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New
Ventures in Executive Search and Large-Scale Recruitment for
PT John Clements Consultants Indonesia
By
Paul Catiang
In the second week of February, three consultants from the John
Clements main office in Manila flew to PT John Clements Consultants
Indonesia in Jakarta as part of an exchange program designed to
facilitate the transfer of knowledge and expertise between the
two offices.
The
consultants were chosen according to their respective specialties
in the field of recruitment: Rowena Aquino for large-scale recruitment,
Charlotte de Jesus for executive search, and Jasmin Lozada for
outsourcing. All three services are offered by PT John Clements
Consultants, and Andi Mohammad Hatta, president-director of the
Jakarta office, believes that their expertise has been proven
and needs to be passed on to the office’s recruitment consultants.
Thinking
Big for Large-Scale Recruitment
Part
of augmenting the Jakarta office’s large-scale recruitment
efforts involved setting up job fairs to attract fresh graduates
and mid-level professionals. With the assistance of Weng Aquino,
the consultant for large-scale recruitment, two such events were
held, one at the Universitas Trisakti and the other at a Jobs
DB-sponsored event at the Peninsula Menara. “We received
a fair amount of résumés in those job fairs,”
recounts Ms. Aquino. “PT John Clements Consultants Indonesia
has many clients in need of rank-and-file and middle management
employees. This is one of the ways in which we’re trying
to fill all those requirements,” she continues.
One
of Ms. Aquino’s other responsibilities is to build a talent
bank for PT John Clements Consultants Indonesia with 10,000 CVs
to provide the Jakarta office with a ready pool of talents for
their clients’ requirements. This talent bank will need
to be replenished as individuals get hired, and finding ways of
attracting additional résumés is also a priority
for maintaining the talent bank.
As
a member of Mr. Hatta’s service quality team, Ms. Aquino
also assisted in enhancing customer relations, maintaining constant
communication throughout the execution and delivery of services,
to ensure that PT John Clements was providing top-notch service
throughout the recruitment cycle. “I also exchanged interviewing
methods with the Jakarta consultants and gave them advice based
on my own recruitment experiences,” she recalls. As if her
efforts in large-scale recruitment weren’t enough, Ms. Aquino
also filled a few executive search requirements.
Expanding
Executive Search
A
different set of challenges faces the executive search consultants
of PT John Clements Consultants Indonesia. Crickets de Jesus,
executive search consultant, enumerates these challenges. “It
all begins with Indonesian culture,” she says, “and
how English isn’t a second language with Indonesians. You
have to face the fact that this makes working there harder for
expatriates. What’s more, Indonesia needs more expatriate
requirements to increase opportunities for foreign executives
and more global business.”
Of
course, this means most of the executive positions in Indonesia
are available to locals. In response to this, Ms. de Jesus has
adapted to the local culture. In several instances, the services
of an interpreter were needed to conduct interviews for Indonesian
executives. Networking efforts were conducted through the informal
yet solid network of professional acquaintances and associates.
“We
still have a lot of work to do in Jakarta,” Ms. de Jesus
continues. “We have to strengthen our networking and marketing
in Indonesia some more, update the talent bank and upgrade the
IT system. I am excited to return to Jakarta, because there’s
a big opportunity to make an impact in the executive search business
there.”
Learning
from the Cultural Exchange
One
of the benefits of the consultant exchange program is that Filipino
and Indonesian consultants get the chance to be exposed to each
others’ professional cultures. “If we were to send
other consultants to Jakarta, we’ll be able to give them
a comprehensive briefing on how to conduct business there,”
says Ms. de Jesus. “As a matter of fact, we’re already
working on a presentation that will serve as a guide to anyone
who’s going to go there.”
When
the Jakarta consultants come to Manila for their turn in the exchange
program, it’s a guarantee that they will learn just as much
as their Manila counterparts.
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