Scaling Smart: How Cal Solar Built a High-Impact Remote Team with Revaya

By partnering with Revaya, Cal Solar achieved a 60% reduction in labor costs compared to California-based hires, by growing its workforce in the Philippines. The company filled a previously 5-month-vacant HR role in just 3 weeks, doubled capacity in payroll and estimating, and unlocked new bandwidth for process improvements—all while maintaining rapid 50% annual growth.

“It’s not just about saving money. It’s about expanding capacity without sacrificing quality. Revaya helps us move faster, hire better, and grow smarter.” — Dawn Willis, Controller, Cal Solar Inc.

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Scaling Talent Without Breaking the Budget

As Cal Solar Inc. experienced rapid year-over-year growth – 50% annually for the past 5 years – it became clear that the company needed more operational capacity to support its expanding revenue. However, the traditional hiring market presented challenges: local labor scarcity and rising wages.

All of Cal Solar systems are web-based and the company provides equipment so their employees can work remotely, so the company was already set up to support remote hires. They had some success with offshore employees in the Philippines through word-of-mouth referrals, but that channel had dried up. The leadership team, particularly Dawn, was also becoming increasingly aware of the difficulty in managing and integrating offshore employees who lacked experience working independently. Adding to the complexity was a strong desire to build a cohesive culture across domestic and remote teams—ensuring everyone felt equally valued and connected to Cal Solar’s mission.

Another key pain point was inefficiency in the hiring process. Certain roles—like HR business partners or financial analysts—could take months to fill locally, creating operational bottlenecks and slowing momentum. The company needed a faster, more reliable way to source high-quality talent, particularly for roles that could be performed remotely.

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Partnering with Revaya to Build a High-Caliber, Remote Workforce

With Revaya, Dawn found a scalable, consistent hiring solution that could supply fully vetted, highly qualified, experienced professionals for both administrative and technical roles. Over time, Cal Solar hired six remote employees through Revaya for HR, payroll and technical support.

Remote Work Proficiency. Unlike referral hires, Revaya candidates arrived experienced in remote work, fluent in English, and ready to onboard quickly—typically in under two weeks. They required less training on communication tools or expectations, allowing Dawn’s team to focus onboarding on company-specific processes and California regulatory nuances. They were also better prepared for the communication and self-management required in a remote work environment.

Onboarding Success. To support onboarding and integration, Cal Solar implemented a hybrid team model with U.S.-based leads for each department (e.g., AP, AR, estimating) who worked closely with their Philippine counterparts. This structure fostered accountability and clarity, while weekly cross-border meetings helped bridge communication gaps and reinforce cultural alignment.

Revaya’s fast turnaround and hands-on support also stood out:

• For a hard-to-fill HR business role, Dawn received five highly qualified candidates and made a hire in under three weeks—after searching on her own for five months.
• Revaya’s process included candidate videos, resumes, and rapid follow-up for feedback, ensuring smoother matches and continuous improvement.
• Candidates from Revaya consistently demonstrated superior English fluency, deeper remote experience, and higher self-sufficiency compared to those hired through traditional referrals.

“Revaya is super prompt in getting interviews set up. As soon as you send them, they’re available. And they’re really quick to follow up, to get your feedback after each interview.”

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Increased Capacity, Faster Hiring, and Scalable Growth

Thanks to Revaya, Cal Solar now employs a third of its workforce in the Philippines, all fully remote. This talent strategy has delivered measurable benefits:

• Improved Operational Capacity: Cal Solar is now able to employ more people without increasing overhead. Dawn noted that in her previous company, she had to stretch a small accounting team thin due to cost constraints. At Cal Solar—with the same revenue—she can now staff more robustly and take on projects like audits and process improvements that previously fell by the wayside.
• Dramatic Cost Savings: Revaya helped Dawn increase the capacity of her department by providing great candidates quickly who reliably became a permanent part of the team. By hiring in the Philippines, Dawn is able to do more with her budget, while helping the company to grow faster and not overburdening the business cost-wise.
  • In San Diego, a payroll clerk might cost $24/hour—whereas for the same budget, Dawn can hire two experienced clerks in the Philippines.
  • A U.S.-based prevailing wage clerk could cost $100K/year—while the same budget allows for five qualified offshore hires.
• Rapid Growth Enablement: The ability to scale headcount without overspending has allowed Cal Solar to continue expanding aggressively—supporting both revenue growth and improved service delivery. “The affordable hires that Revaya has provided means I can improve processes and analyze things I couldn’t look at before, and I have extra capacity to support business expansion and growth”, Dawn adds.
• High Confidence in Talent Quality: Whether for entry-level tasks or strategic roles, Revaya’s candidates consistently meet or exceed expectations with a highly professional approach to remote work. The time saved on sourcing and vetting has allowed Cal Solar to focus on integration and team building—including an upcoming trip to the Philippines for a major company-wide team event.