “Stop Trying to Fit In” may have been a challenge to make sense of in the beginning, but has been fully embraced now by TaskUs.

Supporting Links:

www.facebook.com/taskusph
www.ote.strikingly.com
www.taskus.com