Yempo is a premier provider of Philippines-based accountancy, finance, and IT professionals to global clients: Michelle Fiegehen, CEO

“Our employees are empowered, resulting in high productivity and loyalty. We believe in treating everyone as a customer – whether they are a client, employee, candidate, or supplier. This philosophy cultivates a working environment defined by collaboration, respect, and kindness.”

 Michelle Fiegehen and Ian Parkin, founders of Yempo, have had long successful careers in the IT and finance sectors prior to setting up the company. Over 15 years ago, while employed at a global investment bank, they were stationed in different locations: Ian in Philadelphia and Michelle in Manila. In Manila, Michelle established a substantial offshore engineering team, which Ian and his team later utilized. At the end of their careers with the bank years later, they realized their profound understanding of offshore outsourcing and their ability to effectively leverage offshore accounting and IT talent for small businesses.

Yempo specializes in premium employment services, focusing on senior professional staff within offshore accounting and IT staffing sectors. Notably, the company has impressive rates of client and employee retention, with a significant portion of its new clientele sourced through referrals from existing satisfied clients.

Yempo was founded in 2015 and is based in Makati City, Philippines.

The Silicon Review had the privilege of interviewing Michelle Fiegehen, the CEO of Yempo. Here are the highlights from our conversation.

“We prioritize high-caliber, loyal talent over cheap resources for our clients. Given that attrition poses significant costs for small to medium businesses, our clients highly value our exceptional retention rate.” 

Facilitating Change

Unlike most outsourcing businesses in the Philippines, which often start as call centers and are founded by serial entrepreneurs, Yempo's founders have extensive corporate backgrounds, as I already noted. This gives them a clear understanding of the professionalism and responsiveness expected by their clients, the majority of whom serve corporate entities.

“Our B2B client base predominantly operates in the IT, finance, engineering and healthcare sectors, and our staff profiles are heavily skewed to senior IT, finance and engineering professionals.”

“Our employees are empowered, resulting in high productivity and loyalty. We believe in treating everyone as a customer – whether they are a client, employee, candidate, or supplier. This philosophy cultivates a working environment defined by collaboration, respect, and kindness.”

Business Model

The Yempo business model is characterized by simplicity, transparency, and risk mitigation. There are no long-term contracts, ensuring flexibility for clients. Payments are only required upon successful candidate placement. Moreover, in the rare instance of a mismatch, candidates can be exited with just two-day’s notice, highlighting Yempo's commitment to client satisfaction.

“We have built a brand new Process Automation team to revamp and automate manual tasks in order to keep our back office costs down. As we continue to grow and achieve economies of scale while reducing administration costs, we hope to offer all our clients cost reductions.” 

The Yempo website includes an instant quote tool where you can immediately see the costs and savings of highly skilled, loyal resources.

Leadership | Yempo

Michelle Fiegehen, CEO: Michelle Fiegehen, an Australian senior director currently based in the Philippines, leads and develops Yempo's operations. With nearly two decades of experience, Michelle has successfully built multi-disciplinary offshore delivery teams in the Philippines and India. She has also managed and integrated geographically diverse teams across the US, UK, South Africa, Australia, and Asia. Michelle's extensive global experience has equipped her with a profound understanding of cultural nuances among different nationalities, enabling her to foster productive and cohesive relationships.

Ian Parkin, COO: Ian Parkin, starting his career in England and now based in Australia, brings a wealth of experience to his role, having lived and worked in the UK, USA, and various Asian countries. With a background in IT, Ian has led teams spanning multiple time zones and cultures, overseeing operations in offshore service centers. During his corporate tenure, Ian specialized in technical integration for mergers and acquisitions, ensuring smooth transitions and uninterrupted service delivery to customers.

“We prioritize high-caliber, loyal talent over cost-effective resources for our clients. Given that attrition poses significant costs for small to medium businesses, our clients highly value our exceptional retention rate.”