Brown conquers Jakarta with noble values<\/p>\n
By Lela E. Madjiah<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): It took Ron Brown less than a year to "conquer"
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
Arriving in Denpasar in July 1995 as Ansett Australia's
\nmanager for Indonesia, Ron won an ASEAN Development Award for
\n1996 in April this year. This prestigious management award was
\nalso a present for his 45th birthday, which fell on April 14.<\/p>\n
He was one of three Australians among 15 expatriates presented
\nwith the award by the ASEAN Program Consultant Indonesia
\nConsortium at a function at the Shangri-La in Central Jakarta.
\nHis fellow countrymen, Australian Ambassador Alan Taylor and the
\ngeneral manager of Radisson Hotel Jakarta, Alan Featherby, were
\nalso among the winners.<\/p>\n
"I was very fortunate to be presented with the award, which is
\nreally a reflection on the staff here," he said.<\/p>\n
Ron's modesty is one of the many traits that have won him the
\nrespect of his 44-strong staff at his new office in Jakarta,
\nwhich opened in January this year.<\/p>\n
As manager for Indonesia, it was Ron's responsibility to set
\nup Ansett Australia's Sydney-Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur flight. His
\nhard work and patient negotiation made this possible in February.
\nAt present, Ansett runs four flights out of Jakarta a week and
\nhas opened two new offices in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Working in Indonesia is an enjoyable change, he says.<\/p>\n
"I guess there needs to be a broader appreciation of life in
\nother countries. Every country is special, every country is
\ndifferent. It does not matter if it's the people, the food, the
\nenvironment, every place has something special," said Ron.<\/p>\n
"I found the people here extremely friendly, the work
\nenvironment exciting and invigorating," Ron said, stressing that
\nas a guest in a foreign country he does not just work here but
\nhas something to contribute.<\/p>\n
"It's a sharing of opportunities," he said.<\/p>\n
A native of Perth, Ron grew up in a family with strong family
\nvalues, and encouraged to develop a love for work and respect for
\nothers. These are the same values he shares with his family --
\nand his staff.<\/p>\n
"So I treat my staff and customers the way I would like them
\nto treat me," said Ron, who joined Ansett in 1971.<\/p>\n
He also believes that "All people have ideas and equal
\nopportunities", and he encourages his staff to contribute ideas.<\/p>\n
"We do that in a variety of ways, such as regular meetings,"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
Ron admitted there are cultural differences. For example, his
\nstaff are naturally shy.<\/p>\n
"But I recognize that I'm the only expatriate, the rest being
\nIndonesians. I encourage them to talk, to feel confident in
\ngenerating new ideas. The important thing is to make them
\nconfident to put forward suggestions," he said.<\/p>\n
Apart from encouragement, Ron made sure to create the right
\nenvironment for his staff to work.<\/p>\n
"If you do not enjoy your job you should not be doing it," he
\nstressed.<\/p>\n
Training is vital, especially since many of his staff are
\nfresh from university and have no experience in the airline
\nindustry.<\/p>\n
Ansett provided them with one week of training in Jakarta,
\nfocusing on simple things -- how to answer the telephone, how to
\nserve Indonesian customers, how to handle European or Australian
\nclients, what is considered good customer service.<\/p>\n
"Next we brought them to Bali for five days, because our
\noffice covers not just Jakarta," Ron explained.<\/p>\n
Then came a visit to Australia for 10 days of technical
\ntraining. The visit took his staff to Sydney and Melbourne to
\nlet them see the major cities of Australia as visitors.<\/p>\n
"It's important to do that because they can't speak
\nconfidently from the heart if they haven't been to see it," Ron
\nargued.<\/p>\n
"They will be able to explain to customers about the places,
\nwhat the airport is like, whether it's a small airport or a big
\none, the facilities, whether it has duty free shops, how far it
\nis from the city to the airport, et cetera...," he said.<\/p>\n
Ron said that in the six months he has been in his new office,
\nhis staff have developed more confidence, and now have a very
\nhigh level of customer service.<\/p>\n
"We can do better, because they want to, not because I tell
\nthem to, but because they genuinely want to provide good customer
\nservice."<\/p>\n
Good service<\/p>\n
It's difficult being with Brown without discussing Ansett. After
\nall, he has been working for the company for 25 years.<\/p>\n
It is only natural that Ron is very proud of Ansett, which
\ncelebrates its 60th anniversary this year.<\/p>\n
Founded by Reginald Myles Ansett, the carrier started serving
\ninternational routes in 1993, following the announcement of
\nfundamental changes to Australian aviation policy in February
\n1992. Ansett made its first international flights -- from Perth,
\nDarwin, Sydney and Melbourne to Denpasar -- on Sept. 11, 1993.<\/p>\n
The changes also brought Ron to Indonesia as Ansett's manager
\nfor Indonesia, based initially in Denpasar, and then moving to
\nthe capital.<\/p>\n
According to Ron, it is in the interest of Ansett to provide
\nthe best customer service they can. That is what he tells his
\nstaff to do.<\/p>\n
"They provide good service because they want to, not because
\nsomeone is going to give them something else. That is not the
\nvalue that we have. We give something to our customers because we
\nwant to, it's the right thing to do, not because we expect a gift
\nfrom them," he explained.<\/p>\n
"For example, people come to our office but cannot find a seat
\non an Ansett flight. We will send them on to another airline. It
\ndoes not matter if it's a competitor. The important thing is that
\nwe look after our customers," said Ron.<\/p>\n
What Ansett does is quite common in Australia. Qantas, for
\nexample, which is actually Ansett's competitor, will send
\npassengers to Ansett and vice-versa. Ron admits this is not
\nstandard practice elsewhere.<\/p>\n
"The airline industry is a very competitive business in
\nAustralia so we need to provide good customer service to
\nsurvive," Ron said.<\/p>\n
"For example, we developed the first major Golden Wing Club,
\nwhich is a service for airline facilities. We were the first to
\nask our customers to pay for it. By having them pay they have a
\ncommitment to it and try to live up to standards. We provide
\nsnacks, meals and refreshments, fax machines, phones, and we've
\nbeen copied by other airlines worldwide," said Ron.<\/p>\n
The company's commitment to good service has won it several
\nawards. In 1987 it was voted best airline and won the Air
\nTransport World Service Award, in recognition of the Golden Wing
\nClub concept. The award came from the international airline
\nmagazine, Air Transport World.<\/p>\n
In 1994, it was named Best Airline in the inaugural Australian
\nFederation of Travel Agents Australian Excellence Awards.<\/p>\n
In May 1995 it was again named the National Travel Industry
\nAwards Airline of the Year. The following month, readers of Asian
\nBusiness magazine voted the airline Best Large Australian
\nBusiness in Asia, and in August the Australian Federation of
\nTravel Agents chose Ansett Australia as Best Airline for the
\nsecond consecutive year.<\/p>\n
Working in the airline industry leaves Ron with a very tight
\nschedule.<\/p>\n
"This is an industry that has very high expectations. A lot of
\npeople are looking to share your time," he explained.<\/p>\n
In an industry that relies heavily on others, such as the
\nhotel business, an airline executive like Ron has to attend a lot
\nof functions and meetings.<\/p>\n
"I try very hard to attend these meetings because people want
\nto see who you are," he said.<\/p>\n
Ron believes there should be a balance between work and
\nfamily, although he admitted that sometimes it's difficult to
\nmaintain a balance between the two.<\/p>\n
"I try to organize my time. In the evening I always try to be
\nhome at seven to have dinner with my family when I don't have a
\nfunction or meeting to attend," he said.<\/p>\n
Ron spends the weekends with his wife Ramona and three
\nchildren, Tracey, 15, Matthew, 13 and Elissa, 7.<\/p>\n
As newcomers to Indonesia, they enjoy visiting new places, not
\nonly to relax but also to find out more about the country and its
\npeople.<\/p>\n
"It's important to understand the community in which you are
\nworking. Every place has something special, you have to see it,"
\nsaid Ron, who is working hard on his Indonesian.<\/p>\n
"It's important to learn the language. People need to know you
\ncare enough to speak their language. You're not accused of being
\narrogant," he said.<\/p>",
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