{"id":233,"date":"2025-12-29T18:10:54","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T18:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/?p=233"},"modified":"2026-01-07T16:23:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T16:23:18","slug":"my-first-visit-to-manila-and-what-it-taught-me-about-teamwork","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/my-first-visit-to-manila-and-what-it-taught-me-about-teamwork\/","title":{"rendered":"My First Visit to Manila \u2014 and What It Taught Me about Teamwork"},"content":{"rendered":"

Visiting Manila gave me the chance to meet many of our VAs face to face, which in itself was deeply rewarding. But beyond that, it also gave me a clearer understanding of the impact of our work. From conversations with these employees, I learned how we <\/span>foster a strong culture<\/span><\/a> of collaboration and teamwork in more ways than I realized.<\/span><\/p>\n

I went to Manila mainly to show my appreciation to them. To me, that alone was worth the trip. My wife, Beth, and I held an evening banquet and then another at lunchtime the next day, inviting whoever could make it.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019d wondered if a lot of these employees would come out of some sense of obligation. But as we met them, I could see that wasn\u2019t the case at all. I felt truly humbled at how genuinely excited they were to meet us. Some even grew emotional about it, with tears in their eyes as we shook hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

I was also humbled by how far people traveled to meet us. Many traveled two or three hours each way, giving up their off-day \u2014 one woman rode for three hours on the back of a motorcycle. One of our employees, Elijah, rode for eight hours on a bus to reach us. (I offered to put him up somewhere for the night, but he took another eight-hour bus ride home later that day.) Traffic is terrible in Manila; it takes forever to get anywhere. And obviously, it wasn\u2019t about the food. You don\u2019t travel six hours round-trip just to go to a buffet. It was about building a relationship and sharing appreciation with each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some brought their whole families, too. It was a big deal to them. And our conversations helped me understand why.<\/span><\/p>\n

We have close to 70 employees who work with us or with our clients, and every one of them represents a family we have an impact on. That\u2019s why I don\u2019t take matching employees and clients lightly. I want them both to be in a much better place than they would have been in otherwise. That\u2019s been a priority from the beginning.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hannah, the first employee we hired for ia Blueprint, started off in an entry-level role with us. I\u2019d hired her from a competitor where she earned less money in a managerial role. Looking at her background, I knew that wasn\u2019t right. In that higher-level role, she should\u2019ve been making at least what I was paying. With our company, she knew we valued her hard work, skill, and dedication. Over time, Hannah has come up with brilliant ways of making sure our VAs and employees feel supported. And she\u2019s been able to move into a more comfortable living situation instead of having to live and work in the sweltering heat. It\u2019s been a total win-win.<\/span><\/p>\n

Elijah, the employee who traveled eight hours to meet us, recently bought land in the province where he lives. After we offered him a raise on his anniversary date, he decided to find land where he could build a home for his family and parents. His mother had just beaten breast cancer, which had been a difficult battle for his whole family, and being able to live together meant a lot to them. He was the first person in his family to own property, and he told me, \u201cIt\u2019s because of you and ia Blueprint that I\u2019m able to do this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of our employees have had the chance to travel for the first time or do things for their families. They enjoy hiking trips and concerts \u2014 things that might\u2019ve been out of reach before. They get air conditioning and upgrade their living situation. Their quality of life improves in significant ways, and they take steps toward goals that may have once seemed too ambitious. By supporting people in fulfilling their dreams and achieving greater well-being, you gain their loyalty and commitment to their work.<\/span>
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From talking with our employees, I\u2019ve learned that many companies don\u2019t pay like they ought to. Leaders often micromanage and create a lot of unnecessary stress. They don\u2019t value their employees like they should. And that keeps them from building strong bonds and a sense of teamwork among their people.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Do you find yourself wondering, <\/span>How could we improve employee satisfaction and retention? <\/span><\/i>Take a hard look at whether working with you is truly enhancing their quality of life. As an employer, you need to strike a balance between what\u2019s best for you, your employees, your clients, and your company. You might not be able to pay the salary you wish you could offer, but you need to think about what you <\/span>can <\/span><\/i>do, because it has more of an impact than you may realize.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your decisions have far-reaching effects on your people and their families. When you center your employees\u2019 needs, understand their life goals, and value their hard work, you\u2019ll ignite a spirit of teamwork. Without that sense of teamwork and camaraderie, people will just be showing up. With it, they\u2019ll bring genuine commitment and passion to their work \u2014 and the possibilities for what you can achieve together will be limitless.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/span>Image source<\/span><\/i>
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At our gathering in Manila, I shared my deep gratitude for the service our employees provide, and they shared gratitude for how working with us has changed their lives for the better. The whole experience affirmed for me how important it is to focus on creating a strong and <\/span>supportive culture<\/span><\/a>. Getting to know each employee as a human being, and centering their well-being, needs to be front and center. As an employer, I already prioritized these things, which is why we have a <\/span>retention rate of 90%<\/span><\/a>. I strived to pay a good salary and offer support that other companies didn\u2019t provide. I knew I was a good boss and that the jobs we provide are good opportunities. But meeting people face to face brought home how much of an impact all of this makes for them.<\/span><\/p>\n

This trip to Manila \u2014 and the one after that \u2014 affirmed why our work is so important. It also let me get to know our employees as human beings and learn about their dreams and life goals. All of this has helped us to foster an exceptional culture of collaboration and teamwork.<\/span><\/p>\n

Set up a call<\/span><\/i><\/a> to learn how partnering with ia Blueprint will help you find the perfect addition to your team. We carefully choose virtual assistants who can grow with our clients over the long-term, making sure they\u2019re an ideal fit. As you hire people who share your values and work ethic, you\u2019ll build a strong workplace culture grounded in teamwork and appreciation.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My trip to Manila brought lessons about building a strong culture rooted in teamwork and mutual appreciation. I\u2019ll share some key insights gained from talking with our employees face to face.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-beaux-pilgrim","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236,"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233\/revisions\/236"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iablueprint.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}