Your first 90 days managing someone in the Philippines: checklists, templates and time zones

The first 90 days with someone working for you from the Philippines go well when three things are true: they can do the work from day one because their access is ready, they know exactly what one good result looks like, and you hear about problems while they are still small. This guide gives you the tools for that: a pre-start checklist, a day-by-day first week, a daily update your team member can send, review questions for days 30, 60 and 90, a time-zone table, and the working habits worth knowing about. It applies whoever employs them: you directly, an agency or an employer of record.

What should you sort out before their first day?

Most first-week problems are access problems. A new starter who spends days one and two waiting for logins learns that the role isn't ready for them. Copy this list and tick it off the week before they start:

• A named manager and a backup. One person sets priorities and answers questions; someone else covers when they're away.
• Working hours, written down in both time zones, including what happens when daylight saving changes (see the table below).
• Their own logins, tested: email, chat and only the systems the first responsibility needs. No shared passwords.
• Two-step verification turned on for every account. Our security checklist for offshore staff covers access in more detail.
• A work device, ready: who supplies it, how it's set up, and who they call when it breaks.
• The first responsibility, in writing: the steps, one finished example, where the result goes, and the points where they should stop and ask.
• A "who to ask about what" list, with names, so questions don't all land on you.
• Week one booked in both calendars, using the plan below.
• Both countries' public holidays in a shared calendar, so nobody is surprised by a day off.
• Who handles pay, leave and HR questions, so they know where to go: you, if you employ them, or their employer.
• A short note to your team with their name, role and start date.

If you haven't written the role brief yet, start with how to plan your first offshore hire.

What time is it in Manila when you start work?

Philippine Standard Time is UTC+8 all year; the Philippines doesn't use daylight saving. So the gap changes twice a year for most of New Zealand and south-east Australia, and not at all for Brisbane or Perth.

Your city	Ahead of Manila (standard time)	Ahead of Manila (daylight saving)	Your 9am to 5pm in Manila
Auckland, Wellington	4 hours	5 hours	5am to 1pm; 4am to 12pm in daylight saving
Sydney, Melbourne	2 hours	3 hours	7am to 3pm; 6am to 2pm in daylight saving
Brisbane	2 hours	No daylight saving	7am to 3pm all year
Adelaide	1.5 hours	2.5 hours	7:30am to 3:30pm; 6:30am to 2:30pm in daylight saving
Perth	Same time	No daylight saving	9am to 5pm all year

The changeover dates differ. New Zealand's daylight saving runs from the last Sunday in September to the first Sunday in April (27 September 2026 to 4 April 2027). New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT change on the first Sunday in October (4 October 2026 to 4 April 2027), so for one week a year New Zealand has moved and Sydney hasn't.

Early starts are normal, but they are a real shift pattern. Across the 50 people we employ in the Philippines whose timesheets we hold for 18 July to 27 September 2026, 45 were usually rostered to start before 9am Manila time, and 11 at 5am or earlier. (Each person is counted once, at the rostered start time they worked most often in that period.)

Three decisions to make before day one:

• Which hours genuinely need to overlap. Customer-facing work usually needs your whole business day. Bookkeeping, data entry or content work often needs only two or three shared hours for questions and handovers.
• Whether their hours move when your clocks change, or stay put in Manila time. Either works; decide once and write it down.
• What very early or late hours cost. Night hours and holiday work are paid differently in the Philippines; our guide to Philippine employment basics sets out the rules and the holiday dates.

What should the first week look like, day by day?

Week one is about connection and one small win, not output. Keep a short check-in at the start of their day, every day.

Day	What happens	Done when
Day 1	Welcome video call (30 to 45 minutes): the business, your customers, the team, what good looks like. Check every login together while you're both on the call. Introduce them in your team chat. Explain the daily update below.	Every login works and they've sent their first update.
Day 2	They watch you do the first responsibility on real work, ideally recorded. They write their own notes as they go.	They can explain the steps back to you.
Day 3	They do it while you watch and correct. Swap roles on anything they got wrong.	They've completed a few real items with you watching.
Day 4	They do it alone. You review every item before it goes anywhere that matters, then spend 15 minutes on questions at the end of their day.	Items are done with only small corrections.
Day 5	Review the week together. Update the written instructions with everything that was unclear, and agree next week's targets.	The instructions are better than they were on Monday.

Add them to the chat channels your team already uses and introduce them to the people they'll work with. Someone who only ever hears from one person stays an outsider.

What should a daily update include?

A written update at the end of their day gives you a record, shows you where they're stuck and saves a meeting. Give them this template to copy:

• Done today: what I finished, with links where they help.
• Next: what I'll do tomorrow, in order.
• Stuck on or waiting for: anything blocked, and who or what I'm waiting on. Write "nothing" if nothing.
• Question for you: one thing I need an answer to, or "none".
• Heads-up: anything coming up, such as a holiday, an appointment or a power outage warning.

Reply to every update in the first few weeks, even with a one-line thanks. If "stuck on" says "nothing" for days at a time while work is slipping, ask about it directly.

What working habits are worth knowing about?

People are individuals, and none of these is a rule about anyone. They are patterns worth planning for, so you ask better questions rather than make assumptions.

• People may not volunteer that they're stuck. A new team member, especially with a manager they've just met, may say "yes" or "noted" rather than admit they're unsure. Swap "any questions?" or "does that make sense?" for open questions: "What's the hardest part of this?" or "Walk me through how you'll do it." Thank people when they raise a problem early, and they'll keep doing it.
• Respect is often shown with titles. You may be called "Sir" or "Ma'am". If you'd prefer your first name, say so once, kindly; some people will take a while to switch, and that's fine.
• Disagreement can be indirect. A suggestion phrased as a question ("would it be okay if…?") may be a real concern. Ask for their view before you give yours.
• Christmas is the biggest season of the year. Celebrations start early and many people travel home to family in late December. Ask about leave plans for Christmas, New Year and Holy Week well in advance, and plan cover early.
• Weather and power can interrupt a day. The wet season brings storms that can cut power or internet. Agree a plan in advance: who they tell, whether they switch to mobile data, and how missed time is handled.
• Feedback lands best when it's specific and private. Name the task, what you expected and what happened. Praise in front of the team; correct one to one.
• Local slang doesn't travel. English is widely used at work, but "arvo", "chur", "she'll be right" and in-house abbreviations won't be obvious. Write instructions plainly.

What should you ask at 30, 60 and 90 days?

Book each review in advance and send the questions a day early so your team member can think about their answers rather than reply on the spot.

Day 30: is the first responsibility running?

• Can I move from checking every item to checking a sample?
• Which mistakes came up more than once, and are the fixes in the written instructions?
• Ask them: What was unclear this month? What slowed you down: access, tools, internet, waiting on someone?
• Ask them: Which part of the work do you feel confident with now, and which part not yet?

Day 60: are they ready for more?

• Is the first responsibility reliable enough to add a second, related one?
• Are the agreed hours still working for both of you?
• Ask them: What would you like to learn or take on next?
• Ask them: What's one thing we could do better as a team?

Day 90: what does the role look like now?

• How does the work compare with the original brief? Update the brief.
• How much of my week does managing this role still take?
• Which tasks am I still doing that they could own?
• What access do they have that they no longer need, and what does the next responsibility require?
• Ask them: Is there anything you've been hesitant to tell me?

By this point daily check-ins can usually ease to a weekly one-to-one. Keep a monthly review going.

What should you do if it isn't working?

Raise it early. Missed deadlines, quiet days or misunderstood instructions are much easier to fix in week three than in month three, and you don't need a watertight case before you talk about it.

1. Check your side first. Were the instructions clear, the access complete and the hours realistic? Early problems are often set-up problems.
2. Be specific. Name the task, what you expected and what happened, and agree what changes.
3. Write it down and set a short review, such as two weeks, with the same measures.
4. Involve their employer early. If an agency or employer of record employs them, formal warnings and any ending of employment are theirs to handle, so tell them before you act. If you employ them directly, take local advice before taking formal steps.

If we employ your team member, our company in the Philippines is their legal employer and runs their contract, payroll, leave and timesheets, so pay and HR questions come to us while you lead the work. You can see what the monthly price includes, or read contractor or employee in the Philippines if you're deciding how to engage someone.