B Corp Spotlight - We are Caring
- Cecilia Hough
- May 29
- 6 min read
About We are Caring
We are Caring started its journey in 2016 as the first agency in Singapore to provide free placement services for foreign domestic workers. They set out to address the burden placed on domestic workers, who often have to pay hefty placement fees to middlemen just to secure employment. Many of these women, working overseas to support their families back home, are typically required to pay several months’ worth of their salaries, usually four to six months, as fees to agents.
Bootstrapped and purpose-driven, David Bensadon and Jinky Amador set up a team and placed 700 workers within the first two years. In 2018, they were accredited by the Philippine Embassy and set up the first debt-free recruitment corridor between the Philippines and Singapore. The company has since grown from strength to strength, setting up a debt-free recruitment corridor between Indonesia and Singapore; partnered with MOM on the Employer’s Orientation Programme; launched a mobile app; and became the first ethical recruiter globally to achieve IRIS certification from the UN’s International Organization for Migration.
“Our mission is to provide ethical solutions to global workforce deployment for the benefits of all – the migrant workers, the employers, and the community. We envision a world where migrant workers get fair job opportunities”
We are Caring is a proud B Corp since January 2023. Recently, the B Lab Singapore team sat down with David Bensadon, co-founder and Managing Director, to learn more about what is important to them in the pursuit of ethical recruitment, and their B Corp journey.
As a purpose-driven recruitment agency, what challenges do you aim to address?
We Are Caring is an ethical recruitment agency committed to managing the recruitment of migrant domestic workers with integrity and respect for the workers. We ensure fair treatment for the workers while also delivering excellent service to both families and helpers.
One of the major issues we address is the burden placed on domestic workers, who often have to pay hefty placement fees to middlemen just to secure employment. These women, who are mainly from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Myanmar, come to Singapore with hopes of supporting their families back home. Unfortunately, they are often forced to rely on unscrupulous employment agencies that provide jobs which may not align with what was promised. On top of that, they’re typically required to pay several months’ worth of their salaries, usually four to six months, as fees to agents.
We Are Caring is proud to be the first employment agency in Singapore to offer placement services completely free of charge to all migrant domestic workers, regardless of their country of origin. We leverage an online platform to simplify the matchmaking process between employers and helpers, and we manage the entire hiring journey in a fully paperless and transparent manner.
Please share more on the impact your business has in the area of ethical recruitment.
Firstly, we’re making a real impact by providing job placements to migrant domestic workers without charging them any fees. So far, we’ve helped over 7,000 domestic workers secure employment in Singapore, completely free of charge. The long-term effect is powerful: instead of sending months’ worth of salary to a middleman, these workers can send more money home to support their children’s education, cover healthcare costs for their parents, and improve their families’ quality of life.
This approach also benefits employers, who are often burdened with high upfront costs. Imagine having to pay $5,000 upfront while the helper works without pay for six months. What happens if the arrangement doesn’t work out? By eliminating both salary deductions and placement fees, we help build healthier, more positive relationships between employers and helpers from the onset.
We see this reflected in our retention rates. The Ministry of Manpower publishes data on the percentage of helpers who remain with their original employers after six months. While traditional agencies report retention rates between 60 - 64%, our ethical and transparent hiring model achieves a 75% retention rate. It’s a solution that’s ethical, affordable, and better for everyone, families and workers alike.
What is the next step for your organisation?
We have now helped a significant number of domestic workers secure jobs in Singapore. To further improve the experience for both families and workers, we launched a mobile app that streamlines the entire hiring process. Building on our success in Singapore, we are expanding to Hong Kong with the goal of replicating the same ethical and effective recruitment model.
We are also in the process of setting up an agency in the Philippines to manage the recruitment journey from start to finish. Establishing a fully ethical recruitment corridor between two countries is still a relatively new concept in Asia, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of that shift.
Looking ahead, we aim to extend our model to support other groups of migrant workers. Many face the same challenges as domestic helpers, particularly salary deductions. This includes workers in sectors like construction and hospitality. We believe we can play a role in creating better conditions not just for workers, but also for employers and, ultimately, for society as a whole.
Why did the organisation embark on B Corp certification?
We decided to embark on the B Corp Certification journey three years ago. Our first motivation was to obtain a well-recognized accreditation that would clearly demonstrate the positive social impact of our work. Secondly, we wanted to join a community of like-minded companies where we could share experiences and learn best practices together. Third, considering our stakeholders, especially our customers and communities, we aimed to show that we have a solid framework in place to support new collaborations and initiatives. We also wanted to prove that our commitment to sustainability goes beyond financial performance and extends meaningfully to the community level.
Could you share some learning points or insights from your B Corp journey?
Going through the B Corp certification journey was a truly eye-opening experience. Although we had done well incorporating our mission into all our documents, we discovered areas where we could improve, particularly on the environmental impact area. For example, while we have implemented digital hiring that has made us largely paperless, we still didn’t have a system in place to monitor our electricity and water consumption. These are areas we recognized needed attention, and worked on.
We also learned the importance of formalizing what had previously been informal practices. Many of our workshops, training sessions, and weekend events were not consistently documented or emphasized. This process gave us a valuable opportunity to step back, review everything we’ve done so far, and identify key areas to focus on for the benefit of our community.
One of the biggest impacts of this journey has been how it brought our team closer together. We saw this clearly as everyone became genuinely energized. We all agreed this certification was something amazing, sparking curiosity about where we stand and what more we could achieve. Most of our team actively contributed to gathering the necessary information, and the process remains exciting for us. For me, this has been one of the greatest benefits of joining the B Corp community.
What impact has the B Corp certification had on your organisation’s stakeholders?
Being a B Corp has positively impacted our relationships with multiple stakeholders. In our initial conversations with customers, many recognize the B Corp logo and this often sparks meaningful discussions about our company’s purpose. Other curious customers ask for more details, which provides a great opportunity to share our mission. Surprisingly, even our competitors find it exciting and often reach out to learn how they can join the movement. I find it inspiring that we are creating positive impact together, rather than competing against one another.
For our team, B Corp certification has been a real energy boost. The team is inspired to use the framework to launch social initiatives. For example, we now use our office space every Saturday to host birthday celebrations for helpers, offering free gifts and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. This initiative was suggested by a team member who studied the B Corp certification and wanted to put those values into action.
In terms of partnerships, we’ve built a strong relationship with the NGO Uplifters, collaborating with them to design online courses that enhance the skills of domestic workers. Being a B Corp has made it much easier to start and deepen conversations with organizations like Uplifters, which is invaluable.
Share one thing you can do as a B Corp that you were not able to do before certification.
When you’re running a purpose-driven company, daily life can be challenging. Balancing your mission with the financial realities of running a business can sometimes feel like a lonely journey. Joining the B Corp community truly changed that for us, it gave us a sense of belonging and the ability to openly discuss both challenges and opportunities with others who share similar values.
One of the great things about joining the B Corp community is the connections it fosters. For example, we discovered and became happy customers of another B Corp, Sleek, after learning about them through the network. It’s been a great way to support and collaborate with like-minded businesses.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to David Bensadon for sharing his insights and inspiring perspectives. Your contributions continue to inspire the B Corp community to drive meaningful change.
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